Evidence for God

Author: rbelivb

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Polytheist-Witch
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@rbelivb
I believe all the gods exist as distinct individual beings. I believe there's probably gods that we don't even know about because we don't have access to them based on where they're at and where we're at. Whether or not my personal experience is accurate really doesn't matter it's my personal experience and it's how I choose to live my life. I would never expect you to make choices based on that. And as long as I'm not infringing that on you you really have nothing to say about it.
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@Polytheist-Witch
That is interesting and I am curious to learn more about that. I didn't mean to say there's anything wrong with it. In my post I was mostly referring to monotheistic ideas about God.
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@rbelivb
Most of the conversation here revolve around Christians and the monotheistic religions. Sometimes I like to chuck a log on the fire to remind people there is more than that out there. Even if we are a small population in the west.
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@EtrnlVw
Philosophically sure, theoretically sure. But whether or not God exists is not dependent upon on an accurate model of God. When we are talking about theology, we are simply engaging the intellect, not reality.
This seems to be the key point. There is a difference between what makes sense theologically, versus what believers actually have in mind when they think about God. I am sure that believers have experiences that assure them, from their point of view, that a being exists - called "God" because of the connotations of that word. But if we really follow out the implications of a being, absolutely omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent - by definition this is such an abstract concept that we have no way to know that whatever our intuitive idea about God really has any relation to what God "really is."
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@rbelivb
However, it is unclear what would constitute positive empirical evidence for God's existence
Then one cannot make the empirical claim that a god exists.
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@Tradesecret
I base my measure of truth and knowledge from various sources. The most authoritative source is the Bible.  

Your authoritative source is yourself.
What source tells you that the Bible is true?
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@ethang5
Yet this "work of primitive men" remains unsurpassed in human history as a work magnificently unequalled literature?

Most literature is fictional at some level, but fictionality is not a defining trait of literature. A piece of writing is literary whenever authors employ literary techniques, regardless of whether they record what really happened or made it up.

Although the 19 books contained within this text were included in the Holy Bible for thousands of years, they were removed a little over 200 years ago. Its now time to reclaim these treasured scriptures and get further insight into God's word. This book contains: 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, The Book of Tobit, The Book of Susanna, Additions to Esther, The Book of Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, The Epistle of Jeremiah, The Prayer of Azariah, Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasses, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Book of Enoch, Book of Jubilees, Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Mary. It also includes the ancient Hebrew alphabet with common Hebrew words as a study source.
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@ethang5
Are you OK Mr E?

You just went BOOM.
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@Double_R
Oooh a trick question.

Didn't I already answer that question? 

Hmm - you will find it is CIRCULAR REASONING.  also known as an axiom. 
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@EtrnlVw
How do you know that your experience of God isn't merely an illusion?
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@Tradesecret
Oooh a trick question.

Didn't I already answer that question? 

Hmm - you will find it is CIRCULAR REASONING.  also known as an axiom. 
I’m guessing you’re in the “God is good no matter what” camp?
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@Sum1hugme
How do you know that your experience of God isn't merely an illusion?
The same way you know morality isn’t merely an illusion.
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Santa is a known lie intentional told to children knowing one day you will tell them you lied. Any theists feels their gods are real and would not pass them as real now fake later. Most people don't have Santa experiences. No idea why this comes up.
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@Polytheist-Witch
Stephen wrote: Well if you have ever looked into the ancient phenomena, you would find immediately that  ALL religions speak of their so called "gods"  coming from the sky.   So I think they may "validate" each others religious beliefs of  the origins of their "gods" .
Polytheist-Witch, wrote: That is not true at all. In the Norse religion they come from a planet#204

This would make them alien to Earth.


Now is all you have to do is confirm  how far back do your own or these "Norse "  alien gods go. Are they ancient , medieval or modern? 


No god created the universe. Just their world or worlds.#12
Where are these worlds of the gods and how old are your own  gods?

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@Tarik
And how is that?
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@Reece101
I’m guessing you’re in the “God is good no matter what” camp?
Another trick question. Gee people are busy today aren't getting cleverer and cleverer. 

