a God that could be real

[ryan]

It would do everything that the Christian or Islamic Gods are said to do.

Except... that they doesnt? At all?

I mean: create the entire universe, read everyones thoughts all the time, flood the earth, etc etc

With the right technology, we could get really close to "god".

 

[Juma]

Except... that they doesnt? At all?

I mean: create the entire universe, read everyones thoughts all the time, flood the earth, etc etc

With the right technology, we could get really close to "god".

Except.., it is technology not magic.

 

[skepticalbip]

Except... that they doesnt? At all?

I mean: create the entire universe, read everyones thoughts all the time, flood the earth, etc etc

With the right technology, we could get really close to "god".

Our technology already does exceed most of the powers of god that people imagined only a few hundred years ago. We can fly faster than the speed of sound, visit other planets, cure diseases, travel around the world underwater, replace failed organs, create plants to have the properties we desire, talk to people on the other side of Earth in real time, etc.

For some reason people take our technology for granted and don't appreciate how amazingly it has expanded our abilities. Have you ever considered an airplane and thought, "just wow"? Someone from the year 1900 would find it unbelievable, even magical. So when future technology enables us to do things that you today would see as godlike, people of that future time will most likely take it for granted.

 

[DrZoidberg]

I think this entire misses the point of having a god at all. Who gives a shit if we can hypothetically invent a god concept that works within science. God is a psychological tool we have invented. Or rather, a set of psychological tools. Whatever god we invent has to be functional. It has to help us psychologically somehow. Otherwise... what´s the point of having it?

 

[Keith&Co.]

. It has to help us psychologically somehow. Otherwise... what´s the point of having it?

Well, first off, it has to agree with us. So when we say 'God doesn't want you to do that,' we know we've made a point.

 

[fromderinside]

I think this entire misses the point of having a god at all. Who gives a shit if we can hypothetically invent a god concept that works within science. God is a psychological tool we have invented. Or rather, a set of psychological tools. Whatever god we invent has to be functional. It has to help us psychologically somehow. Otherwise... what´s the point of having it?

Come on. You'd love to have God's measure.

 

[bilby]

With the right technology, we could get really close to "god".

Our technology already does exceed most of the powers of god that people imagined only a few hundred years ago. We can fly faster than the speed of sound, visit other planets, cure diseases, travel around the world underwater, replace failed organs, create plants to have the properties we desire, talk to people on the other side of Earth in real time, etc.

For some reason people take our technology for granted and don't appreciate how amazingly it has expanded our abilities. Have you ever considered an airplane and thought, "just wow"? Someone from the year 1900 would find it unbelievable, even magical. So when future technology enables us to do things that you today would see as godlike, people of that future time will most likely take it for granted.

Aviation State of the Art 1915:

The Martinsyde S1 could carry one person; Its 60kW Gnome rotary piston engine could propel it at up to 140km/h at an altitude of up to 4,300m, with a maximum range of about 400km.


Aviation State of the Art 2015:

You could park the Royal Flying Corps's Martinsyde S1 inside the Business Class Bar/Lounge of the Airbus A380; although you would need to turn it sideways to fit, as the S1 wingspan is slightly longer than the width of the A380's fuselage.

The A380 can carry between 525 and 853 passengers, plus a crew of about 30, including four pilots in two rotating cockpit crews of two; Its four 670kW Rolls-Royce Trent 900 Turbofan engines can propel it at up to Mach 0.96 (1020km/h at cruise altitude) at an altitude of 13,136m, with a maximum range of about 15,700km

 

[DrZoidberg]

I think this entire misses the point of having a god at all. Who gives a shit if we can hypothetically invent a god concept that works within science. God is a psychological tool we have invented. Or rather, a set of psychological tools. Whatever god we invent has to be functional. It has to help us psychologically somehow. Otherwise... what´s the point of having it?

Come on. You'd love to have God's measure.

I´m confused now. Am I correct to assume we´re talking comparative penis sizes now?

I´ve always loved the classic: Allah akbar, but mine is bigger.

 

[Underseer]

Come on. You'd love to have God's measure.

I´m confused now. Am I correct to assume we´re talking comparative penis sizes now?

I´ve always loved the classic: Allah akbar, but mine is bigger.

Could God make his penis so big that even his own asshole couldn't fit it?

 

[Kharakov]

. It has to help us psychologically somehow. Otherwise... what´s the point of having it?

Well, first off, it has to agree with us. So when we say 'God doesn't want you to do that,' we know we've made a point.

It's like the metaphysical naturalist bullshitter's claim "Nature doesn't give a fuck if you do that, but if you do it might cause horrific consequences, or at least you'll finally be nominated for an award."

Whether you claim God or nature, it's still an attempt to control the actions of others.

Darwin award, if you won derrrr.

 

[Uwe]

. It has to help us psychologically somehow. Otherwise... what´s the point of having it?

Well, first off, it has to agree with us. So when we say 'God doesn't want you to do that,' we know we've made a point.

The formulation of The Golden Rule can be arrived at without recourse to a higher power. One of the top several corollaries to that is that you should forgive one who has transgressed against you. The world's religions all have softer sides that contain wisdom like this, the trick would be to strip away the superstition while leaving the affirmation of awe and wonder.

