Belief in God is infantile...

I placed this here because it deals with the origins of the gods.

I wrote this on another thread, but think it needs its own thread.

I have a newborn. I created her. I am her God.
When she cries out to the heavens for food, or a diaper change, I provide.

To her I'm all powerful. To her I know everything. To her I have no start or finish. I am. There are others like me, but she fears, respects, loves, and follows me. I am her God.

As children we all think this of our parents. It's deeply ingrained and reinforced from birth for years.

Then something happens and you realize that your parents aren't gods. They are like you, only older and wiser.

What do you do with this notion you've had since birth of an all powerful being that provides for you? You transfer it to an unseen imaginary friend. You keep the idea because it provides comfort and simply shift it away from your parents.

Fortunately you have a whole group of people that help reinforce this transfer. It's called organized religion. You find they can answer most of your questions (cause those questions have been asked before so they are ready with an answer). So your infantile belief doesn't change, only the focus does.

Now I'm not saying this is good or bad. I happen to be a soft polytheist. I just accept the logical basis for my belief. I don't care if its a hold over from my infant days. So is my like of breasts .

If you like this idea, check out Jung as he wrote on this. I think it was in "answers to job" but I could be wrong.

a reply to: stormson

I have a newborn. I created her. I am her God.
When she cries out to the heavens for food, or a diaper change, I provide.

Wow this is Petty.....Tom Petty....

You are thinking in terms of food or a diaper change makes you God?

Who gave you the tools to do this job? Let me guess, your parents.....Cyclical.....Think in much, much larger terms.....Where did this start? Because you are not God, nor any form of a God for being able to change a diaper or provide for your family...

I do this as well, with another on the way.....You know what it is called? PARENTING.....Congrats you compared responsibility to being God....

a reply to: stormson
You provided genetic material to form her body. Its a process that is programmed into our flesh. You had no hand in creating her soul. You are by no means God.

a reply to: stormson

What do you do with this notion you've had since birth of an all powerful being that provides for you? You transfer it to an unseen imaginary friend. You keep the idea because it provides comfort and simply shift it away from your parents. 

I had no concept of God until I realized that at some point I was brought into existence. This realization came before I knew what child birth was, and before that, I never assumed my parents created me. So your theory of faith transference is not axiomatic.

a reply to: stormson

No belief in a God which has to have a naughty step (satan) for people to ACT good is infantile.


But don't worry the Monkey God is coming .

Believing in a subtle consciousness that pervades all of reality time and space is infantile?
Do tell.
there are approximately 22 variables in the states of matter and energy that are absolutely vital for the stable existence of reality as we know it.
If any one of them is changed even by a fraction of a degree the whole universe would collapse or explode.
Imagine a combination lock with 22 numbers and only one works.
This is only one example of a hidden hand pushing entropy beyond its random potential
.
Sorry for being so infantile

a reply to: Chrisfishenstein

From the pov of my child I am a god.

I know I'm not a god, but she doesn't, and won't for a while.

At this stage in life, the very beginning, is where the idea of a god takes root.

The more you grow and develop, the more your idea of a god grows and develops. But you don't have to do it alone. You have centuries of people before you adding, defining, and redefining the idea of a god.

The very history of the gods and religions shows this progression from simple to complex.

a reply to: stormson

Funny... a wise man once said... Be as a child

I've never worshipped my parents as gods...

I also don't assume their responsibilities when I was a child equate to the creation & upkeep of everything that ever existed or will exist.



Your logic is infantile.

Sir you speek of transer. I believe the transer that is truely occuring is the simplicity of the faith that believers have to the explenation of a higher power when one is largley more complex than the other belief in essence is simple but explination is infinalty complex. Question how does one explain an infinate creator that in the nature of its ideology defies the understanding of our finite minds?

It is my belief that believing in a god is a coping mechanism.

It's a way for people to feel better by having unanswerable questions answered by religion.

There is god, and then there is God. Two different things.

a reply to: stormson

Very nice post.

I think our species' "need to know" also contributes to the idea that "something out there" is in control. For millennia, humans have asked...

Who are we?
Where do we come from?
What happens when we die?
Why does the sun move across the sky?
Where does the rain come from?

Not having the real answers to these questions led us to assume.

