God is not an Entity?

[Cheerful Charlie]

Why is this ontological concept of "entity" causing you guys so much grief?

The etymology of the word means "to be". (Many languages disambiguate the verb "to be" so as to distiguish between the being of living entities and the being of inanimate objects.)

In order for God to do anything (omniscience, omnipotence, immanence,) God has TO BE an entity.

I get it that you don't think He exists - is not a real entity. But are you really so philosophically challenged by such a basic notion as "entity" even for a hypothetical entity?

I don't think that holds up. An entity is a type of object. It has to have distinct features. We have to be able to talk about some quality or qualities of it and we immediately know what you are referring to. Can you think of any quality of God that is universal for all definitions of it? I can't, apart from the fact that it's the focus of worship. But God itself seems to be an empty concept.

I think Habermas formulated God better than anybody. God is what we call our hopes and dreams. It's the symbol that gets to encompass it. He saw God as an empty container or surface upon which we project onto. It means that God is us. It also means that we create God. As in that God only exists in our heads. Anyway, that's why God is different things to different people and why theists struggle to agree on what God is. Because different people will have different hopes and dreams.

"God is the concept by which we measure our stupidity".
- Not John Lennon

 

[untermensche]

There is nothing intelligent to say about the gods and nothing to learn by talking about them.

They should be completely dismissed with the wave of the hand.

And then a free life without mind pollution can be lived.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Rather than dismiss 'em, I want to keep 'em around for entertainment. That's the ultimate value to religion -- the human comedy. As in, Jeeeeesus, you actually believe what you're saying????

 

[untermensche]

Human folly and ignorance will not end if we stop talking about things that can't possibly exist.

The show will go on without the gods.

 

[Politesse]

And then a free life without mind pollution can be lived.

Ha! No chattering monkey for you? Skipped right to enlightenment just by not believing a particular claim? Let me know how that works out for you, fledling guru!

 

[Rhea]

“the material universe and god are like, say, the sun and the light of the sun.“

The sun is an entity. It does not have a personality.
Maybe a better metaphor is that gos is like a body and the rest of the physical universe is like sweat, pr piss.

But none of that is where it really falls apart. It really falls apart when people claim to know its mind like whoever wrote that verse about Logos. And how they knew that but bo subsequent people got that kind of info, but, god answes prayers. No, really, I’m sure of it. He’s s like the sun, yanno?

 

[untermensche]

And then a free life without mind pollution can be lived.

Ha! No chattering monkey for you? Skipped right to enlightenment just by not believing a particular claim? Let me know how that works out for you, fledling guru!

What am I troubled by exactly?

I am something that a brain is creating.

When that brain stops working I am no longer created.

I won't mind.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Why is this ontological concept of "entity" causing you guys so much grief?

The etymology of the word means "to be". (Many languages disambiguate the verb "to be" so as to distiguish between the being of living entities and the being of inanimate objects.)

In order for God to do anything (omniscience, omnipotence, immanence,) God has TO BE an entity.

I get it that you don't think He exists - is not a real entity. But are you really so philosophically challenged by such a basic notion as "entity" even for a hypothetical entity?

I don't think that holds up. An entity is a type of object. It has to have distinct features. We have to be able to talk about some quality or qualities of it and we immediately know what you are referring to. Can you think of any quality of God that is universal for all definitions of it? I can't, apart from the fact that it's the focus of worship. But God itself seems to be an empty concept.

I think Habermas formulated God better than anybody. God is what we call our hopes and dreams. It's the symbol that gets to encompass it. He saw God as an empty container or surface upon which we project onto. It means that God is us. It also means that we create God. As in that God only exists in our heads. Anyway, that's why God is different things to different people and why theists struggle to agree on what God is. Because different people will have different hopes and dreams.

"Why does the god exist?" is then a question easily answered. It's something we invented. One needn't get into philosophical what-ifs and what-have-yous. It's an idea that emerged from the cosmos. It's very different from asking "Why does the cosmos exist? The latter question does not need an answer, the former does.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Why is this ontological concept of "entity" causing you guys so much grief?

The etymology of the word means "to be". (Many languages disambiguate the verb "to be" so as to distiguish between the being of living entities and the being of inanimate objects.)

In order for God to do anything (omniscience, omnipotence, immanence,) God has TO BE an entity.

I get it that you don't think He exists - is not a real entity. But are you really so philosophically challenged by such a basic notion as "entity" even for a hypothetical entity?

I don't think that holds up. An entity is a type of object. It has to have distinct features. We have to be able to talk about some quality or qualities of it and we immediately know what you are referring to. Can you think of any quality of God that is universal for all definitions of it? I can't, apart from the fact that it's the focus of worship. But God itself seems to be an empty concept.

I think Habermas formulated God better than anybody. God is what we call our hopes and dreams. It's the symbol that gets to encompass it. He saw God as an empty container or surface upon which we project onto. It means that God is us. It also means that we create God. As in that God only exists in our heads. Anyway, that's why God is different things to different people and why theists struggle to agree on what God is. Because different people will have different hopes and dreams.

"Why does the god exist?" is then a question easily answered. It's something we invented. One needn't get into philosophical what-ifs and what-have-yous. It's an idea that emerged from the cosmos. It's very different from asking "Why does the cosmos exist? The latter question does not need an answer, the former does.

But I was answering Lion. He was using grammatical step dancing and backflips for an absurd proof.