If you are human, you are not capable of understanding God.

[ding]

Does God exist?

Yes and no.

God is not constrained by existence one way or the other.

No one can impose existence upon God, or deprive God of it.

God is none, or one, or many.

Or all simultaneously.

Or not.

That is what it means to be God.

If you insist God exists, God does not exist.

If you insist God does not exist, God exists.

God does that to remind you that you are not God.

It takes one to know one.

It's way above your pay grade.

View attachment 480914​

​

​

​

View attachment 480917​

"DO I BELIEVE HUMANS EXIST?​

WHAT ARE THEY FOR?"​

​

​

Maimonides responds...

"If you remove all anthropomorphic content from your conception of God: you remove all content of any kind. In the end, you are left with a God whose essence is unknowable and indescribable. Of what possible value is such a conception either to philosophy or religion?..."

Maimonides (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Maimonides was right. Humans can only create gods that are limited by what humans can can comprehend.

Otherwise, the religion business would not exist.

Hubris allows humans to imagine that they can define what is so far beyond them.

Don't be an idiot. Reality exists beyond your perception. Our reality cannot be God's reality. God's reality must be our reality. God does not share in our existence. We share in God's existence. In fact, as near as I can tell God is existence.

Existence cannot come from non-existence. So there must be an eternal and unchanging source for existence. Otherwise, it's turtles all the way down. The only possible nature of the first cause is "something" that is eternal and unchanging, which in reality is no thing because things can't be eternal. Consciousness without form - if you can wrap your mind around that - does not have the limitations that matter does in being an eternal source. Consciousness without form can be an eternal source for the material world whereas matter and energy cannot be an eternal source of consciousness.

Given that everything is made manifest by mind one must recognize that the physical world is entirely abstract and without ‘actuality’ apart from its linkage to consciousness. Mind, rather than emerging as a late outgrowth in the evolution of life, has existed always as the matrix, the source and condition of physical reality - that the stuff of which physical reality is composed is mind-stuff. It is Mind that has composed a physical universe that breeds life, and so eventually evolves creatures that know and create.

 

[schmidlap]

... Existence cannot come from non-existence ...

You can dictate such human perceptions to the gods, but you should not expect the gods be limited by them.

 

[ding]

... Existence cannot come from non-existence ...

You can dictate such human perceptions to the gods, but you should not expect the gods be limited by them.

You aren't a god. But it's almost like you think it makes sense that God can oppose Himself.

 

[Grumblenuts]

The only possible nature of the first cause is "something" that is eternal and unchanging, which in reality is no thing because things can't be eternal.

There's no "first cause." No "Mind"/"mind-stuff" horseshit either. The Aether is an eternal, ubiquitous thing. The realest, simplest, most basic thing imaginable. You Bible Beaters along with modern physicists just can't stand the notion because it strips so much of your bewilderment and wonder clean away. Makes too much sense.. Way too simple.. Goddammit.. Can't have that! Might have to go back to school! Get a real job or something! And what about my soul?!

 

[ding]

The only possible nature of the first cause is "something" that is eternal and unchanging, which in reality is no thing because things can't be eternal.

There's no "first cause." No "Mind"/"mind-stuff" horseshit either. The Aether is an eternal, ubiquitous thing. The realest, simplest, most basic thing imaginable. You Bible Beaters along with modern physicists just can't stand the notion because it strips so much of your bewilderment and wonder clean away. Makes too much sense.. Way too simple.. Goddammit.. Can't have that! Might have to go back to school! Get a real job or something! And what about my soul?!

So it's just a coincidence that a universe hardwired to produce intelligence just popped into existence?

How about the charges of electrons and protons being exactly opposite? If they were just slightly different a perfectly fine working universe would still exist but it would be impossible for life or intelligence to arise.

 

[schmidlap]

... Existence cannot come from non-existence ...

You can dictate such human perceptions to the gods, but you should not expect the gods be limited by them.

You aren't a god. But it's almost like you think it makes sense that God can oppose Himself.

