What kind of god(s) do you believe in?

[trotsky]

Related to the thread edhopper started, which is more of a free-form description request, I would be interested to know the general category people think their god or gods fit into.

3 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	God(s) made the universe possible, but from that point on has/have not intervened in any way with its operation.
	0 (0%)
	God(s) made the universe possible, and generally leaves/leave things alone, but can and has/have intervened at various points, and only when it/they decide to.
	1 (33%)
	God(s) actively created the universe, generally leaves/leave things alone, but can and has/have intervened when it/they decide to, or when requested by its/their creation.
	0 (0%)
	God(s) actively created the universe, and is/are actively and constantly involved in the lives of its/their creation, whether requested or not.
	0 (0%)
	Other (please describe in a reply - and specify whether you think your god intervenes in the universe).
	2 (67%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Scuba]

1. No god, no gods, no God.

I have a very nice dog though.

[broiles]

2. Ditto.

I believe in dogs, but not in god(s).

[longship]

10. Same. No gods. None. nt

[Warren Stupidity]

3. humans create gods to god-splain shit they don't understand and to

avoid the unpleasant reality of death through "just so" stories.

[gcomeau]

4. The fictional character kind. -eom

[peace13]

5. I believe in universal energy.

Is that god? I don't know. There is light, energy and love all around us. We just have to be open to it.

[edhopper]

6. Is it

conscious?

[TreasonousBastard]

7. The whole point of a god is that...

it is not explainable in terms that can be understood by us. It lives in another realm, dimension, or whatever and we see merely its tracks.

So, I have no idea what the god I believe in does with this universe. Most of what it does I couldn't see or understand anyway.

But, I believe there must be Gods, because the thought that Earth is the end point of the evolution of the cosmos is too depressing to deal with.

[trotsky]

9. That's a little strange...

because the only place I've heard anything suggesting something like the earth being "the end point of the evolution of the cosmos" is religion/god-belief, specifically claims that the universe was created for the sole purpose of bringing us about.

I've never heard a science-based claim of that nature.

[TreasonousBastard]

15. I may have phrased it wrongly...

No one knows if there is a point to all this, or if there is what it may be.

Right now, however, in our tiny little corner of the cosmos, after 16, 20, or however many billion years, this is as good as it gets?

[trotsky]

17. I don't know, has anyone claimed that?

Certain religions teach that humankind was created in its present form by a god, and has not significantly changed (and, I assume, will never). I suppose that would be the closest to that claim I've heard.

[TreasonousBastard]

18. I'm not sure what your question is...

I'm not claiming this is the end of things-- just asking if this is the point.

Or is there something else on the way?

BTW, we are daily finding more incredible things out there, with exploding galaxies and all sorts of good stuff. Are we the intended audience for this incredible show?

[trotsky]

19. OK, let me ask you this:

Those are interesting questions to be sure, and we have no answers, but what about them necessitates inserting a god hypothesis? What does that explain? As I've demonstrated, the god hypothesis can actually lead to the answers you find unacceptable (that this is the pinnacle, the universe was created just for us, etc.).

[TreasonousBastard]

20. I never said the god hypothesis is...

necessary. It's the one I choose.

At the moment, we have no acceptable proof of any sort of a god. Nor do we have any proof no gods are hanging out in the red spot on Jupiter. So, while the lack of proof of godly existence tends to have a bit more practical weight than any hypothetical gods-in-hiding, we are at a standstill. It really makes little difference what we believe as long as nobody gets hurt.

The universe its a pretty big place, and was it Douglas Adams who came up with the idea that after a week of creation God just walked away and nobody's seen him since?

[trotsky]

22. To this point in human history, I think we've demonstrated pretty well...

that we have a very difficult time inserting the god hypothesis WITHOUT hurting each other, so it's not exactly a benign add-on.

In fact, just trying to agree upon what "hurts" can come down to what one thinks about their god. Does he oppose abortion? Etc.

