Henotheism and Atheism

[ding]

You have no knowledge of God to make the assumption that God is a magical celestial dictator, now do you?

Then it's irrelevant, and the gods make not much difference at all. Maybe i should be more clear: i sure hope none of the god characters in the major religions exist. Eww.

I don't think it is possible for you to separate religion from God.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

You have no knowledge of God to make the assumption that God is a magical celestial dictator, now do you?

Then it's irrelevant, and the gods make not much difference at all. Maybe i should be more clear: i sure hope none of the god characters in the major religions exist. Eww.

I don't think it is possible for you to separate religion from God.

That's nice.

 

[ding]

You have no knowledge of God to make the assumption that God is a magical celestial dictator, now do you?

Then it's irrelevant, and the gods make not much difference at all. Maybe i should be more clear: i sure hope none of the god characters in the major religions exist. Eww.

I don't think it is possible for you to separate religion from God.

That's nice.

It must be.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

You have no knowledge of God to make the assumption that God is a magical celestial dictator, now do you?

Then it's irrelevant, and the gods make not much difference at all. Maybe i should be more clear: i sure hope none of the god characters in the major religions exist. Eww.

I don't think it is possible for you to separate religion from God.

That's nice.

It must be.

I hear ya, devout follower of plagiarized iron age myths.

 

[ding]

You have no knowledge of God to make the assumption that God is a magical celestial dictator, now do you?

Then it's irrelevant, and the gods make not much difference at all. Maybe i should be more clear: i sure hope none of the god characters in the major religions exist. Eww.

I don't think it is possible for you to separate religion from God.

That's nice.

It must be.

I hear ya, devout follower of plagiarized iron age myths.

The proof is in the pudding.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

You have no knowledge of God to make the assumption that God is a magical celestial dictator, now do you?

Then it's irrelevant, and the gods make not much difference at all. Maybe i should be more clear: i sure hope none of the god characters in the major religions exist. Eww.

I don't think it is possible for you to separate religion from God.

That's nice.

It must be.

I hear ya, devout follower of plagiarized iron age myths.

The proof is in the pudding.

You are in a tailspin... Breathe in, breathe out. And try to remember...mocking the childish, iron aged myths doesn't say anything about you. You religious people just get confused on that point, because, since you have nothing but "i say so", you take that criticism personally. That's your problem. Not mine.

 

[ding]

You have no knowledge of God to make the assumption that God is a magical celestial dictator, now do you?

Then it's irrelevant, and the gods make not much difference at all. Maybe i should be more clear: i sure hope none of the god characters in the major religions exist. Eww.

I don't think it is possible for you to separate religion from God.

That's nice.

It must be.

I hear ya, devout follower of plagiarized iron age myths.

The proof is in the pudding.

You are in a tailspin... Breathe in, breathe out. And try to remember...mocking the childish, iron aged myths doesn't say anything about you. You religious people just get confused on that point, because, since you have nothing but "i say so", you take that criticism personally. That's your problem. Not mine.

When you can provide a perception of what you have looked for that isn't a fairy tale, we can talk.

The ignorance is in not knowing what one is looking for. The deceit is pretending that you did. You can't see the evidence for something you don't believe exists. So don't act like you tried to find any.

 

[Blues Man]

I would not change the way I live if it was proven that a god snapped his fingers and created the universe.

So you are saying that if you knew the universe was created for the express reason of letting you share in God's existence, you wouldn't be appreciative and thankful and treat everything you did as a sacred act to show your gratitude and appreciation for such an amazing gift?

I feel thankful and appreciative and would feel as such whether or not any gods exist.

What do you feel thankful and appreciative for and who do you give that thanks and appreciation to?

We've been over this. I do not have to thank anyone in order to have an attitude of thankfulness.

 

[Blues Man]

Defined as uncaring or indifferent to the possibility that gods may or may not exist.

Then the question to explore is why be apathetic whether God does or does not exist?

Because I don not believe it matters.

I would not change the way I live if it was proven that a god snapped his fingers and created the universe. We showed up after the universe began and we'll be extinct before the universe ends. So the only thing that matters as far as I'm concerned is what we do in the short time we are alive.

Purpose matters.

I define my purpose not you and not some god that may or may not exist.

First things first. Does purpose matter?

My purpose that I have chosen to guide my life matters to me. I really don't care if it matters to you.

First things first. Does purpose matter? Is having a purpose important?

We can get into your purpose later.

Yeah you think the universe has a purpose. I don't.

 

[Blues Man]

An atheist denies the existence of any gods

That's the bastardized colloquial version of the word. Theism is accepting belief in personal gods. Atheism is NOT doing that. I prefer this more strictly correct definition. The word "agnostic" alone does not well define all agnostics or well exclude all atheists. There are agnostic atheists and gnostic atheists.

We're quibbling over semantics

 

[Blues Man]

I would not change the way I live if it was proven that a god snapped his fingers and created the universe. We showed up after the universe began and we'll be extinct before the universe ends. So the only thing that matters as far as I'm concerned is what we do in the short time we are alive.

