A World without the Word God

BDBinc

KellyPrettyBear
reply to post by BDBinc

 

I just wanted people to think about how an idea grows and evolves
over the centuries, until what was once an innocent and useful
word becomes something truly horrible.

People use the word God as a weapon.. even if they say "God loves
you, so I love you", that has in implicit baggage that it is their
concept of God which is on the table.. and generally you'll
get a big earful about 'their God'.

It's never just the love... or the kindness.. or the compassion..

There's always some monstrous word with baggage that people
fight and die for..

That's the point of the post.

KPB

Do you use the word God as a weapon?
People in this world are fighting and dying for greed and ignorance- not the word God.
If your concept of God is truely horrible then maybe you should change your ideas about God.
If you do not like hearing/getting an earful of other people's beliefs about God loving you can remove yourself in most cases from these people (boycott) or learn to tolerate their different ideas of God (which may not be yours).

I just like to make observations that may or may not
help lighten someone's load; and I enjoy a good
conversation --- those are my two motives..

Now I know that some folks are very much word-virus
dependent on certain words.. and all the suffering
that cascades from certain words.. and that these
people might well lash out.. it's their right to do
so.. it's not a problem.

I'm obviously not seeking to be popular.. I'm not
popular with even one group of people.. I have
no cronies at all.. nor do I seek any... I once
wanted to be part of some group.. more specific
than 'human'. I'm human I guess.. that's my only
group membership.. but I have no social status
with that group. Good thing I don't need that.

KPB

KellyPrettyBear


It gives me pleasure that you enjoyed my little post. But ixnay
on the omplimentay.. you know what happens to people who
love strangers..

The ACTUAL reality is not the problem; it's the crapped up word
which HIDES the reality.. which puts it into a prison constructed
by men over the centuries --- that's the problem.

I myself love the One.. but don't obsess about that label... that
would turn it toxic.

The One is like my beloved uncle --- if I really love my uncle,
I'll give hugs to his creepy friends too...

KPB

I use the word God you use "the One" and imagine if I suggested boycotting your use of the words "The One" [ because of "The One" (White Zombie song), 1996.]
How would that boycott of words- "the One"make the world any better?

Its only any negative/horrific concepts of the word God that need to change. Thinking about a word should not turn it toxic unless the thoughts are toxic.

I think instead we should understand that the word God is blameless and it should not be harnessed to man's ignorance of the truth.

Why did America invade Afganistan & Iraq?
The word God was not used as an excuse/casue the word WMD and a fictional devil was.
Shall we boycott all words?

Its good you point out the negative/toxic meanings some people have for the word God. That they blame God for their (ungodly) actions.

muzzleflash
reply to post by KellyPrettyBear

 

Im a vocabulary addict and the word God allows me to teach ancient mythology with ease. Without this word I would be hard pressed to find a better term.

I heard everyones suggestions, Ill use those too but I need my big Hitter to explain these topics to a general audience in a reasonable time frame.

I can actually use the word in ways most couldnt imagne. So please, just let me use my silly word.

AWWWWW. Of course you can use your word! Damn I want
to hug you so bad.

It's not like I can stop you! Heck, I'm up all night trolling
Bo Xian you know.. I don't have time to stop you from
using your favorite word.

Bet I got you to think tho!

You made me think!

I love you, big time,

KPB

(yes, I'm a he.. I said that in my intro post to ATS)

KellyPrettyBear
Oh come now!

I let you shoot me and everything.. and you think I sit up nights late
to troll Bo Xian?

Wow.

KPB

No not Bo specifically.
I actually just meant anyone who is religious.

I figured you were fishing for them, I presumed to enact some retribution of some sort.

You did see how the religious responded and I know you knew it was comin.

My goal however was to explain why the word needs to stay in our lexicon. I dont have faith the religious can make a good argument.

reply to post by KellyPrettyBear


The Dude abides.... I'm still around..ms. agent..

KellyPrettyBear


I just like to make observations that may or may not
help lighten someone's load; and I enjoy a good
conversation --- those are my two motives..

Now I know that some folks are very much word-virus
dependent on certain words.. and all the suffering
that cascades from certain words.. and that these
people might well lash out.. it's their right to do
so.. it's not a problem.

I'm obviously not seeking to be popular.. I'm not
popular with even one group of people.. I have
no cronies at all.. nor do I seek any... I once
wanted to be part of some group.. more specific
than 'human'. I'm human I guess.. that's my only
group membership.. but I have no social status
with that group. Good thing I don't need that.

KPB

I did not question your motive or say you are seeking to be popular.
Words are the minds tools- so yes most of us are word dependent.
Boycotting words solves nothing.It does not change your negative/horrific meanings about the word God and how you blame the word God for wars and other problems of the world.

muzzleflash

KellyPrettyBear
Oh come now!