[TreasonousBastard]

23. If it wasn't God, it would be something else...

driving us to kill each other off.

And it often has been. It's what we do best-- fight, argue, kill...

"Blessed are the peacemakers"

Yeah, right.

[trotsky]

24. What makes the god idea unique though, is the very nature of the claim.

It exists "outside" the universe, it doesn't operate by our rules, it isn't bound by our logic, you can't prove it's wrong, etc.

In other words, this Greta Christina article - The Armor of God.

There's also this interesting development:
Humanity Is Becoming Increasingly Less Violent, with One Exception -- Religious Violence

[edhopper]

11. Do you pray to him?

Does he hear your prayers?
Does he love you?
Does he ask for your love?
Is he conscious and sentient?

If we see it's tracks, does that mean there is evidence of God's actions in the Universe.
What would those be?

[TreasonousBastard]

13. Prayer is more like a meditation...

if there is a god of some sort, it would know what we were thinking anyway, so there's no real point in talking to it except to confirm and clarify to ourselves what we are thinking.

Love as we experience it may or may not exist in the realm of the gods. The Greeks created agape as an existential sort of love relating to religious experience.

Conscious? Sentient? Probably comes with the territory, but not necessarily in ways we would recognize.

Tracks? Probably simply that there is order. The universe evolved randomly or with an intelligence guiding it. I go with guidance, but I have no proof to offer to anyone who accepts random.

[SamKnause]

8. Gods

Zero, zip, nada, none, 0, aught, goose egg, naught, nought, nil, cipher, and zilch.

I find believing in unprovable beings and "holy books" detrimental to my well being and mental health.

[mike_c]

12. none....

eom

[el_bryanto]

14. It's odd that you didn't include an option for people who don't believe in any Gods

Kind of insensitive to Atheists I would think.

Bryant

[trotsky]

16. Thanks so much for your input!

It was intended to be a poll for theists only (because I wanted to find out what kind of god people believed in), but I figured any atheist who wanted to voice their opinion too could just use the "Other" option. Seems like several have already done exactly that, but I wholeheartedly apologize to ANY atheists who were offended by my poll options!

Have a GREAT day!

[Warren Stupidity]

28. I'm still furious. Apology not accepted.

[trotsky]

31. I always knew you were special, Warren.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

21. The universe is a dream and the dreamer is the Valfather

He/she/it is a being so vast that we could never comprehend. It is kind of like we are but a fundamental particle in an atom in a molecule in a cell on the toe of human and on and on. The dreamer doesn't participate in the universe other than to dream up the various physical laws and other forces that we know to exist and more that we have yet to discover. That said, we are a level of being in this dream and there are levels above us. Those are the Gods we 'believe' in and they can interact with us to help guide and make our part of the dream a better place. There are bound to be more levels above them, so that they too have gods that interact with them as they do with us.

It is hard to explain. Every time I think I have it written down correctly, I find little things that are still incomplete and unsaid. I have pieced it together over a 'long' time of thought, dream, vision and meditation.


Hopefully, some of that made sense.

[applegrove]

25. Nature is a miracle. Something is behind it all but I don't know what.

[joelz]

26. no god

[phil89]

27. No god/s goddess/es

I care about whether what I believe is true. No one has presented an argument for "god/s" without logical fallacies (particularly argument from ignorance and appeal to consequences). I don't believe something without having a reason to.

[AtheistCrusader]

29. No supernatural anything at all.

[CFLDem]

30. I think it's pretty obvious

we're in The Matrix.

[LostOne4Ever]

32. +100 (nt)

[Meshuga]

33. I voted for other since...

...I have come to terms with the fact that my "unconventional beliefs" are nothing but atheism masked with religious jargon.

So l have decided for a while now to drop the BS and admit that I am actually an atheist in every way.

[Htom Sirveaux]

34. Like Spinoza....

I believe in a god who created the universe and also is the universe, which is to say that all being is God's being in different forms. The natural laws are an expression of God's nature, so having spoken them, God cannot now contradict them.