Why do we still need the word “Atheist”? (143)
CirclipNottingham, Nottinghamshire, England UK22 Threads 826 Postsbodleing2: That was just the word James Hollis used. Maybe adversly influenced would fit better. It's just that throughout life, paticularly early life we have been exposed to religeous influences, not to mention observing the apparent upheaval we have witnessed around the world seemingly caused by religion. This is what I meant earlier by a barrier to the word God, thereby perhaps subconsciously, as James Hollis put it, shutting off any pathway that would allow us to experience divinity.
Well when I said that I can separate the concept of God from what it says in the Bible, I hoped that would suggest that I'm not confusing a belief in God with the following of religion.------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: Well when I said that I can separate the concept of God from what it says in the Bible, I hoped that would suggest that I'm not confusing a belief in God with the following of religion.
Essentially your disbelief is grounded in not wanting to believe in the god that religions have marketed with their dogma and controlling bs.I think you accept that there is a concept of god yes?, just not one that mirrors the dogma of controlling religious dogma. If there is a concept of god, that is enough proof of the god that you know about. Concepts change, dogma does not.
Just thinking out loud.
------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: Well when I said that I can separate the concept of God from what it says in the Bible, I hoped that would suggest that I'm not confusing a belief in God with the following of religion.
What is the concept of god?------ This thread is Archived ------
BB_snickers:
I think you accept that there is a concept of god yes?,.
Well of course there is a concept of God, there many different concepts of God, just as there are many concepts of unicorns: Pink horn, yellow horn, red horn................I think you accept that there is a concept of god yes?,.
------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: Well of course there is a concept of God, there many different concepts of God, just as there are many concepts of unicorns: Pink horn, yellow horn, red horn................
I think you're floundering. 
------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: Well of course there is a concept of God, there many different concepts of God, just as there are many concepts of unicorns: Pink horn, yellow horn, red horn................
So you're saying that there are no unicorns? They were actually evil creatures in their inception. I'm not sure when they transformed into more beneficial conceptual beings.Anything that you can think of is a thing. After all it is an illusion so check under your bed for aliens tonight.
------ This thread is Archived ------
jac_the_gripper: What is the concept of god?
I assume you mean in the context of my comment.It is an idea of what God might be like, if such an entity were to exist.
If you were asking for examples of a concept of God, let me know, as I wouldn't want to go to the trouble of it without knowing if it were necessary.
------ This thread is Archived ------
jac_the_gripper: I think you're floundering.
If you tell me why you think that, I will do my best to explain why you are mistaken. 
------ This thread is Archived ------
BB_snickers: So you're saying that there are no unicorns? They were actually evil creatures in their inception. I'm not sure when they transformed into more beneficial conceptual beings.
Anything that you can think of is a thing. After all it is an illusion so check under your bed for aliens tonight.
Do you mean their inceptions as mythical creatures?Anything that you can think of is a thing. After all it is an illusion so check under your bed for aliens tonight.
------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: Well when I said that I can separate the concept of God from what it says in the Bible, I hoped that would suggest that I'm not confusing a belief in God with the following of religion.
So if you take away religion from the concept of a god, what are you left with? What if god is not a deity?------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: If you tell me why you think that, I will do my best to explain why you are mistaken.
You said you could seperate the concept of god from what it says in the bible, so I asked what the concept of god is.I thought you were floundering because different coloured horns do not change the concept of unicorns - they are still horses with horns, whatever colour they are.
I'm pretty sure I'm still human despite being pink with brown dots.
------ This thread is Archived ------
bodleing2: So if you take away religion from the concept of a god, what are you left with? What if god is not a deity?
You could believe there was a God, but not feel any need to do anything about it. You might see no reason to think God wants you to do anything about it.Religion is the set of rules to be followed which are supposed to represent God's wishes. You can have God without religion, but you can't really have religion without God, unless you adapt the definition of the word religion to accommodate it, of course.
What do you mean by "deity"?
------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: Do you mean their inceptions as mythical creatures?
I mean inception as in when whomever made them up as a part of their illusion which became a meme.------ This thread is Archived ------
jac_the_gripper:
I thought you were floundering because different coloured horns do not change the concept of unicorns - they are still horses with horns, whatever colour they are.
.
So the concept of a unicorn with a pink horn is identical to the concept of a unicorn with a blue horn, is it?I thought you were floundering because different coloured horns do not change the concept of unicorns - they are still horses with horns, whatever colour they are.
.
But, if we really have to go through this:
You might imagine god is a conscious spirit that pervades the universe, and is capable of anything.
You might imagine god is actually the man with the beard who created Adam and Eve,
You might imagine God created the conditions for life on Earth to develop and then just left it to do its thing.
You might imagine God really does want us to go to Church on Sunday and sing to him.
You might imagine God Doesn't give a damn what we do.
These are just a few of the infinite possibilities of conceptualising God,
------ This thread is Archived ------
BB_snickers: I mean inception as in when whomever made them up as a part of their illusion which became a meme.
Okay.------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: You could believe there was a God, but not feel any need to do anything about it. You might see no reason to think God wants you to do anything about it.
That would assume that God is a thinking being...a deity.In response to: Religion is the set of rules to be followed which are supposed to represent God's wishes. You can have God without religion, but you can't really have religion without God, unless you adapt the definition of the word religion to accommodate it, of course.
