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Is there a God?

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posted on Aug, 8 2005 @ 11:45 PM
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Seems a pretty simple question at first. Is there, or isn't there, an Intelligent Creator who willfully caused the universe to come into being? However, it is also a incredibly complicated question, but one which I hope to answer.

First, let's find the definition of "God". According to wikipedia:




The term God (capitalized in English language as a proper noun) is often used to refer to a Supreme Being. However, there are many other definitions of the term, a common trait of which is a reference to absoluteness or superlative qualities.


That's quite a mouthful. The definition of God goes on to describe both theism (which says that God sustains the universe) and deism (which says God has no immediate involvement in the affairs of His creation), that although most religions ascribe omnipotence, omniscience, and benevolence to God, some believe that He is morally good, that there are anthropomorphic qualities sometimes given to God, as well as gender, names, and even ethnicity, and that some atheistic explanations for the concept of God may include psychological and sociological factors.

So, given all of that, we must decide what God is, to find out who God is.




The word God continues Old English/Germanic god (guþ, gudis in Gothic, Gott in modern German). The original meaning and etymology of the Germanic word god has been hotly disputed, though most agree to a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form *ǵhutóm, which is a passive perfect participle from the root *ǵhu-, which likely meant "libation", "sacrifice".

* Vedic Sanskrit hu- = "to sacrifice".
* Greek khu-, kheu- = "to pour".
* Common Germanic strong verb geutan (Anglo-Saxon gēotan) = "to pour", English in-got.



In Greek, the word for God was theos, in Latin deus. Theos seems to refer to Zeus (the Greek's head god honcho) In Latin, Diespiter means Jupiter, their head god honcho. Dies + pater = day + father, or father of the day. In Sanskrit "deva" means god from the root word "div" which means "heaven" and "diu" denoting day, shine and brightness.

Now, knowing all of that, we can then see that the ancients believed God to be related to the sun, daytime, brightness, and being in charge. I think it is then reasonable to assume that since happiness is also related to these things, perhaps the idea of God's benevolence is also tied to this idea. Plus, it calms the mind to think that God is both in charge of everything and morally sound.

God's other names are also worth a look. Islam gives 99 names to God, the most popular being Allah. Christians refer to God as Jehovah and Yaweh (based on YHVH, which no one truly knows how to pronounce), I am, Elohim, and many, many others. Hindus have a hymn that describes one thousand names for God. Sikhs worship God with the name Waheguru (which means The Wonderful Lord in the Punjabi language) or Satnaam which means True Name. Rastafarians call God Jah, thought to be a shortened form of Yahweh or Jehova, so to them Halleluia means, to them, "Praise Jah".

From all of this we can reasonably conclude that God is thought to have absolute authority in the religions that worship Him.

The earliest known monotheistic belief worshipped a sun god named Aten.
en.wikipedia.org...

Aten is an Egyptian god, most times represented by the sun's disk, who created the universe. Amenhotep IV, who assumed the name of Akhenaten, was the cause of Aten's worship, though upon his death, Aten's worship soon halted. Aten was not in itself "God", rather the disk that represented the sun. The full title of Akhenaten's god was Ra-Horus, "who rejoices in the horizon in his name of the light which is in the sun disc".



This lengthy name was often shortened to Ra-Horus-Aten or just Aten in many texts, but the god Akhenaten had raised to supremacy was in fact a synthesis of very ancient ones viewed in a new and different way. In particular, it was not depicted in anthropomorphic (human) form, but as rays of light extending from the sun's disk. Furthermore, the god's name came to be written within a cartouche, along with the titles normally given to a Pharaoh, another break with ancient tradition.


So, the very first God was synonomous with the sun, light, power, authority, life, and everything else the Judeo-Christian God is connected with. Now that we've got that, let us explore the many different types of beliefs.

Theism is the belief that God (or gods or goddesses) are in constant involvement with, and sustain the Universe. He (or they) are connected with everything in and around us, and in control of daily occurances.

Deism says that God exists, but doesn't interact with, or may not particularly care about, His creation.

Agnosticism says that man is not smart enough to understand or know if God does or can exist.

Atheism says there is no God.

Of these, theism is the most complicated. Within theism are Polytheism (many gods), Monolatry (several gods, but only one is worshipped), Henotheism (several are worshipped, but one main one is in charge), Kathenotheism (one god is worshipped at a time, when his or her authority differs pertaining to other events such as seasonal change), Panentheism (the universe is inside God, yet God is somehow more than the universe), Pantheism (the universe is the same as God, yet God is more imminent), and of course Monotheism (belief in one God) of which there are three types (Monistic, Dualistic, and Pluralistic).

