What if it was your choice?

[SkylarHunter]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?



Please note this is not a discussion about the existence of a creator. If you want to debate that, start another thread.

 

[edwinic]

Clarification only: is the God in question the God of the Old Testament?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?



Please note this is not a discussion about the existence of a creator. If you want to debate that, start another thread.

So the world exists in its current form, only we find out somehow that God exists?

I'd probably lose quite a bit of hope. The world around us has plenty of problems. If God really existed, then this would mean that the person running everything is incompetent, and we don't have any hope of making things better.

It would be like going from thinking that I'm on an island in the North Atlantic to realizing that I'm actually on the Titanic.

 

[Father Heathen]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?



Please note this is not a discussion about the existence of a creator. If you want to debate that, start another thread.

To clarify, do you mean we would wish it into being by choice, or choose to have one that has always existed? Also, would our choice include what the entity's nature would be? Because that would determine whether or not I wanted it to exist.

 

[Quintessence]

Clarification only: is the God in question the God of the Old Testament?

I would assume it's some variant of the one-god of the classical monotheist religions given the OP stated "God" (proper case, signifying a specific entity, almost always the one-god in Western cultures) and not "god" or "god(s)."

In that case, I functionally disbelieve in the one-god, though the supposed lack of physical evidence is an inconsequential factor in that. And I would not want it to functionally exist in my life either, because I have no interest in worshiping something I have not experienced, and classical monotheist theology is not compatible with my theology or my values.

 

[edwinic]

I would assume it's some variant of the one-god of the classical monotheist religions given the OP stated "God" (proper case, signifying a specific entity, almost always the one-god in Western cultures) and not "god" or "god(s)."

Thanks.
I just want to make sure which God we are agreeing to exist.

 

[LuisDantas]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?

Is part of the premise that reality as we perceive it would remain at least roughly the same? Or are we talking about, say, a world where there is clear, inequivocal growth in moral character and wisdom due to belief in God?

In the first case, no, I don't think I would like God to exist. It is not a necessary or useful entity.

In the second case, I suppose I woud like him to exist. But it would really depend on how useful God would show himself to be.

 

[mystic64]

Is part of the premise that reality as we perceive it would remain at least roughly the same? Or are we talking about, say, a world where there is clear, inequivocal growth in moral character and wisdom due to belief in God?

In the first case, no, I don't think I would like God to exist. It is not a necessary or useful entity.

In the second case, I suppose I woud like him to exist. But it would really depend on how useful God would show himself to be.

Whoa! Awesome post! This topic is designed for non believers, but at the same time even as a believer what LuisDantas has posted is what it should be all about.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?



Please note this is not a discussion about the existence of a creator. If you want to debate that, start another thread.

Just to clarify (which I probably should've done before giving my reply): are you talking about a situation where the Earth is as it is now and God was in charge all along, or one where God poofs into existence and starts acting the way we think a god ought to act?

 

[viole]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?



Please note this is not a discussion about the existence of a creator. If you want to debate that, start another thread.

It depends on the definition.

For instance, if God exists but I will die nevertheless, then I would not care.

So the question makes some sense only if it relates with the fate of my consciousness in Heaven or something of the sort.

In this case, I can imagine scenarios where I might like to live forever, as long as I have the option of self termination if the promise of bliss turns into a reality of boredom.

Ciao

- viole

 

[brokensymmetry]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?



Please note this is not a discussion about the existence of a creator. If you want to debate that, start another thread.

Hmm... probably. It somehow makes for a richer seeming universe. I wouldn't choose for a particular 'kind' of God to exist though. I wouldn't approve of one who promoted immoral things.

 

[Badran]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?

It all depends on the implications of the entity's existence. What it makes different, if anything. If there are implications, and i think for almost all possible scenarios i can think of there would be some, then depending on the entity's supposed characteristics and the context of it's existence (like some of the options people clarified here, and thus it's implications), it would affect me. It might provide hope under certain scenarios, and might be more of a serious bummer, and might change my perception of a lot of things and my experience in life.