But what would god be without religion? The whole concept of a god, (supernatural being) requires a mass following to exist, (a religion.)In response to: What do you mean by "deity"?
I think I've answered that.------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: So the concept of a unicorn with a pink horn is identical to the concept of a unicorn with a blue horn, is it?
Well, it's a concept of a unicorn. That hasn't changed.Circlip: But, if we really have to go through this:
You might imagine god is a conscious spirit that pervades the universe, and is capable of anything.
You might imagine god is actually the man with the beard who created Adam and Eve,
You might imagine God created the conditions for life on Earth to develop and then just left it to do its thing.
You might imagine God really does want us to go to Church on Sunday and sing to him.
You might imagine God Doesn't give a damn what we do.
These are just a few of the infinite possibilities of conceptualising God,
I'm not very good at the technicalities of language, but don't all these concepts above use the word 'god' as a noun?You might imagine god is a conscious spirit that pervades the universe, and is capable of anything.
You might imagine god is actually the man with the beard who created Adam and Eve,
You might imagine God created the conditions for life on Earth to develop and then just left it to do its thing.
You might imagine God really does want us to go to Church on Sunday and sing to him.
You might imagine God Doesn't give a damn what we do.
These are just a few of the infinite possibilities of conceptualising God,
In which case isn't the concept much the same, even though the behaviour of 'god' is imagined differently?
------ This thread is Archived ------
bodleing2: That would assume that God is a thinking being...a deity..
It doesn't assume that, but if it did, there is nothing to stop me conceiving of a god that wasn't a thinking being.bodleing2:
But what would god be without religion?
.
If there actually were a God, he would be whatever he is, with or without religion. He might be a God that required something of us, or he might be one that didn't. But what would god be without religion?
.
bodleing2: The whole concept of a god, (supernatural being) requires a mass following to exist, (a religion.)
That doesn't make sense, bod. Do you mean an actual God; a God that really does exist? Or do you mean just a concept of God to which there is no corresponding entity?I mean an actual God could, theoretically, be any number of things, and it doesn't necessarily follow that he would demand to be worshiped.
A purely conceptual God (a fictitious God) doesn't absolutely have to have a religion to go with it, but there would be an overwhelming likelihood that it would have.
------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: There isn’t a word for people who don’t believe that unicorns exist, or for those who don’t believe that goblins exist. I mean if for everything it were possible to deny the existence of, there were a word to describe those who didn’t believe in it, can you imagine how thick a dictionary would have to be? It might once have been useful to have a word for those who didn’t believe in God when nobody was allowed to not believe in him, but we can believe or not believe whatever we like now, at least in the enlightened parts of the World, so do we any longer have a use for the word?
A theist is actually one that believes that there is a god that runs the universe but isn't of any religion. When it got mashed into one word isn't exactly clear.I assume that religion (most likely roman-christian) in their clamoring for more power alienated theists because they refused the christian biblical god, not necessarily the existence of a god.
The accusation of being a theist went from not religious to not believing in god; but more appropriately not believing in the christian god that the romans were using to control others. Roman and or religious black listing. Then it just evolves the same as the lore of unicorns did.
------ This thread is Archived ------
Circlip: It doesn't assume that, but if it did, there is nothing to stop me conceiving of a god that wasn't a thinking being.
If there actually were a God, he would be whatever he is, with or without religion. He might be a God that required something of us, or he might be one that didn't.
That doesn't make sense, bod. Do you mean an actual God; a God that really does exist? Or do you mean just a concept of God to which there is no corresponding entity?
I mean an actual God could, theoretically, be any number of things, and it doesn't necessarily follow that he would demand to be worshiped.
A purely conceptual God (a fictitious God) doesn't absolutely have to have a religion to go with it, but there would be an overwhelming likelihood that it would have.
The fixation on the word god is so restricting. But I did hear it said, if you want to truly find God you have to go beyond religion and observe. You could say that god is love, the energy that drives compassion, the feeling that binds two people together, the will to serve others as you would serve yourself. It doesn't need a label, a name tag, it doesn't ask anything, not sit in judgement, but you could call it god and you could be thankful for it's presence.If there actually were a God, he would be whatever he is, with or without religion. He might be a God that required something of us, or he might be one that didn't.
That doesn't make sense, bod. Do you mean an actual God; a God that really does exist? Or do you mean just a concept of God to which there is no corresponding entity?
I mean an actual God could, theoretically, be any number of things, and it doesn't necessarily follow that he would demand to be worshiped.
A purely conceptual God (a fictitious God) doesn't absolutely have to have a religion to go with it, but there would be an overwhelming likelihood that it would have.
------ This thread is Archived ------
This Thread is Archived
This Thread is archived, so you will no longer be able to post to it. Threads get archived automatically when they are older than 3 months.
« Go back to All Threads
« Go back to All Threads
More Threads
Say Anything Again
Democrats destroyed America
The GOP Representatives owned by Vladimir Putin
who shaped your life?
Why is this shameful?
s*xual skills
Unions support Democrats!
What happened to CS while i was away.. (Long time)
Trump on Trial
Are the ads on here as phony as some of the profiles?
More Threads
Report threads that break rules, are offensive, or contain fighting. Staff may not be aware of the forum abuse, and cannot do anything about it unless you tell us about it. click to report forum abuse »
If one of the comments is offensive, please report the comment instead (there is a link in each comment to report it).
If one of the comments is offensive, please report the comment instead (there is a link in each comment to report it).