The one type of theism that doesn't coincide with the rest is Dystheism which believes that God is inherently evil. All of the other religions surround a God who is morally good, though may sometimes hurt his creation for the greater good.

Yet with so many different types of God and gods and goddesses, can we honestly believe that every single religion has worshipped the same God? Do Jews and Christians and Muslims pray to the same God, or different Gods? IF it's the same God, is it man who has gotten the details wrong, or is it God who has allowed Himself to be worshipped in many different ways so that each man can find a way that suits him the best?

If that is so, perhaps it is not the answer which is wrong, but the question itself. "Is there a God?" might just be a much more complicated question than it at first seems. Perhaps it is not a question of whether there is an Intelligent Creator, but a question of whether or not man needs to believe in one.



posted on Aug, 9 2005 @ 12:39 AM
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is there a god who knows. but i do know there is something inside everyone that knows the difference between good and bad. getting off on doing something bad just means the connections in your brain got screwy.

if anyone that has seen "21 grams" and wonders why the research was not continued that would be an interesting topic, though any search i did dead ended with one experiment too long ago to raise any eyebrows today



posted on Aug, 12 2005 @ 08:30 AM
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Well, science has not been able to find this out, it is all about faith to what you think is right. But some questions still remain, how did plants and animals suddenly show up?



posted on Aug, 18 2005 @ 05:44 AM
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If you are asking is there an Intelligent being that can create things then yes I believe there is, (look at man). If however you are looking for a omnipotent omniscient super entity then the answer is has to be no. It makes no sense to have such a being in the universe. Also in the bible the "god" portrayed by the christians etc (i.e superentity) is not the same one as portrayed in the book itself.

G



posted on Aug, 18 2005 @ 10:13 PM
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Originally posted by RockerDom
Is there a God?


No.



posted on Aug, 21 2005 @ 12:09 AM
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Originally posted by spamandham

Originally posted by RockerDom
Is there a God?


No.



yes



posted on Aug, 21 2005 @ 12:30 AM
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Originally posted by slymattb

Originally posted by spamandham

Originally posted by RockerDom
Is there a God?


No.



yes


Prove it.



posted on Aug, 21 2005 @ 12:34 AM
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Originally posted by spamandham

Originally posted by slymattb

Originally posted by spamandham

Originally posted by RockerDom
Is there a God?


No.



yes


Prove it.




Lol ya of little faith. Prove there is no God.



posted on Aug, 21 2005 @ 01:07 AM
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Originally posted by slymattb

Originally posted by spamandham

Originally posted by slymattb

Originally posted by spamandham

Originally posted by RockerDom
Is there a God?


No.



yes


Prove it.


Lol ya of little faith. Prove there is no God.


I don't care if there is or isn't. You seem to care though.

Apparently, you aren't up to the challenge of defending that which you seem to care so strongly about.



posted on Aug, 21 2005 @ 03:49 PM
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I will defend all you want, answer all your questions in the bible if I can. till your heart pops, but cant prove The God's alive. And proof is all you want. Ya of little faith.



posted on Aug, 21 2005 @ 08:21 PM
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Originally posted by slymattb
I will defend all you want... but cant prove The God's alive.


Then you can't defend what I want you to defend.


Originally posted by slymattb
And proof is all you want. Ya of little faith.


Yes, proof is what I want. For the record, I don't have little faith, I have no faith. Faith is a false means of acquiring knowledge, and so I find it repugnant.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 01:30 AM
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If all you want is proof from me to defend my religion. None is what ya get. I can tell you life experences that show you whats around you. But if you have no faith then I cant show you anything.

Bad things happen, they happen all the time. Just because something bad happens, does not mean God's not there. Even your love one that are dead, are most likely with God or his will. O ya of no faith.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 05:13 AM
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Is God a living being?
Is God a linving force?

It says in revelation that man will witness the making of God, which makes me wonder if God is in hybernation or out of the solar system.

Is there a God? We all have our Gods. Whether its money, power, or not believing in God. Whether we choose to call it God or not is a whole nother story.

My proof to you is that you are. Have have an existence, and an awareness. Whether you choose to acknowledge how that came to be is another issue.

God is life. God is love. And life and Love go hand in hand. If you doubt that God exists...then do you doubt that love exists? For what is love?

