Why we need God

[manifold]

I don't know about you, but I certainly enjoyed the thread topics about the relative pros and cons of religion. In a nutshell, the reason we need religion is because we need God, and it's unrealistic to perpetuate God without the help of organized religion. We don't necessarily need there to be a real God, but we need for most people to believe there is a real God.

Here is why:

We are all gods... relatively speaking. And by relatively speaking I mean compared to all other life forms that we know about. Consider ants. They are phenominally efficient and successful as a species but they all bow to the queen of their colony. And if you ever watch any specials, we know colonies actually communicate with each other but we don't really understand how. Bottom line, ants do not possess anything that we would consider individual liberty and/or freedom. I doubt they would survive if they all started doing their own thing. But we do get to do our own thing to a degree. A degree that understandably has fluctuated throughout history. But if we don't want to evolve toward what ants have become, we must collectively buy into this notion that on some level, we are all our own individual gods. And the only way to get everyone to buy into this notion is if most believe something exists that is still the boss of everyone. If you value individual liberty and freedom, you should think twice before evangalizing atheism.

 

[amrchaos]

I don't know about you, but I certainly enjoyed the thread topics about the relative pros and cons of religion. In a nutshell, the reason we need religion is because we need God, and it's unrealistic to perpetuate God without the help of organized religion. We don't necessarily need there to be a real God, but we need for most people to believe there is a real God.

Here is why:

We are all gods... relatively speaking. And by relatively speaking I mean compared to all other life forms that we know about. Consider ants. They are phenominally efficient and successful as a species but they all bow to the queen of their colony. And if you ever watch any specials, we know colonies actually communicate with each other but we don't really understand how. Bottom line, ants do not possess anything that we would consider individual liberty and/or freedom. I doubt they would survive if they all started doing their own thing. But we do get to do our own thing to a degree. A degree that understandably has fluctuated throughout history. But if we don't want to evolve toward what ants have become, we must collectively buy into this notion that on some level, we are all our own individual gods. And the only way to get everyone to buy into this notion is if most believe something exists that is still the boss of everyone. If you value individual liberty and freedom, you should think twice before evangalizing atheism.

Let see, you used ants, how about I use birds??

Birds do their own thing!! They fly together at times, and alone at others. They do not bow to any other bird and hunt for themselves, crow for themselves and drop their excrement by theimselves. I don not know if Birds have some flying diety that they pray to at night, but I do know that birds are FREE!!. That is right. Birds are free to do whatever they want to.

In fact, birds are born with something that we lowly humans do not--they are born to fly. Compared to us Humans, does this make the birds GODS? Is every bird a flying angel that we should respect unless we find our windshields and porches flooded with the remainder of their meals. I think not!! Birds are best roasted in spices and herbs, not praised because they got a pair of appendages that, if they move them fast enough, will give them lift. This is what we should do to Birds. And if you value true freedom, this is also what you should do to religion.

Evangelize Athiesm!! Stop believing nonsense thrown together at the spur of the moment!! OH CRAP--my arguement just went to the BIRDS...

 

[sidneyworld]

lol

 

[Shogun]

But if we don't want to evolve toward what ants have become, we must collectively buy into this notion that on some level, we are all our own individual gods.

smoking the good crack today, eh dude?

 

[amrchaos]

But if we don't want to evolve toward what ants have become, we must collectively buy into this notion that on some level, we are all our own individual gods.

smoking the good crack today, eh dude?

Maybe he meant that we are our own creators. Such as creators of our own art, ideas, and plans.
not buying it huh?

 

[manifold]

AC,

Yes, to a degree birds are there own gods too. Good point.

But since we do with them as we please, we are still the greater god by comparison.

As entertaining as your post was, you've failed to influence my conclusion. But at least you made me think about it more which is always a good thing.