I let you shoot me and everything.. and you think I sit up nights late
to troll Bo Xian?

Wow.

KPB

No not Bo specifically.
I actually just meant anyone who is religious.

I figured you were fishing for them, I presumed to enact some retribution of some sort.

You did see how the religious responded and I know you knew it was comin.

My goal however was to explain why the word needs to stay in our lexicon. I dont have faith the religious can make a good argument.

Ah; thanks for explaining.

I don't know if you know.. but I converted to Christianity for like 7 years
when I was young.. just cause I was asked to... even though I knew it was
wrong..

You see.. I eat my own dog food.. they basically convinced me that I couldn't
trust my own mind.. and that faith could surpass understanding.

So rather than be a prick, I decided to test their theory.

I was baptized in the Holy Spirit.. and that Holy Spirit fills me to this day.

Now, am I a Christian? Nope. Jesus would have thrown Christians out of
the temple..

Is Jesus the center of my life? Well... if he's also the Goddess.. then sure..
why not.. but I refuse to encapsulate such a grand being as God in such
"cramped living spaces" (Aladdin Genie quote).

I truly LOVE GOD. Whatever He/She really is.

I'm not a troll.

Not for anyone..

I'm an honest soul.. trying my best... that's it..

Better?

KPB

reply to post by KellyPrettyBear

Borrowing from a popular phrase, words don't kill people, people kill people.

I'm willing to bet the the word "mine", or the concept that it describes, is behind many of the hurtful actions that you are trying to pin on the word "god" and this is coming from an atheist.

reply to post by KellyPrettyBear


Ok whoa, thats a curve ball.

What is the "Holy Spirit" to you and why doesnt this word equate to "God" in your language?

You said Goddess, what do you mean?
Isnt God = Goddess ?
Im convinced all of these words mean essentially the same thing.

This convo was fun, but now its gettin way interesting. Go on plz you have me genuinely curious confused and shocked.

So you do "Love God", which can also be called Goddess or Holy Spirit?

Ok I get it than.
You just honestly were misunderstanding the connotations and associations stuck on that word.

I apologize than I was wrong.

I totally read your comments as being 100% a certain way when it wasnt. I believe you got me with a surprise there. Well played.

Very easy to misread your intent when you dont disclose all of this up front.

I am sorry I had you all wrong.
You arent being mean. I may have been mean though so my bad. Forgive me please.

I think Im awesome but hey look, I make mistakes like everyone else.

With all the religious bickering and political infighting, I am just so accustomed to someone havng those intentions I lash out by default sometimes.

I think maybe I am just trigger happy today also.

Ill try to work on that. Maybe ask more questions before I skewer and roast someone next time?

Yeah thats it. More witty questions.
Less direct assaults.
Got it.

muzzleflash
My goal however was to explain why the word needs to stay in our lexicon. I dont have faith the religious can make a good argument.

Right, according to the OP:

This has nothing to do with whether God exists or does not exist. This has nothing to do with religion, spirituality or anything else whatsoever.

To me it seems to be all about the word but any word can be used to get the same results. Words are neutral in that way. Build up something to sway emotions a certain way and people will feel like they are doing the right thing when they think they are fighting for the cause that that word embodies.

Lets just swap the word "God" for "The Dude"....in fact If God was the dude the world would be a better place :lol
Also whoever said the devil does not like freedom is wrong...It is God who you all call "Lord" "master" who is anti freedom and pro slavery.

God is a word that nobody knows what it means - it points to no thing.
It is not of the material (made) world.

It is what makes the world and gets lost in it when really the world appears in God - everything appears in God as God.

reply to post by KellyPrettyBear


Atheists and Anarchist has caused mankind even more suffering. It is however not words and beliefs that’s in it’s pure form causes any problems. It’s first whenever human beings chooses to do something bad that the suffering begins.

Would you for instance believe for a second that people stops killing each other if the word “kill” is boycotted?

I am myself a strong believer in the Ancient Astronaut Theory, but I nevertheless regard myself as a Christian, and I have absolutely no problem if people want to call our alien forefathers for God(s). Actually the aliens didn’t seem to mind either.

I am aware that the leftwing political correct establishment has (and still are) investing a lot of resources into getting rid of Christianity, sadly they seems to have succeeded. Thus those who remains Christians in the world are rapidly becoming a smaller and smaller minority. In it’s absence Islam is rapidly growing and taking it’s place. In my country , Christianity was recently our state religion and Christianity was taught in schools. Today this is gone and churches are given over to Islam (for free) to be used as mosks. Our old Christian traditions are rapidly being exchanged with different Islamic traditions. Official statistical analyzes shows that the origin ethnic race that once used to live in that land will become a minority in their own country in just 40-50 years from now.