This reminds me of that saying about a tree falling in the woods if your not there. Does it still make a sound just because your not their to witness it?
Of course it does. As does the the whole universe that you can see with light that was reflected upon objects that no longer exist today when you look at the stars.

I think of God in a much larger scale then a man in a white robe.
He is Universal. The fabric of all of the electrical activitiy that goes on around us as a creature. For the world is made of atoms, and like in the matrix, its all in flux. What you percieve in front of you is merely a series of electrical impulses..the air allows you to see through it, atom to atom.
\The computer monitor in front of you is producing electrons you can see.
All of the activitiy that you see can be done without site. Is it our perception with site and feeling that makes life being alive better?
Ask yourself what the massive evolution or production of mankind as an amazing being is really all about. Are we just supposed to go to work, and eat and die? There is a higher calling as a mankind that we have yet to address.

Mankind as a species is ignorant to his plight. Mankind as a soul has the ability to see, but so few see.

Peace



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 07:10 AM
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HIFIGUY when you ask "for what is love?" . Love is chemical reactions that happen in your head when certain responses are met. No diferrent to eating large quantatities of chocolate. So is God chocolate I think not although many people would disagree with that one LOL.
Also the fact that we are here with awareness and such like is no proof that a creator being made us and everything else and if Revelations says we will see the making of God then god cannot be at the moment and only comes into being at the end! Eh what nonsense.


G



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 09:48 AM
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Originally posted by slymattb
If all you want is proof from me to defend my religion. None is what ya get.


I already knew that. At least you realize it as well.


Originally posted by slymattb
Bad things happen, they happen all the time. Just because something bad happens, does not mean God's not there. Even your love one that are dead, are most likely with God or his will. O ya of no faith.


You seem to imply that people don't believe in gods because bad things happen. I reject the idea of gods because they are silly delusions, not because 'bad things happen'.

If you knew an adult who still believed in Santa you'd question their sanity, but for some reason, when they believe in a magic sky daddy, their sanity is not generally called into question.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 09:52 AM
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Originally posted by HIFIGUY
There is a higher calling as a mankind that we have yet to address.


...and I suppose you're the one with the knowledge of this higher calling?


Originally posted by HIFIGUY
Mankind as a species is ignorant to his plight. Mankind as a soul has the ability to see, but so few see.


Most are too busy blinding themselves with faith to be able to see.



posted on Aug, 25 2005 @ 02:17 AM
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I am not the one to point it to you, but I am the one to point it out to me.

You know those 3d drawings that you have to stare at to get them to make sense? Some people look and look and they just dont get it, but the 3d still exists.

I think Ill leave it at that....


Peace



posted on Aug, 27 2005 @ 03:12 AM
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I was saying some people dont want to believe in God because their lives are too hard. Bad thing happen so some say I wont believe because if there was God, this would not have happen. My point is just because those bad things happen does not change what's liveing and true.



Look at it this way, just for instance if there was God. Something bad happens, someone dies or is murder, would that change God's life and trueness.

Some how i dout life just ends. all these things happen in the past present and future, so many moments, good people doing great thing. Bad people killing thousands and thousands. And all your saying is nothing happens we all just die. sounds to me thats not logical. Even stupid. Life after death judge for the good and evil sounds more logical than your belief.



posted on Aug, 27 2005 @ 05:50 AM
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HIFIGUY your statement "You know those 3d drawings that you have to stare at to get them to make sense? Some people look and look and they just dont get it, but the 3d still exists" is not true. It is the perception of 3D that exists an optical illusion if you will. The page is 2D but the illusion is of depth perception. Therefore God might not exist just your perception gives rise to the illusion that he does exist.


G



posted on Aug, 27 2005 @ 12:15 PM
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Originally posted by slymattb
I was saying some people dont want to believe in God because their lives are too hard. Bad thing happen so some say I wont believe because if there was God, this would not have happen. My point is just because those bad things happen does not change what's liveing and true.


What makes you think that people reject your fairy tale because "bad things happen"?


Originally posted by slymattb
Some how i dout life just ends. all these things happen in the past present and future, so many moments, good people doing great thing. Bad people killing thousands and thousands. And all your saying is nothing happens we all just die. sounds to me thats not logical.


Have you never heard the expression "life's not fair"?


Originally posted by slymattb
Even stupid. Life after death judge for the good and evil sounds more logical than your belief.


Your belief is asinine and nonsensical. It's a delusion rooted in childish ways of thinking.




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