Limitations you place on gods are for your benefit. Gods are impervious to them.

Gods can exist and/or not exist. They can support and/or oppose themselves. They are gods and, by definition, are capable of all things beyond the limited comprehension of humans.

 

[ding]

... Existence cannot come from non-existence ...

You can dictate such human perceptions to the gods, but you should not expect the gods be limited by them.

You aren't a god. But it's almost like you think it makes sense that God can oppose Himself.

Limitations you place on gods are for your benefit. Gods are impervious to them.

Gods can exist and/or not exist. They can support and/or oppose themselves. They are gods and, by definition, are capable of all things beyond the limited comprehension of humans.

So by that logic you believe that God could make a stone so big even God couldn't lift it?

And for the record they aren't my limitations. It's called logic and the God that created the universe is a logical God as He is Logic itself... among other things.

 

[ding]

Saying that if one is human, one is incapable of understanding God is not what is meant by God's ways are inscrutable. We may not be able to understand why things are the way they are (God's ways) but that does not mean we cannot know God's attributes.

 

[schmidlap]

So by that logic you believe that God could make a stone so big even God couldn't lift it?

Obviously, a god is capable of doing that, and, obviously, a human is incapable of understanding it.

Gods are not limited, certainly not by human limitations.

 

[Grumblenuts]

Saying that if one is human, one is incapable of understanding God is not what is meant by God's ways are inscrutable. We may not be able to understand why things are the way they are (God's ways) but that does not mean we cannot know God's attributes.

Because the Bible, right? "Logic"

 

[ding]

Saying that if one is human, one is incapable of understanding God is not what is meant by God's ways are inscrutable. We may not be able to understand why things are the way they are (God's ways) but that does not mean we cannot know God's attributes.

Because the Bible, right? "Logic"

Nope. Reason and experience.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Gods are almost certainly just imaginary things we made up. We designed them so that we can't understand them. It's just part of the invention.

 

[ding]

Gods are almost certainly just imaginary things we made up. We designed them so that we can't understand them. It's just part of the invention.

Darwin would disagree. Darwin would argue that spirituality offers a functional advantage over materialism and that's why religion existed and still exists.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Darwin would argue that spirituality offers a functional advantage over materialism and that's why religion existed and still exists.

That wouldn't contradict a word i said.

 

[ding]

Darwin would argue that spirituality offers a functional advantage over materialism and that's why religion existed and still exists.

That wouldn't contradict a word i said.

So you agree that spirituality offers a functional advantage over materialism?

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Darwin would argue that spirituality offers a functional advantage over materialism and that's why religion existed and still exists.

That wouldn't contradict a word i said.

So you agree that spirituality offers a functional advantage over materialism?

I agree it might have, when we were evolving on the plains of Africa. Sure, maybe. It makes sense.

 

[ding]

Darwin would argue that spirituality offers a functional advantage over materialism and that's why religion existed and still exists.

That wouldn't contradict a word i said.

So you agree that spirituality offers a functional advantage over materialism?

I agree it might have, when we were evolving on the plains of Africa. Sure, maybe. It makes sense.

According to Darwin it must still be valid. Besides you can't even name the benefits so I'm not sure how you could possibly speculate on the reason.

 

[schmidlap]

Reason and experience.

Reason and experience have always been factors in someone conceiving of a single god, many gods, or no gods.

They do not account for the variety of human notions concerning gods.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

According to Darwin it must still be valid

False. Darwin would never have said that. Madeup nonsense.

 

[ding]

Reason and experience.

Reason and experience have always been factors in someone conceiving of a single god, many gods, or no gods.

They do not account for the variety of human notions concerning gods.

Right. That would be diversity of thought and different perceptions of God that does that. Nothing wrong with it. Quite natural in fact. No different than any other evolutionary system. Of which none negate the ultimate reality of God.

Not to mention only one religion claims to be God seeking man. The rest claim to be man seeking God. So not sure what your point is.