How important is God or Gods in your life?

[RestlessSoul]

I know my mother-in-law exists. I have seen her.I have seen her affect on my wife.

I have yet to see a verifiable effect of a God.

This reminds me of a quote from Jean Paul Sarte; “Yes, yes, get on your knees and you shall believe; but I want to believe first.”

 

[Polymath257]

This reminds me of a quote from Jean Paul Sarte; “Yes, yes, get on your knees and you shall believe; but I want to believe first.”

Which sounds eminently reasonable to me. It is how it works for literally every other notion.

I don't believe in a Higg's boson until *after* there is evidence of such. I don't believe in the Loch Ness Monster until *after* there is evidence of such. Why should God be any different in terms of belief in existence?

As far as I can see, anything else is just confirmation bias and self-programming.

 

[Nakosis]

How important is God or gods in your life?

As important as the POTUS is to me.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Which sounds eminently reasonable to me. It is how it works for literally every other notion.

I don't believe in a Higg's boson until *after* there is evidence of such. I don't believe in the Loch Ness Monster until *after* there is evidence of such. Why should God be any different in terms of belief in existence?

As far as I can see, anything else is just confirmation bias and self-programming.

Sufficient numbers of people were willing to believe in at least the possibility of a Higg's Boson, to go to considerable trouble and expense to find it.

Meanwhile, the Large Hadron Collider is still searching for the missing magnetic monopole, I believe. And the idealists among us are still searching for the meaning of life.

 

[Polymath257]

Sufficient numbers of people were willing to believe in at least the possibility of a Higg's Boson, to go to considerable trouble and expense to find it.

And, given the detail and depth of the theory that proposed it, that is a reasonable tactic: don't claim belief until there is evidence, but explore to see what the evidence gives.

So, once again, evidence comes *before* belief.

Meanwhile, the Large Hadron Collider is still searching for the missing magnetic monopole, I believe. And the idealists among us are still searching for the meaning of life.

And it would be very interesting *if* monopoles are discovered. But NOBODY is saying monopoles definitely exist. They are saying that some theories predict them, others do not, and the search is worth the distinction between the two. We don't know, so we explore.

If the notion of a God had even close to as much evidentiary and logical support as do monopoles, nobody would disagree with doing an experiment to see if such a thing exists. But they *would* disagree with claiming existence *before* there was enough evidence in to justify that claim.

I would also point out that the LHC does MUCH, MUCH more than simply looking for monopoles. it would be nice if they are found (or shown to be impossible), but that is hardly the only (or even primary) goal of the LHC.

But, once again, you don't start with belief and then look to find evidence. That is encouraging confirmation bias. Instead, you start with a possibility and then look for evidence *both ways* and see where the pieces end up.

Many people have done the test of Jesus given in your holy book (I knock at the door...) and found that the test failed to provide evidence. That is enough for them to continue on with other, better, hypotheses.

 

[SalixIncendium]

For those of you that answered that gods have zero importance in your life, have you considered that there are those that you interact with daily that directly or indirectly affect your life who depend on god(s) to understand their world and function in this reality?

Perhaps the existence of god(s) in the person's life who you walked by on the street today is the reason that person didn't rob you, beat you, and leave you for dead.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Divinity is central to my life.

Does divinity equal god(s) or are they a part of divinity?

 

[SalixIncendium]

Very. How can that which is always with me ever cease to have importance to me?

Well, I always have bacteria with me. While they may be important to my life, I don't often think about them.

 

[JustGeorge]

Well, I always have bacteria with me. While they may be important to my life, I don't often think about them.

Interesting stuff, all going on with life unseen...

But yes, its totally important, whether it gets credit or not.

 

[sun rise]

Does divinity equal god(s) or are they a part of divinity?

There is only One. Some people historically and today put beings that are on various "planes" in the category of a god.

I tend to want to use "divinity" rather than "God" because of all the baggage the word "God" has for many.

 

[Thea]

God is all important to me.