• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Why does God care about some mammal species floating around in the middle of nowhere?

sealchan

Well-Known Member
Why? Can anyone explain?

Because we are the God we co-created with the reality we find God to be a necessity within. God is, rightfully, the potential of the universe to produce consciousness and a sense of being. By believing in God we are believing in ourselves.
 

sealchan

Well-Known Member
Well, I think we're talking about the image of what God projects about Himself rather than the infinite, invisible God. I mean God is more than just His image. So when the Bible says God made people in His image. Then we should realize that.

He seems to project an image of Himself as a humanoid being however. This would be symbolic perhaps. You have eyes which would be symbolic of sight, ears for hearing hands for creative ability or what not. etc.

See Ezekiel 1:26-28 for one example of when God appeared as a fiery type humanoid shape.

God is I AM and the Word. God is being which through consciousness as a function of language we possess...and so are we. We substantiate the notion of our own subjective existence and value by believing in God.

But as Christians we need to renew the Biblical myth for the light and life in the Bible has been worn out by literalism and political identity.
 

A Vestigial Mote

Well-Known Member
If one "proves" or even "disproves" God, what does that particularly gain one? Nothing! It's an empty exercise, devoid of anything productive.
If either proving or disproving a thing changes ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about your existence and provides you no beneficial knowledge or ability, then I would dare say that the thing either never existed in the first place, or it may as well not be in existence. In other words - it is as if the thing doesn't exist if it can be proved or disproved without gain.

As an example, take a murder investigation. Let's say we find out the actual truth about the matter. Nothing in reality fundamentally changes, however the beneficial knowledge we now have is that the murderer is a dangerous person that we need to keep away from others, which then does result in a change to reality. Whenever we "prove" something to a sufficient degree in reality, then we learn that we can ultimately rely on that thing - and it will always react the way we have proved it will. That is fantastically beneficial! If proving God's existence does not, in any way, result in a greater understanding of anything, or the ability to rely on something about God, and doesn't even provide us the knowledge that there is an afterlife, that we will be judged by God, what the criteria is, etc. - if it is true what YOU said - that proving God gains a person NOTHING... then it is truly as if He does not exist, and I would argue that there would be absolutely no impetus to live life as if He does.
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
Without verifiability, how could you verify it?
Why does it need to be verified? How does a creature verify the One who created? What observational platform would we need and what “outside source” is available for us to both apprehend the Entirety and then measure it against ... what objective standard? God is All.

the point that one is expected to hold irrational beliefs?
Why are they irrational?
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
It does, if his understanding is actually verifiable and confirmed when verified.
It means his understanding has evidence. While yours, doesn't.
The way we choose to make meaning doesn’t require verification. Verification requires that we hold something out in front of ourselves. Meaning is internal.

Why do you think that your claims are exempt from the burden of proof?
I’m not making claims.

roof / evidence / verifiability? Those things where accuracy and rationality is deemed important.
In what way does meaning require verification?
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
If either proving or disproving a thing changes ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about your existence and provides you no beneficial knowledge or ability, then I would dare say that the thing either never existed in the first place, or it may as well not be in existence. In other words - it is as if the thing doesn't exist if it can be proved or disproved without gain.

As an example, take a murder investigation. Let's say we find out the actual truth about the matter. Nothing in reality fundamentally changes, however the beneficial knowledge we now have is that the murderer is a dangerous person that we need to keep away from others, which then does result in a change to reality. Whenever we "prove" something to a sufficient degree in reality, then we learn that we can ultimately rely on that thing - and it will always react the way we have proved it will. That is fantastically beneficial! If proving God's existence does not, in any way, result in a greater understanding of anything, or the ability to rely on something about God, and doesn't even provide us the knowledge that there is an afterlife, that we will be judged by God, what the criteria is, etc. - if it is true what YOU said - that proving God gains a person NOTHING... then it is truly as if He does not exist, and I would argue that there would be absolutely no impetus to live life as if He does.
Who said God is a thing?
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Because we create our Gods. And, why bother to create a God that doesn't care about us?

