For PureX, a philosiphical look at God

[Atheologian]

I can be a real dick sometimes when it comes to a discussion of reality vs. philosophy, but I do recognize the two are not entirely exclusive. They are both derived from, and analyzed by, logic. Curiosity and the thirst for knowledge seem to be a charactaristic of intelligent life, and the ultimate basis of philosophy. I'm not sure that without them, the great philosophers throughout history would have pondered and explored some of the more important features of modern life. Would we care about exploring space, if we already knew everything? Would we care to see what lurks in the depths of the oceans, or what lies buried in the Earth? What I want to know, is where God should fit into this. Is God the motivation to learn, the beauty of the discovery, or both? Or, is he neither of those things, and something more obvious? What role should we assign God?

 

[Atheologian]

I'll start by saying that I choose not to assign the roll of God to any aspect of life or the real universe. A philosophical god, one that exists only as the representation of purpose and meaning in the universe, I can believe though. At least, I can believe he exists philosophically. In that sense, referring to one's own philosophy as a "personal reality" I can also understand. However, is there ever a good reason to assume that another's "personal reality" should be taken as "truth"? By "truth", I don't mean as your own personal reality. I mean fact. Not in a relative sense, either. Just a fact, verifiable by any observer, even a non-believer, to be true.
This is where religion oversteps its boundaries, it asserts that its own philosophy is more important than "truth", or more accurate.
Should God be strictly discussed in a philosophical sense, and not in a religious sense, or a sense of what is "true", or "real", or is God something that IS real, true, and above the scrutiny of what we can prove is "true"?
Remember, by true or real, I mean in a tangible, universal way. Not your own "personal reality".
My personal opinion, is that the only reasonable way to discuss God is in a philosophical way, so that it makes sense to all observers. No one can deny that someone else "believes in God", at least not intelligently. So, speaking philosophically, I would assign God the role of comedian, or artist, maybe even civil engineer.