spadijer said:
Wittgenstein. Language games. I love the way universe, law and nature automatically equate into God.
If that's you're god than I'm a very religious man
What positivists would say is that we should concern ourselves only with what we can prove. We can't prove metaphysical speculations, therefore we shouldn't concern ourselves with them.
We cannot prove anything, not just metaphysical speculations by such a burden of proof. I'm not sure if you thought I'd personally agree with such views (or cared) but I don't.
Most religious ideals, however, are rooted in logic/reason - Murder is bad etc. because it is biologically collective - logic surmounts reality.
I would argue they're not really religious ideals and that MOST religious ideals (if we are to actually look at scripture) seem to be more concerned that you don't worship false idols.
Moreover, just to affirm my perspective, the purpose of life, lo and behold, is to stimulate ourselves (we are earths sensors), through biological processes.
I essentially agree, I'm sure the 'earths sensors' part was just a little poetic wording.
With reason and the hope of eternal existence we will advance through evolutionary processes.
Why the hope for eternal existance? By the way, I vastly agree that it is a hope - Not a belief
Humans have no purpose; humanity does - i.e. Humans, paradoxically, have no purpose other than to carry on humanity itself,
Well that's the purpose of our genes, I see human purpose as a more individual thing as I'm sure you do... but I continue to respond to these statements for anyone that might be stumbling onto this conversation.
And also, even if there is a God who says he's gonna gurantee eternal life?
Well see it'd really suck if the opposite is true. Most 'believers' imo hope that there is an afterlife, it's a very dear and serious hope to them but most do not believe. That is why most believers don't seem excited about their death or the death of their loved ones.
As far as I see it Zeus, Iris, Budha - whatever - this 'God' is just one more example of the many mythical figures which were regarded as 'God'. The easter bunny and Santa were real once, too. This 'god' is just one out of plethora myths, who final pages are being written as we speak. I wonder what will replace it.
I agree, I do think our current monotheistic god is being replaced. There is a movement towards more individualistic spiritualist movements (but I think that's more just a reaction to pop culture).
And I wonder which of these 73478478328 Gods was the right one?
None? If any 'God' exists I'd say it much more resembles the God of Einstein than any personal god your layman can imagine - To me that is not God.
Hmm. We have never had a defintion of X (god that is). Again, we cannot search for his existence because our language is just to enmeshed with too many ideas
I'm sure you can go wittgensteinian on me with this one, but I think we can create operational definitions for God just as well as we can for any other creature we can imagine.
God wont make it that easy and 'reveal' himself to you.
He's leaving it up to you to figure out whether you believe in him or not.
If he does not reveal himself to me then how else should I believe him? Insanity?
And as for how the world was created and how everything fits together... as humans our minds are completely limited in what we can comprehend
What's you proof for this assertion?
but when we die, we wont be in a human body anymore
Proof?
we'll be in a spiritual body and we'll only understand everything then
But I can already understand that there's alot of the universe that does not conform with (what I imagine is) your 'God', I don't need any magic power to see that your belief is the equivilent of belief in leper gnomes.
but for now God's leaving it up to us whether we want to believe in him or not. He's giving us choice in what way we want to go with our lives & how were going to live it.
Off topic a bit... but I have an interesting scenario that might interest you a bit.
For instance: If you were to find out a friend was going to die and she would recieve pain killers that would eliminate any pain death could bring her... would you feel the same as if she was telling you she was going away for a trip to the behamas and will never come back? I somehow imagine you'd be rather more upset than that. I'd argue that's because you don't believe in the afterlife anymore than I do, you just hope it's true.