Would you say that is a lukewarm attitude towards God, or a sitting on the fence philosophy?

It's an indifferent attitude. You may say it's fence sitting but that implies indecision. I'm not undecided about the path I chose.

 

[ding]

Defined as uncaring or indifferent to the possibility that gods may or may not exist.

Then the question to explore is why be apathetic whether God does or does not exist?

Because I don not believe it matters.

I would not change the way I live if it was proven that a god snapped his fingers and created the universe. We showed up after the universe began and we'll be extinct before the universe ends. So the only thing that matters as far as I'm concerned is what we do in the short time we are alive.

Purpose matters.

I define my purpose not you and not some god that may or may not exist.

First things first. Does purpose matter?

My purpose that I have chosen to guide my life matters to me. I really don't care if it matters to you.

First things first. Does purpose matter? Is having a purpose important?

We can get into your purpose later.

Yeah you think the universe has a purpose. I don't.

You still haven't answered the question. Does purpose matter? Is having a purpose important? Because I don't see how purpose can't matter. I don't see how purpose isn't important. You want to argue about whether there is purpose without first acknowledging that having a purpose - as a rule - can be a good thing.

Existence can be defined - but not limited to - as everything that has occurred since the beginning of space and time. The purpose of existence is to produce beings that know and create. You can know that by examining how space and time evolved; by studying the physical, biological and moral laws of nature.

 

[ding]

I would not change the way I live if it was proven that a god snapped his fingers and created the universe.

So you are saying that if you knew the universe was created for the express reason of letting you share in God's existence, you wouldn't be appreciative and thankful and treat everything you did as a sacred act to show your gratitude and appreciation for such an amazing gift?

I feel thankful and appreciative and would feel as such whether or not any gods exist.

What do you feel thankful and appreciative for and who do you give that thanks and appreciation to?

We've been over this. I do not have to thank anyone in order to have an attitude of thankfulness.

Being thankful usually is an emotional response to good times. Giving thanks, on the other hand, is an action we take, regardless of the circumstances. Giving thanks is most powerful when times aren't good because it can release the power that bad times hold over us and free our mind to learn lessons from unfortunate circumstances and events.

The proof is always in the pudding. If it is as you say that you can have an attitude of thankfulness without having to give thanks to anyone, then that will be shown in your disposition. Especially when things aren't going well. So if everything you see in this world is mostly negative, you should probably re-evaluate if you are truly thankful in reality or this is just you making an unfounded claim to rationalize your worldview.

 

[Meriweather]

It's an indifferent attitude. You may say it's fence sitting but that implies indecision. I'm not undecided about the path I chose.

Indecision (for a time) is safer than indifference. Indifference is like an invasive weed that begins taking over all areas of thought and action and it leads to self-destruction. Literally. I've seen it and for that reason I would never encourage indifference towards anything.

Mint is invasive, but I love mint, so I have it in an area where it is impossible for it to creep into other places. Even so, I have to keep a close eye on it. I enjoy your posts, I like you (as far as I can from online posting). Therefore, I truly and sincerely wish and hope that if you must be indifferent towards God, you keep that indifference in a sealed area where it cannot creep into another area. Be watchful of any thought/conclusion where you find yourself thinking, "I'll just be indifferent to this as well..." Stomp out indifference anywhere you see it cropping up. Replant it with caring, even if it is just a little bit of caring one way or the other.

 

[Blues Man]

Defined as uncaring or indifferent to the possibility that gods may or may not exist.

Then the question to explore is why be apathetic whether God does or does not exist?

Because I don not believe it matters.

I would not change the way I live if it was proven that a god snapped his fingers and created the universe. We showed up after the universe began and we'll be extinct before the universe ends. So the only thing that matters as far as I'm concerned is what we do in the short time we are alive.

Purpose matters.

I define my purpose not you and not some god that may or may not exist.

First things first. Does purpose matter?

My purpose that I have chosen to guide my life matters to me. I really don't care if it matters to you.

First things first. Does purpose matter? Is having a purpose important?

We can get into your purpose later.

Yeah you think the universe has a purpose. I don't.

You still haven't answered the question. Does purpose matter? Is having a purpose important? Because I don't see how purpose can't matter. I don't see how purpose isn't important. You want to argue about whether there is purpose without first acknowledging that having a purpose - as a rule - can be a good thing.

Existence can be defined - but not limited to - as everything that has occurred since the beginning of space and time. The purpose of existence is to produce beings that know and create. You can know that by examining how space and time evolved; by studying the physical, biological and moral laws of nature.

I already told you my purpose matters to me.

It doesn't matter to the universe or to anyone else.

I don't know how you got to purpose from my statement that I don't think it matters if any gods exist or not unless you think gods give you purpose.

And I still don't believe the universe has a purpose. You are saying what you think the purpose of the universe is and that's your opinion.

 

[Blues Man]

It's an indifferent attitude. You may say it's fence sitting but that implies indecision. I'm not undecided about the path I chose.