 

[Shogun]

no. I don't put much stock in ideas meant to deify something that is starkly human. The idea that it's the concept of god, personal or not, that keeps us from devolving into the likes of ants basically ignores every human being whose effort was given to make our schema what it is today. Why respect the magna carta, and those who never knew it, if all we gotta do is pretend that we are each a god who creates our own reality? Art, ideas and plans look different individually. This isn't an indication of godliness so much as it is a reminder of our stark human limits in a dispassionate reality. I mean, I can't will myself to recreate the mona lisa. Can you? Which, again, indicates our personal human limits in relation to the rest of the human herd. No god complex necessary.

 

[Ravi]

Why not just a king or queen or fascist yet benevolent dictator.

No offense, but that is the silliest thing I've ever heard. We must pretend God exists or we perish?



btw, ants can kill us so which is the higher life form?

 

[Shogun]

which, given the analogy.. isn't the queen ant basically their god anyway?

 

[manifold]

Believing and pretending are not one in the same.

 

[Ravi]

which, given the analogy.. isn't the queen ant basically their god anyway?

Yep, and there are many tribes of ants. Maybe they believe in a great ant in the sky.

 

[manifold]

which, given the analogy.. isn't the queen ant basically their god anyway?

exactly.

I can't speak for you, but I prefer an unprovable, unseen God to an actual person acting in that capacity any day.

I dare say Shogun, you are dangerously close to getting my point. I'm gitty with excitement I tell you, truly gitty.

 

[amrchaos]

which, given the analogy.. isn't the queen ant basically their god anyway?

Yep, and there are many tribes of ants. Maybe they believe in a great ant in the sky.

Why not a great Ant that lives in the ground? You know, one that builds many tunnels in a day and can feed trillions of baby ants in one scavenger run??

That would sound like a mighty ant God. An ant in the sky--what is it doing there??

 

[Al Gunn]

I can't speak for you, but I prefer an unprovable, unseen God to an actual person acting in that capacity any day.

You have just won the Simpleton of the Year award. Congrats

 

[Neser Boha]

Manifold... I'm sorry, but you're argument... is just not doing it for me...

I lived my entire life without believing in any 'god' and I'm just fine with the added benefit of not having all sorts of hangups that seem to go with ALL organized religions (they're mostly of sexual character). I do believe we are all connected somehow - some of us more closely and tightly than others... but I don't believe in a dude in the sky, nor do I feel the need to do so. Thank you very much.

 

[Ravi]

On second thought, the queen ant is not a Goddess, she's simply a baby factory. There is really no one in charge of an ant colony, it is more like the colony has a collective mind.

Bad analogy overall.

 

[Valerie]

btw, ants can kill us so which is the higher life form?

And they can carry ten to fifty times their weight!

 

[manifold]

Manifold... I'm sorry, but you're argument... is just not doing it for me...

I lived my entire life without believing in any 'god' and I'm just fine with the added benefit of not having all sorts of hangups that seem to go with ALL organized religions (they're mostly of sexual character). I do believe we are all connected somehow - some of us more closely and tightly than others... but I don't believe in a dude in the sky, nor do I feel the need to do so. Thank you very much.

Then you should simply be thankful. Thankful that you get to enjoy the benefits of the belief of others without having to go along yourself.

 

[Shogun]

which, given the analogy.. isn't the queen ant basically their god anyway?

exactly.

I can't speak for you, but I prefer an unprovable, unseen God to an actual person acting in that capacity any day.

I dare say Shogun, you are dangerously close to getting my point. I'm gitty with excitement I tell you, truly gitty.

the word is Giddy, Mani. And, I prefer to drop the charade and stop pretending that there is more to our reality than the human scope of perception by using a human construct of godliness. Sure, it may be different if we could look up to see for us what we are to ants but WE don't have that kind of evidence or indication of our place like ants do when they get toasted by a kid with a magnifying glass.

 

[Ravi]

btw, ants can kill us so which is the higher life form?

And they can carry ten to fifty times their weight!

The are pretty awesome. We had some heavy rain that almost completely flooded our yard and one nest built a bridge out of their own bodies over a flooded area while a couple of ants moved the queen to higher ground by walking across the "bridge."

Noah's ark of the ant world, maybe.