God can mean anything to anyone... you may feel that God does not exist; that the concept of God is a myth... That 'belief' does not change the FACT/TRUTH: That Humans did not create themselves... and that whatever did create humans is God. You can claim that God did not create humans... but such a claim is absolutely baseless and amounts to nothing but an empty cliche...
This post completely changes my opinion of your opinions. I was thinking that you had something very specific in mind when you said God. Even though I say I'm agnostic, I do believe that life is unique as a phenomena because most of the universe abhors order. I mean, on a much larger scale the universe may appear ordered, but at our scale it appears to abhor order. It makes sense that life would spring up in a pocket of order like the Earth (or certain regions of Her), but it is highly unlikely that such a pocket of order would exist in the first place. I guess it seems obvious that no matter how unlikely something is, if it is possible then it will occur in an infinite space. So I guess my God is infinity. Infinity is another one of those things that we cannot really show exists because to do so would show that what we've shown is in fact, not infinity. Before the semantics police attack, we can show in the abstract that something is infinite, but we cannot count to infinity.
Well man, you shouldn't read too much into that position.
It's presented in vague terms, because what we know of God requires such.
The Bible says that God created man in his image... I believe that is true. I don't know exactly what it means, but I am lead to believe that God is human; AND/OR, at least at some level, we reflect that which God is. Which means exactly the opposite of what a human will come to infer from that statement; as what it means is that we are something far removed from what our brains tell us that we are... and therein, lies the distinction represented by the sum of Humanist beliefs and that which the rest of us, who instinctively know that this life is not the whole story.
Can't prove it... thus it's irrelevant to the debate; and given that it provides the anti-theist with points to distract from the cited fact/truths; I just don't go into it... but since this debate is long since concluded; with the Humanist having been discredited AGAIN... and since you grazed it with your 'infinity' observation... I'll share with you, what I know about it.
One thing I also cannot prove; but know, from my own observation of such; is that our existence; our consciousness... is tied to a scale of time which provides for our existence. Which is to say that our brains perceive time at a pace which is infinitesimal in scale; we exist in a bubble of time, that provides the means for our existence.
A generation ago, I had an experience which left me on the edge of death... In that experience, as I lie there dying; I was presented with a choice; I could go on, or I could stay... Suffice it to say that much of that experience is wholly indescribable; and to be sure, the humanist would argue brain chemistry and other such notions as the brain was dealing with my critical circumstances; which no doubt have merit... as the brain contains, or assumes our earthly existence; thus it is in the brain where our senses are measured to deduce our environment and circumstances; so that serves reason.
But with that said; the brain is designed purely for and is limited to, interpreting our existence in this finite environment; thus given that our environment is but a sliver of what actually exists... it serves no purpose beyond this environment; a reality which provides an intellectual tip of the hat to the humanist for their recognition of brain function as it relates to its purpose; but is quickly followed by a knowing smirk to dismiss their conclusions beyond that.
Anywho... I was presented with a choice: Stay or Go... The choice was one which I can best describe as stepping through your front door. You know what is on the other side; it is a matter of routine course; there is no mystery relevant to what's on the other side... You don't spend any energy considering what's beyond it, you simply stand there for a sliver of a moment and for whatever reason, choose not to go through the door; perhaps to return to your car to get something you forgot...
Thus, my choice was one where I could go on to something that I knew, instinctively... as a matter of course... or return to this life... Beyond that I've no means to explain it...
"I" was in a dimension beyond this... on the bubble, so to speak... looking down on my body, and those around me... there was absolutely no fear; which is not to say emotion... the sense was such that, which again I cannot explain; except to say that I 'knew' that at that moment, my place was here... that other's depended upon me and that it would be wrong to 'leave' at that point; that ‘there was still much to do’…
Within my limited means, I can only say that the one glaring 'sense' that I was able to cull, which might somehow 'explain' a distinction; was time... not linear chronology... but scale.
From this experience, I garnered that the parameters of our human existence are something which are wholly unknown to us; we think we know... based upon what our brains observe; which serves reason of course; but in truth, we have absolutely no idea what 'we' are... or the purpose we serve... and that we're wrong about almost everything; placing our emphasis on this life, when this human life does not even begin to take up the vast expanse that would be described through the words: ‘flicker’ and perhaps ‘blink.’
When we 'die'... we are... "immediately" doesn't serve the concept... because it denotes a change... what happens is not a change... it is a return to another consciousness; wherein this life is something less than a instantaneous dream of some kind... a function of cognizance which serves a purpose; which again, is a purpose that I am ignorant of, except for the understanding that it's important... but when we die, we simply continue with that which is our reality beyond this life... it is, again, akin to and as natural as walking through your front door, after having stepped outside for a moment; the process doesn't even register as much of a consideration...
So yes… Time is the key here… Not linear chronology… but scope, scale… And I believe that science is closing in on it; I believe through quantum theory; particularly in Membrane theory. At least that is the closest theory that I’ve come across which leads towards that which I know from the above noted experience and the theories I've culled from it.
Infinity… in terms of scale… where there exists layers of infinite dimensions… each one representing individual distinct universes; or universal dimensions.
Now what that inevitably works out to… who knows? But what I DO know, is that what 'we' actually know, as it relates to what we claim to know, is basically nothing; and this despite the Humanist’s erroneous conclusion that what 'we know' amounts to just about everything.
God IS… and that’s a self evident truth… WHAT God is, is irrelevant… as we’ve no means to change it; we’ve no means to contest it and where we seek to challenge it, we simply demonstrate our own ignorance it.
The notion that the denial of God somehow effects God; that such actually challenges his presence, or his means, or his will… is tantamount to an astronaut on a space walk, denying the vacuum that surrounds him and planning to reject that notion by holding his breath after cracking the seal on his suit… Slllliietch… done; plan over… Vacuum wins in the first .001 seconds of round 1.
So, the point being that reality is what it is… I’ve presented you with what I know of it; and I think we agree, at least more than we disagree.
In terms of religion, I believe that Christ is the Son of God; that he came to earth to give us a fighting chance at leaving this earth with some measure of success… that he understood exactly what we are (and I mean to say that Christ, the mortal man... 'knew' what humanity "IS" which is a reference to time and not an error in tense)... and had the answers to all of that which I can’t begin to explain; and expressed those answers in terms which the human brain could consider; and that his teachings are perfection in reasoning and correlate precisely to the scientific realities, if you will, despite the earthly references.
And what’s more I don’t believe that ANY of it as terribly complex… and that the only thing which makes it seem complex, is the limitation of the human brain… as a result of its inherent design to calculate that which the human senses perceive; but that somewhere… there exists a ‘knowledge’ of that which ‘is’… and while we’re unable to access those files… we are sufficiently privy to it, to ‘know’ that this human life is not the whole of life.
But in closing it should be noted that the consideration of such is, to this life, wholly irrelevant… except to the degree that what we do here, determines who we are… in the whole of life; thus one should precede with caution; and recognize that it’s the long game that counts; thus the Humanist’s short game notions represent nothing but long term peril; thus are to be avoided; discouraged and otherwise dismissed.