Maybe there is a God but it's always some other person telling you about God. A messenger... And we are suppose to take their word on it?
Why trust someone you never met? o_O
Does that make any sense? But, we are supposed to trust these people we've never met. Heck, I've little enough reason to trust most of the people I have met.
I remember that fateful day in church when I sat and suddenly it struck me that this was just a room full of people talking about God and acting like a god is there when in reality and fact, it was just a room full of people pretending that something is there when it's really not.

It's like those fake ghost reality shows where your running all over inside an empty house and pretending there is a ghost around using all sorts of silly gadgets and gizmos from the hardware store.

It's all inside people's heads. Never outside in the real world.
 

A Vestigial Mote

Well-Known Member
Who said God is a thing?
These mystical/magical/whimsical pronouncements of "what God isn't" don't do anything to help convey what God is. Do you understand that? Why should I accept anything you say about God if all you know is "what God isn't"? Or even worse... what you seem to be stating is that you don't even know what God is or isn't. This makes the whole concept entirely useless, and I am darn sure not to accept or believe a single item you want to say about what God is or isn't. Your words demonstrate to me nothing more than that you're opinion on the matter is untrustworthy.
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
These mystical/magical/whimsical pronouncements of "what God isn't" don't do anything to help convey what God is. Do you understand that? Why should I accept anything you say about God if all you know is "what God isn't"? Or even worse... what you seem to be stating is that you don't even know what God is or isn't. This makes the whole concept entirely useless, and I am darn sure not to accept or believe a single item you want to say about what God is or isn't. Your words demonstrate to me nothing more than that you're opinion on the matter is untrustworthy.
You’re insisting that God is some kind of creature — that God is some kind of being. Why would you make that assumption? I’m not convinced that God is a being. I’m not convinced that God exists. I understand God as Being itself; as Existence itself. Do you understand that? I can’t help it if your concept is useless.

No one knows what God is, and if they claim they do, don’t believe them. All theology is just putting forth particular understandings of something we can’t completely comprehend. We can have a particular understanding of God’s nature, and that’s all that’s required. We can’t make claims because we have no facts. But we can posit understandings. If you don’t like mine, then feel free to understand God differently.
 

Jos

Well-Known Member
I think I already know what's on your list.
What do you think is on it?

No. I don't worry that I am being conned, I worry that unbelievers have been conned. 2 Corinthians 4:4
But it wouldn't be the unbelievers' fault. Aren't all humans fallible and sinful by nature so how can we blamed if we're deceived when we're prone to being deceived?

I could list the reasons why I am sure I haven't been conned, but you have.
I'd like to see that list

For example, some have jumped on the evolution train, claiming that the markings are there, and they will reach their destination.
I'm on another train - the one marked Christianity as described in the Bible.
Let's see which train takes us to the destination we are happy with, at the end of the day.
You do know that evolution has nothing to do with atheism and that many Christians accept evolution as being true? Also evolution and Christian aren't mutually exclusive positions.
 

Jos

Well-Known Member
If you take it for granted that human existence is insignificant, then the notion that God would care deeply about us may be hard to accept. But there's no reason to take such things for granted. Because when you realise such statements as made in the title of this thread are ideological, then the notion that human existence may be immeasurably valuable to God is not at all hard to accept.
I don't if human existence is objectively significant since as far as I can tell significance is a subjective value that is placed on people or things by someone else and I don't think anyone will be able to determine if such a thing as objective signifance is even possible given its incoherency as a term, IMO. If human are significant to God, he has a funny way of showing of it, IMO.
 

Jos

Well-Known Member
To give himself something to occupy his time with

To prevent him getting bored

To prevent him feeling lonely

Basically: To give his existence a purpose

Why have nothing when you can have something?
I thought God was perfectly self sufficient and didn't need anything?
 

Jos

Well-Known Member
You should be happy with this claim

It tells you a lot:
1) Many humans can't be trusted
2) Many humans don't care

So Bible proves ("in His image"):
1) God can't be trusted
2) God does not care

Knowing these fact, I see no need to prove or disprove whether "this" God exists or not; do you?
I don't understand your point. Could you simplify it?
 

Jos

Well-Known Member
I'ld say because humans invented them precisely for that purpose: to make them feel that "someone" was caring and that somehow, all will be well at some point.
Maybe but given the vastness of the universe and how little humans actually know, they could be right as much as their beliefs may not make sense.
 
Top