Indecision (for a time) is safer than indifference. Indifference is like an invasive weed that begins taking over all areas of thought and action and it leads to self-destruction. Literally. I've seen it and for that reason I would never encourage indifference towards anything.

Mint is invasive, but I love mint, so I have it in an area where it is impossible for it to creep into other places. Even so, I have to keep a close eye on it. I enjoy your posts, I like you (as far as I can from online posting). Therefore, I truly and sincerely wish and hope that if you must be indifferent towards God, you keep that indifference in a sealed area where it cannot creep into another area. Be watchful of any thought/conclusion where you find yourself thinking, "I'll just be indifferent to this as well..." Stomp out indifference anywhere you see it cropping up. Replant it with caring, even if it is just a little bit of caring one way or the other.

I am not indifferent to everything but everyone is indifferent to something. it isn't possible to stay sane if you care about everything in the world.

I look at the world and its offerings as a supermarket. I take what I need and I leave the rest.

 

[Meriweather]

I look at the world and its offerings as a supermarket. I take what I need and I leave the rest.

That is not being indifferent. It is choosing what you want and not being forced to choose something that is also available. For example, I do not pass by the canned peas without putting any in my cart because I am indifferent to them. They do not go into my cart because I loathe them.

Where I can relate is that there is a lot in any store that I have no use for. I am not indifferent to these things, I just can't use them. If you have no use for God, that is different from being indifferent. You might say it is a distinction without a difference, but I will beg to differ. For example, I do not drink coffee so I go by coffee pots and espresso machines without a second thought. The store should carry them because I am not the one and only consumer. If a health group began picketing the store solely because it was against coffee and coffee related items, I would be on the side of the store, even though those are items I have no use for.

If you say that along the same lines you have no use for God, I can accept that more readily than you saying you are indifferent. And, of course, it is solely your own heart that can judge indifference versus no use for.

 

[ding]

Defined as uncaring or indifferent to the possibility that gods may or may not exist.

Then the question to explore is why be apathetic whether God does or does not exist?

Because I don not believe it matters.

I would not change the way I live if it was proven that a god snapped his fingers and created the universe. We showed up after the universe began and we'll be extinct before the universe ends. So the only thing that matters as far as I'm concerned is what we do in the short time we are alive.

Purpose matters.

I define my purpose not you and not some god that may or may not exist.

First things first. Does purpose matter?

My purpose that I have chosen to guide my life matters to me. I really don't care if it matters to you.

First things first. Does purpose matter? Is having a purpose important?

We can get into your purpose later.

Yeah you think the universe has a purpose. I don't.

You still haven't answered the question. Does purpose matter? Is having a purpose important? Because I don't see how purpose can't matter. I don't see how purpose isn't important. You want to argue about whether there is purpose without first acknowledging that having a purpose - as a rule - can be a good thing.

Existence can be defined - but not limited to - as everything that has occurred since the beginning of space and time. The purpose of existence is to produce beings that know and create. You can know that by examining how space and time evolved; by studying the physical, biological and moral laws of nature.

I already told you my purpose matters to me.

It doesn't matter to the universe or to anyone else.

I don't know how you got to purpose from my statement that I don't think it matters if any gods exist or not unless you think gods give you purpose.

And I still don't believe the universe has a purpose. You are saying what you think the purpose of the universe is and that's your opinion.

The universe screams purpose. We live in a logical universe governed by rules, laws and information. Rules laws and information are signs of intelligence. Intentionality and purpose are signs of intelligence. The definition of reason is a cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event. The definition of purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. The consequence of a logical universe is that every cause has an effect. Which means that everything happens for a reason and serves a purpose. The very nature of our physical laws point to reason and purpose.

 

[ding]

I already told you my purpose matters to me.

Purpose should matter to everyone as purpose gives life meaning. Even science recognizes that purpose along with a sense of control and a feeling that what we do is worthwhile has material benefits.

It doesn't matter to the universe or to anyone else.

I disagree. If we start with the premise that spirit created the material world and created laws of nature which not only predestined beings that know and create to arise but also to mold or evolve our level of consciousness then recognizing and understanding our purpose helps us become the best versions of ourselves that we can become. Not surprisingly, having a sense of purpose is a successful behaviors which naturally leads to happiness and success. So says science.

 

[Blues Man]

I already told you my purpose matters to me.

Purpose should matter to everyone as purpose gives life meaning. Even science recognizes that purpose along with a sense of control and a feeling that what we do is worthwhile has material benefits.

It doesn't matter to the universe or to anyone else.

I disagree. If we start with the premise that spirit created the material world and created laws of nature which not only predestined beings that know and create to arise but also to mold or evolve our level of consciousness then recognizing and understanding our purpose helps us become the best versions of ourselves that we can become. Not surprisingly, having a sense of purpose is a successful behaviors which naturally leads to happiness and success. So says science.

Why would i start with a premise I disagree with?

And I don't have to believe the universe has a purpose in order to define my own purpose.

You seem to think that purpose comes from somewhere other than yourself.