 

[fta]

How about, "Dear Leader," then?
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Theodore Roosevelt?
Superman? Malcolm Reynolds?

The Prince Philip Movement of Vanuatu think that Prince Philip is God. Unlike most other religions, they can actually prove their deity is real.

The Rastafarians think Haile Selassie, the late Emperor of Ethiopa, is God. The Sai Baba movement and the Adidam cult think that their gurus were God too. Those dudes are no longer alive and kicking, but there's pretty solid evidence they existed.

 

[skepticalbip]

How about, "Dear Leader," then?
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Theodore Roosevelt?
Superman? Malcolm Reynolds?

The Prince Philip Movement of Vanuatu think that Prince Philip is God. Unlike most other religions, they can actually prove their deity is real.

The Rastafarians think Haile Selassie, the late Emperor of Ethiopa, is God. The Sai Baba movement and the Adidam cult think that their gurus were God too. Those dudes are no longer alive and kicking, but there's pretty solid evidence they existed.

You left out Kim Jong Il, worshiped as a god in North Korea and Akihito, Japan's current emperor, who is a god in the Shinto religion. There are probably more.

 

[bilby]

The Prince Philip Movement of Vanuatu think that Prince Philip is God. Unlike most other religions, they can actually prove their deity is real.

The Rastafarians think Haile Selassie, the late Emperor of Ethiopa, is God. The Sai Baba movement and the Adidam cult think that their gurus were God too. Those dudes are no longer alive and kicking, but there's pretty solid evidence they existed.

You left out Kim Jong Il, worshiped as a god in North Korea and Akihito, Japan's current emperor, who is a god in the Shinto religion. There are probably more.

I saw an interview with a member of a Georgian sect (the ex-Soviet Republic, not the U.S. State) who consider Joe Stalin to be a God. As he said, he actually saw Stalin once, from a distance. And he knew that Stalin had the power to make him rich and powerful; or to utterly destroy him, at a whim. Something the Orthodox Priests claim for their God, but couldn't demonstrate to be true.

 

[fta]

Pretty ironic considering North Korea is officially an atheist state, as was the former Soviet Union.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Pretty ironic considering North Korea is officially an atheist state, as was the former Soviet Union.

Here´s a fun fact. Whenever socialism/communism came to a country it was initially always modelled on whatever the main religion of that region was. Often taking over supernatural ideas, if not officially, at least in practice. It makes perfect sense if you think about it. Religious organisational systems actually work for organising people and religion and politics are quite similar as far as organising people are concerned. And everybody in that region knew how their church organised.

But this religious mimicry could get to preposterous degrees, like European communist agitators taking the role of a priest in every way, as well as reading communist propaganda texts as if they were a kind of communist Bible, complete with exegesis afterwards. The communist manifesto was often treated as a holy text. The communist international was modelled on the catholic congress of cardinals.

In Stalin´s case he never saw himself as a god or even tried to pass himself off as one. He actively fought those ideas. Stalin was a true blue communist, who actually believed it right up until his death. But Kim Il Sung had figured out the pattern and actively encouraged the idea of him and his family having supernatural powers. There´s reason to believe Kim Il Sung became disillusioned with communism during his time in USSR, well before ever taking power in North Korea.

So basically, I think communism should be seen as a type of religion. It has all the hallmarks of it. The fact that they claim they´re atheist, I don´t think matters a damn. What makes something religious is the rituals and how people... well... worship. The communist leaders were all undoubtedly worshipped.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Well, first off, it has to agree with us. So when we say 'God doesn't want you to do that,' we know we've made a point.

The formulation of The Golden Rule can be arrived at without recourse to a higher power.

As an atheist, i already believe all morality and all religions are man's inventions. None of it needs such recourse.

The world's religions all have softer sides that contain wisdom like this, the trick would be to strip away the superstition while leaving the affirmation of awe and wonder.

But if you're using terms like 'god,' then you're carefully preserving the superstition. And unnecessarily, as near as i can see.

I'm all for awe and wonder at how the universe actually works, but putting a face mask on it so that we can pretend a 'higher power' is involved seems like a step backwards.

 

[fromderinside]

I'm all for awe and wonder at how the universe actually works, but putting a face mask on it so that we can pretend a 'higher power' is involved seems like a step backwards.

Take the universe we know as an entity. Can man, will man, ever produce a black hole? I don't think so. The universe is an entity of higher power than man. Is that a step backwards? hmmmmnnnn.......

 

[Keith&Co.]

I'm all for awe and wonder at how the universe actually works, but putting a face mask on it so that we can pretend a 'higher power' is involved seems like a step backwards.

Take the universe we know as an entity. Can man, will man, ever produce a black hole? I don't think so. The universe is an entity of higher power than man. Is that a step backwards? hmmmmnnnn.......

Is that a new definition of god, then? 'What man cannot accomplish?'

 

[Kharakov]

I'm all for awe and wonder at how the universe actually works, but putting a face mask on it so that we can pretend a 'higher power' is involved seems like a step backwards.

Take the universe we know as an entity. Can man, will man, ever produce a black hole? I don't think so. The universe is an entity of higher power than man. Is that a step backwards? hmmmmnnnn.......

A single unitary spacetime that interacts with all within it smoothly stores a lot of information.