In early days, man made assumptions that because the water falls from the sky, it is being given to us from someone in the sky. Because the sun is suspended up there, someone or something very powerful must be guiding it. If we ask them for good weather, perhaps we shall receive. This led to rain dances and prayer.

Of course, as the scientific answers to these questions become available, we can let of the assumptive answers, like the idea of a rain god and a sun god. But the other questions remain. And until they are answered, religion will provide the assumptive answers, and many people, being uncomfortable with the idea of not knowing, will accept them.

a reply to: stormson

This is a fine example of where the belief in gods comes from. Don't let the resident infants dissuade you from these thoughts.

I love how many people were instantly and deeply offended by this. I lol'd.

I think many people misunderstand your point.. Correct me if I'm wrong.

1: Our ideas of what "God" is evolve as we evolve.

2: "God" is a construct that we use because we don't understand the nature of existence but as humans we seek to understand and categorize things. As a child "God" certainly could be parents, because as an infant or young child you do not have the intellectual ability to look beyond your parents when questioning who created, provides for, and answers your "prayers."

3: As an infant, without someone else putting this idea into your head, you have no knowledge of, and therefor no regard for a god. Your god is your parents, which as you said at that point in a child's development have no beginning and no end.

4: The continued need for a a sentient consciousness that created everything and watches over us with infinite wisdom is infantile. Some things are just unknown - and if there is a higher being, or a group consciousness, or whatever it may be, it definitely has not been identified and explained by humans.

5: LOL at the butthurt. So much LOL.

originally posted by: stormson

What do you do with this notion you've had since birth of an all powerful being that provides for you? You transfer it to an unseen imaginary friend. You keep the idea because it provides comfort and simply shift it away from your parents.

Actually its much more complicated than that. Many of us spend half of our lives laughing at religious people and tearing down their "ridiculous fairytales" until we realize that the scientific explanations for our existence are much more ridiculous than those found in religious texts.

What you should honestly ask yourself is why you're so scared of God being real.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
I've never worshipped my parents as gods...

I also don't assume their responsibilities when I was a child equate to the creation & upkeep of everything that ever existed or will exist.



Your logic is infantile.

You have once more completely missed the point of the OP

originally posted by: Bone75

originally posted by: stormson

What do you do with this notion you've had since birth of an all powerful being that provides for you? You transfer it to an unseen imaginary friend. You keep the idea because it provides comfort and simply shift it away from your parents.

Actually its much more complicated than that. Many of us spend half of our lives laughing at religious people and tearing down their "ridiculous fairytales" until we realize that the scientific explanations for our existence are much more ridiculous than those found in religious texts.

What you should honestly ask yourself is why you're so scared of God being real.

Examples of scientific theories that attempt to explain creation and existence that are more ridiculous than a Sky Wizard who used to be really mean and hateful but is now loving and all accepting?

What's ridiculous is how the Christian God has changed over the last couple of thousand years, and how there are so many interpretations of the texts that are allegedly written through divine inspiration.

I've always found it interesting that a being who existed before time, and who is timeless, would change so drastically over the course of 2000 years - which to God is probably nanoseconds.. If that level of arrogance and ignorance isn't ridiculous I don't know what is.

Further, if God did change (his opinions and the way he treats humans from the Old Testament to the New) this only proves that the Christian God is not all-knowing and perfect, because if he were there would be no need to change. You can't improve on true perfection.

This alone is a super massive black hole large enough to drive a galaxy through in the story of "God."

originally posted by: Bone75

originally posted by: stormson

What do you do with this notion you've had since birth of an all powerful being that provides for you? You transfer it to an unseen imaginary friend. You keep the idea because it provides comfort and simply shift it away from your parents.

Actually its much more complicated than that. Many of us spend half of our lives laughing at religious people and tearing down their "ridiculous fairytales" until we realize that the scientific explanations for our existence are much more ridiculous than those found in religious texts.

What you should honestly ask yourself is why you're so scared of God being real.

We are not scared of god. Why is this always brought up. We do not believe in gods as there is no good reason to believe your claims that they exist.

a reply to: TinkerHaus

What's ridiculous is how the Christian God has changed over the last couple of thousand years, and how there are so many interpretations of the texts that are allegedly written through divine inspiration

If the Christian God has changed over the last couple thousand years so much to where you believe it is ridiculous.....Please do share...

I know of 1...Yes 1 Christian (hint) God from the last couple thousand years, and his name hasn't changed one time!