tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post1587110120391946613..comments2023-10-20T02:08:39.524-07:00Comments on Atheism: Proving The Negative: Some Varieties of AtheismMatt McCormickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071078570021986664noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-35509735337674918532008-06-13T21:51:00.000-07:002008-06-13T21:51:00.000-07:00I think we all can agree god is at least an idea. ...I think we all can agree god is at least an idea. Otherwise, our discussion would not happen.<BR/><BR/>For me, that's all god is. An event in our minds. <BR/><BR/>In the minds of theists, god is believed to be more. In the minds of atheists, god is believed to be only in the minds of theists.<BR/><BR/>I am an atheist. Sorta. <BR/><BR/>It seems an atheist shouldn't agree god exists in any fashion. And, I find it philosophically difficult to agree god exists--but only in a theists mind. Still, I agree, that is the nature of god's existence.<BR/><BR/>I believe ideas exist & I believe god is an idea. I believe god exists. <BR/><BR/>Therefore, I am a theist. Sorta.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-5340472788938395532008-06-06T08:12:00.000-07:002008-06-06T08:12:00.000-07:00Jon is on track. "god" could be any old god. "God"...Jon is on track. "god" could be any old god. "God" is Mr. Omniscient, the top dog. Most Western theists equate "God" with Yahweh, the tribal god of the Jews. Although there does seem to be some disagreement about his proper name, if you check Exodus 34:14 you can find this:<BR/><BR/>"<I>For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, <B>whose name is Jealous</B>, is a jealous God</I>"<BR/><BR/>Also, the "God" of the philosophers does not necessarily coincide with the "God" of Jews, Christians or Muslims. The God of the philosophers started out with job requirements of omniscience, omnipotence and omnibenevolence (although I hear that these omni-properties are not what they used to be.) This non-equivalence of God and Jealous is frequently (intentionally?) overlooked by apologists who use the purported non-disprovability of God as a shelter for Jealous.<BR/><BR/>As for what the qualifications are to be a "god," I don't know if there is any standard code or not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-60676491657950522842008-06-06T00:34:00.000-07:002008-06-06T00:34:00.000-07:00Maybe we can separate God with god(s), so God is t...Maybe we can separate God with god(s), so God is the omni one.<BR/><BR/>Going with that then, we can have a chain of being with regards to the gods:<BR/> Zeus is higher than Hadies who is higher than some water nymph who is higher than a mage. Then we can go in a different direction I guess and talk about Chaos, Titans, and such who would have supernatural powers, or would simply be a form of supernatural force or entity. <BR/> I think that when someone says "God is that styrofoam cup", then they have the physical ability to say that, but not the epistemic right. <BR/> Maybe to qualify as a god, you need to be able to break or make laws of physics and hence be supernatural or magical, otherwise you would just be another natural entity.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02877962468047811190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-18947368214794496502008-06-04T08:46:00.000-07:002008-06-04T08:46:00.000-07:00Samuel SkinnerYou know, I was thinking about this ...Samuel Skinner<BR/>You know, I was thinking about this and realized I didn't exactly know- what is the criteria to be a God?<BR/><BR/>I know the Greek Gods are Gods, even though they can die and didn't create the Universe, the Christian one is too even though he does nothing. The Hindu Gods are Gods too, even though most of them have nothing to do with creating the universe- they are good for intervening.<BR/><BR/>Then there are more bizarre cases like modern fiction. For example pokemon has a legendary (Arcantos) who created the universe... and you can catch it! Not a God.<BR/><BR/>Now, I usually don't bother with semantics- if it is supernatural it doesn't exist. I'm curious though- does "God" mean whatever people want it to mean, does it have a specific meaning... it seems odd. Maybe granting prayers? I don't know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com