So Why am I writing this? I am writing this to remind people that whatever we people wants to get rid of , something else is right away taking it’s place. If I have to choose between Christianity and Islam , I prefer the first. There could easily be a time (in the near future) when such a decision means death, and it will be impossible to return to Christianity again. I also would like to remind people , that Christianity is not about religion alone. To make it more understandable what it is all about, I always find it helpful to divide Christianity into Three main sub topics as follows:


1) The philosophical part. This is the part of Christianity that deals with purely religious issues. These are issues like ; Heaven and Hell, If there is a life after death, the creation story and lots of similar issues.

2) The Moral part. This is the part of Christianity that deals with moral issues. The ten commandment and other such issues belongs here.

3) The cultural part. This is the part of Christianity that has given us the Christian identity and traditions, such as building of beautiful churches and graveyards, Marriage, baptism and funeral ceremonies. The celebration of Christmas and Easter and much, much more.


Even though most western people today would disagree in the first sub-topic , I see now reason why someone would reject those two other sub-topics which are essential in Christianity. Thus western atheists are perhaps more Christians then they realize. It might be an idea to call yourselves two/third Christians.

As an aa-theorist I regarded myself as a two-third Christian for a long time, but having spent over two decades to study the multitude of ancient texts that are out there, I have learned that (besides supporting the alien theory) it might not be entirely wise to deny some sort of a God either out there.

Because by reading those texts I have learned that it was not mankind who initially invented Christianity or Judaism (as I earlier believed) , it was actually our ancient alien forefathers themselves who taught us both these religions. It would take too long to get into this here , but several of those ancient texts also reveals that the ancient aliens themselves were Christians, and thus we must assume that they didn’t have all the answers either.

I have been searching for answers to existential issues ever since I was a youth. To me all this knowledge and beliefs that this reading has given me, has given me some kind of piece in mind and taught me to be (I believe) a better man.

Religious beliefs (even though I believe those Gods were aliens) has thus not turned me into something bad, on the contrary. Therefore i won’t join your boycott.

reply to post by KellyPrettyBear


Text Purple

Or consider......

reply to post by KellyPrettyBear

So let me get this straight. If God decided to lie to you, there is no
way you could possibly know this?

No! I have faith! God wouldn't lie to me?

If God is God, how could you possibly know that?

By definition; a tautology of 1=1 really, any absolute God you can
absolutely trust CAN'T BE GOD AT ALL.

If you can't possibly know whether God is lying or telling
the truth, then all your rules and regulations that you follow
and try to convince others about make no sense. For all
you know, attending church or temple and reading your
holy book (whichever one it is) --- is the very thing which
pisses God off, and He will put you between two slices
of bread and eat you for lunch.

Now this is not some can God create a stone too big for Him
to lift sort' sort of garbage. This is not some logic trick.

There is no problem with defining God as nature.. but then
we could just say Nature. There is no problem with defining
God as the universe. Nobody is going to send you to hell
because nature or the universe doesn't happen to like you.

But when the word God has those silly attributes baked
into it, and then is used as a weapon to cause death and
suffering, then the word is crap and needs to be discarded.

After several attempts to formulate my response, I have a question:

What do you get when an ideal of absolute selflessness is employed in the spirit of inevitable selfishness?

This thread proves something I've long thought:

That talking to religious people is either an exercise in trying to have a conversation with White Bread (boring, simplistic and seriously unenlightened as to the complexities of the world), or with crazy people (that would be the ones quoting scripture as if their very lives depended on it).

The vehemently emotionally negative reaction to the mere suggestion that a word be eliminated because of its use over the centuries as an instrument of evil (yes, evil) proves the OP's point.

Then some F-wit comes out and blames atheists and anarchists for most of the evil in the world.

Seriously???? Has an atheist ever started an Inquisition? A Crusade? Enslaved or butchered people based on their 'inferiority' or paganism? Dropped an atom bomb? Invoked an entire nation's misguided notions of superiority whilst waving a flag and a cross?

If you Christians would stop believing every damn thing some idiot spouts at you, maybe us Adults would be able to have a rational conversation for once. Us atheists have been waiting for Centuries for you people to grow up already.

Here's an idea: Try to live in the World of the Bible for a few decades. No technology more complicated than a plow, feel free to stone everyone who looks at you funny or is 'other', slaves galore and, for entertainment, bring back witch burning (you too could be pointed at as a witch by the local gossip!) and torture for your soul's sake... oh and no need for medical insurance. No medicine, either. Die the first time you get a simple infection and go to your Heaven, already. Good Riddance.

reply to post by signalfire


I'm still laughing at how a post specifically demurring from religion argument immediately triggered a religious argument.

reply to post by KellyPrettyBear

Great op. s&f

The word God conjures certain imagery for ssome and different imagery for others. Of course, a word cannot be at fault for anything. Saying the word god to someone who has never heard it will not conjure any such age imagery. We cannot blame the hammer for when we hit our thumbs with it. Only how words are used is the problem. That is what must teach.