There are some scenarios which would seem positive to me, and i'd want them to be true if that desire mattered. In those scenarios, my desire won't be so much about me wanting a god to exist as it is about me wanting more or better in certain terms, for me and for others. If that can be had with or without any god(s) involved, i think i'd be equally happy, basically.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Would the universe be any different if I wanted a god to exist? In other words, would everything be as it is now, only a god would exist? If so, then god's existence is apparently trivial to the universe, so it wouldn't matter to me one way or the other.

 

[ImmortalFlame]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?

This is a very difficult question, because I'd need a more specific definition of a God to work off. Personally, I wouldn't want a God to exist who got too personally invested in our deeds/misdeeds and took it upon themselves to exact punishment or rewards. I'd prefer a God who was less of a judge and more of a kind of observer, interested in our affairs (and perhaps becoming directly involved in them in some way, to make things interesting), but chiefly not concerned with judging our behavior more than simply examining it with a kind of scientific curiosity. Then again, such a God could be some sort of sociopath, so maybe it wouldn't be the best kind to exist.

The Greek Gods would be a fun choice, since they tend only to mess in the affairs of mortals in order to entertain themselves or just mess with us. They have drawbacks too (being manipulative, vain, greedy and selfish), but I find them far more relatable than more contemporary versions of the Gods. After-all, if I were in their position it's hard to imagine me acting much different.

An all-loving God who forgives everyone and allows us all to live in peace and happiness is tempting, but I'd rather it let us decide for ourselves what peace and happiness really mean. So, on the whole, I'm not sure there are any conceptions of God other than more vague, deistic versions of the term that I would be pleased to have exist. I guess I'd have to encounter some more specific and varied definitions.

 

[steeltoes]

Unlike most people, I have no need to invent a God.

 

[Skwim]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?

Absolutely not. At least not the god of Christianity. A bit too vicious for my liking.

Isaiah 45:7 (KJ)
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”



Leviticus 18:22 (KJ)
22 "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."

Leviticus 20:13 (KJ)
13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Deuteronomy 22:5 (NIV)
5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.

Mark 16:16 (NIV)
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Leviticus 20:10
10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.

Exodus 12:29 (NIV)
29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.

2 Kings 2:23-24 (NIV)
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

Judges11-12 @ 19 (NIV)
11 When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions.

12 “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13 If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.

19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned to his father’s home.

2 Kings 1:9-10 (NIV)
9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his
​

 

[Lyndale]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViuXiqNr94o&list=FLQsmg2DvkGlWpv8hy5Hx8DA&index=2

...but were it not for Grace.

 

[Ingledsva]

For all of you who don't believe in God due to lack of physical evidence of his existence, hypothetically speaking, if it was your choice, would you like God to exist? Why?



Please note this is not a discussion about the existence of a creator. If you want to debate that, start another thread.

Definitely not if, it is of the Abrahamic God type!



*

 

[Amechania]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViuXiqNr94o&list=FLQsmg2DvkGlWpv8hy5Hx8DA&index=2

...but were it not for Grace.

Lovely.
I would like a god to exist whose power is revealed in the workings of my heart. I want no miracles of wind and rain, but give me the miracle of courage in the face of the storm. I have no use for magic tricks, but if there exists one who can trick my heart into loving that which stirs my wrath, I would welcome this god. A being of pure love, whose gifts are peace, joy, and strength, this god I would recognize as holy. This god would have no responsibility for the ways of the world, or the ordering of the stars, only the ways of love, and the ordering of the heart. I would draw near to this god, and wish to be in its presence always.

 

[Lyndale]

Lovely.
I would like a god to exist whose power is revealed in the workings of my heart. I want no miracles of wind and rain, but give me the miracle of courage in the face of the storm. I have no use for magic tricks, but if there exists one who can trick my heart into loving that which stirs my wrath, I would welcome this god. A being of pure love, whose gifts are peace, joy, and strength, this god I would recognize as holy. This god would have no responsibility for the ways of the world, or the ordering of the stars, only the ways of love, and the ordering of the heart. I would draw near to this god, and wish to be in its presence always.

Only Jesus leads us to the Father. Be 'born again the way He said. Read His Words and follow them. Hold them dear to you're heart and let you're heart express it out you're mouth.

He loves us so much.