Take out the "no matter what" bit and I would answer I am in the God is good camp. 

You would need to define what good is before adding the rest.   

A measure of good would be helpful as well.  

According to humanity without God, God can be good and bad. 

According to humanity with God, God is among other things the measure of good. 

I take the view that God not only defines what good is - but is the very essence and measure of goodness. Hence God is good. 

Yet on that basis good is anything in accord with God's honor and worship.  It is good to love one another. Yet it is also good to hate evil. 

It is good to punish evil and to punish sin - even by death.  

On the other hand, if good is defined by humanity with the measure being "whatever the current culture by majority rule thinks is good", then God is not always good.   If the current culture holds the view that abortion is good then God is not good. If the current culture deems polytheism and polygamy is good, then God is not good. 

The definition of good, obviously from a human perspective is subjective and fluid.  It might remain conservative for lengths of time, for instance - pedophilia is unlikely to be considered a good for some time, although I suspect that as the culture becomes more fluid  and as it takes on board more and more the Kinsey Report, then even this so called evil will become good.  Like other things, it only takes time and enough people to say - let's let us be what we want and things will like they have in the past with Aristotle go back to it. The same with slavery. Slavery changes its meaning every so often.


Tarik
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@Sum1hugme
And how is that?
I’m sure you know why you know things.
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@Tarik
You're not making a coherent argument. How do you know your experience of God isn't an illusion? 
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@Sum1hugme
You're not making a coherent argument.
That you know why you know things? Sounds pretty coherent to me.
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@Tarik
I know why I know things, therefore, my experience of God isn't an illusion? That's a non-sequitur
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@Sum1hugme
I know why I know things, therefore, my experience of God isn't an illusion?
And when did I ever say this?
Stephen
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@Polytheist-Witch
Most of the conversation here revolve around Christians 

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Oh wait, one topic about pagans  (has gone Christian). My bad. 
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@Polytheist-Witch
Nope its still about pagans,  Druids in particular. Can't mention the Druids and not mention their persecution by early Roman Christians.
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@Stephen
You can. 
Reece101
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@Tradesecret
Another trick question. Gee people are busy today aren't getting cleverer and cleverer. 

Take out the "no matter what" bit and I would answer I am in the God is good camp. 

You would need to define what good is before adding the rest.   

A measure of good would be helpful as well.  

According to humanity without God, God can be good and bad. 

According to humanity with God, God is among other things the measure of good. 

I take the view that God not only defines what good is - but is the very essence and measure of goodness. Hence God is good. 

Yet on that basis good is anything in accord with God's honor and worship.  It is good to love one another. Yet it is also good to hate evil. 

It is good to punish evil and to punish sin - even by death.  

On the other hand, if good is defined by humanity with the measure being "whatever the current culture by majority rule thinks is good", then God is not always good.   If the current culture holds the view that abortion is good then God is not good. If the current culture deems polytheism and polygamy is good, then God is not good. 

The definition of good, obviously from a human perspective is subjective and fluid.  It might remain conservative for lengths of time, for instance - pedophilia is unlikely to be considered a good for some time, although I suspect that as the culture becomes more fluid  and as it takes on board more and more the Kinsey Report, then even this so called evil will become good.  Like other things, it only takes time and enough people to say - let's let us be what we want and things will like they have in the past with Aristotle go back to it. The same with slavery. Slavery changes its meaning every so often.
By my estimate God has only existed for about 2000 years. Try to think that through.
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@Reece101
By my estimate God has only existed for about 2000 years. Try to think that through.
How about this?  try and prove that the concept of God has existed for more than five minutes. 
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@Tradesecret
How about this?  try and prove that the concept of God has existed for more than five minutes. 
Time is relative to the observer. For me the concept has existed longer than 5 minutes. Are you saying God is relative?
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@Reece101
By my estimate God has only existed for about 2000 years. Try to think that through.
What?
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@Polytheist-Witch
What’s what?