Is God merely an imaginary friend for adults?

[loverofhumanity]

Earlier this week, I was watching one of the Christian-content religious channels on television (there are two such ‘church channels’ in my city) and I was listening to the televangelist say that “even if you have no friends in this world, God will be your friend.” Immediately after hearing these words, I was struck by how much “God” sounds like the imaginary friends that children sometimes invent to keep themselves company. If your child were to tell you that she played with “Magna” all afternoon, and you know she was alone in her bedroom the whole time, you might worry about your child’s emotional well-being. What, then, should we think when adults say they talk with “God” (or “Jesus”)? Given that there is no more tangible proof for the existence of “God” (or “Jesus”) than there is for “Magna,” are we not justified in asking if “God” (or “Jesus”) is merely an imaginary friend for adults? Indeed, “God” appears to serve the same purpose for adults that “Magna” serves for little children: providing comfort and companionship when no actual human is available.
Is God merely an imaginary friend for adults? – Dangerous Intersection

So, people have experiences with God that they are convinced is real. I don't doubt this, having had such experiences myself. A real issue though is adults when claim to know the difference between real and imaginary. The difference being they would conscious of creating an imaginary deity and having this knowledge of conscious creation, they'd know positively themselves as being the source of the character.

However what if it is not a conscious creation? What if the unconscious mind were capable of creating the experience of such a deity/entity unaware to our conscious knowledge?

Consider when you dream, you dream of someone you know or perhaps a stranger. You didn't consciously create them, are not directly controlling their actions. They act completely autonomous of your thoughts, you have no direct control over these individuals you experience in your dreams.

Is it not possible for the God or gods you experience to be one such creation of your unconscious mind? And/or if you do not believe this is the case, how would you know. How could you test it?

You produce for me a Buddha or a Krishna or a Muhammad or a Quran or Bible then I'll fully believe that God is a figment of our own imaginations. These great beings transformed billions of souls, inspired great arts and wonders and changed the direction of civilization and are by no means imaginary. billions of people model their daily lives on words spoken by these great beings thousands of years ago. A child may conjure up an imaginary friend but no way a child or a human being can possibly conjure up such astronomical feats as these great beings have achieved even though they were stoned ridiculed tortured exiled and crucified.

 

[Twilight Hue]

..Bible has also information that I think people could not have written without God being real.

Like what?

 

[paarsurrey]

You are wasting your time, he's an atheist, he will never understand.

I gave a valid reasoning. Even if he doesn't understand the time is well spent. Others will understand. Did one understand, please/

Regards

 

[Jainarayan]

These great beings transformed billions of souls ... billions of people model their daily lives on words spoken by these great beings

I was also going to say something along the lines of them being role models.
WWKD What would Krishna do?
WWRD What would Rāma do?
WWBD What would Buddha do?

I often catch myself doing something and imagining Krishna shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

 

[Ancient Soul]

I gave a valid reasoning. Even if he doesn't understand the time is well spent. Others will understand. Did one understand, please/

Regards

Fair enough.

Good point.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Earlier this week, I was watching one of the Christian-content religious channels on television (there are two such ‘church channels’ in my city) and I was listening to the televangelist say that “even if you have no friends in this world, God will be your friend.” Immediately after hearing these words, I was struck by how much “God” sounds like the imaginary friends that children sometimes invent to keep themselves company. If your child were to tell you that she played with “Magna” all afternoon, and you know she was alone in her bedroom the whole time, you might worry about your child’s emotional well-being. What, then, should we think when adults say they talk with “God” (or “Jesus”)? Given that there is no more tangible proof for the existence of “God” (or “Jesus”) than there is for “Magna,” are we not justified in asking if “God” (or “Jesus”) is merely an imaginary friend for adults? Indeed, “God” appears to serve the same purpose for adults that “Magna” serves for little children: providing comfort and companionship when no actual human is available.
Is God merely an imaginary friend for adults? – Dangerous Intersection

So, people have experiences with God that they are convinced is real. I don't doubt this, having had such experiences myself. A real issue though is adults when claim to know the difference between real and imaginary. The difference being they would conscious of creating an imaginary deity and having this knowledge of conscious creation, they'd know positively themselves as being the source of the character.

However what if it is not a conscious creation? What if the unconscious mind were capable of creating the experience of such a deity/entity unaware to our conscious knowledge?

Consider when you dream, you dream of someone you know or perhaps a stranger. You didn't consciously create them, are not directly controlling their actions. They act completely autonomous of your thoughts, you have no direct control over these individuals you experience in your dreams.

Is it not possible for the God or gods you experience to be one such creation of your unconscious mind? And/or if you do not believe this is the case, how would you know. How could you test it?

Well...

The god a person believes in is either real or he isn't.
If he isn't, then he necessarily is a construct of that person's mind.

I'ld say that qualifies as an imaginary friend.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

People literally subject themselves to statements in the Bible. And they are doing it sincerely. So it falls that the mental puppet is their best objective interpretation of what Bible says.

I'ld say that religious lore merely provides the back story of the mental puppet.

 

[Nakosis]

You produce for me a Buddha or a Krishna or a Muhammad or a Quran or Bible then I'll fully believe that God is a figment of our own imaginations. These great beings transformed billions of souls, inspired great arts and wonders and changed the direction of civilization and are by no means imaginary. billions of people model their daily lives on words spoken by these great beings thousands of years ago. A child may conjure up an imaginary friend but no way a child or a human being can possibly conjure up such astronomical feats as these great beings have achieved even though they were stoned ridiculed tortured exiled and crucified.

I'll just point out that these folks are dead, so they are not here, physically at least.

 

[Nakosis]

The difference is, imaginary friends are in the imagination of a person. Is Bible imaginary book, purely in someone’s mind? If not, then Bible God is not imaginary person in someone’s mind. Perhaps it could be said that it was imaginary friend for some ancient person who then wrote about Him. But I don’t see how that would work, because Bible is written in long time period by many people and has lot of history and other teaching. And Bible has also information that I think people could not have written without God being real.

The real question I think, is who is God for you now?

IOW, what greater reality does God have for you than a child's imaginary friend. It's nice to talk about the history and influence religious leaders had, but this is between you and God. How great is God's reality to you?

 

[Nakosis]

I believe that God is real, but God is not anyone's friend because God has no partners, according to my beliefs.

“And now concerning thy reference to the existence of two Gods. Beware, beware, lest thou be led to join partners with the Lord, thy God. He is, and hath from everlasting been, one and alone, without peer or equal, eternal in the past, eternal in the future, detached from all things, ever-abiding, unchangeable, and self-subsisting. He hath assigned no associate unto Himself in His Kingdom, no counsellor to counsel Him, none to compare unto Him, none to rival His glory.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 192

So, if my beliefs are true that means that having a "personal relationship" with God is impossible because that would be bringing God down to a human level.

According to my beliefs, we can only relate to God through His Manifestations, who act as Intermediaries between God and man.

So you are not one who has a personal relationship with God?

Interesting. I just see a difference between folks in real life and what is written about them. Often what is written about a person can give a completely different view from who they really are. Jesus for example, we only know of through the eyes of others. I'm not sure how much trust I can place in what others have claimed.

 

[Nakosis]

Yes and no. Imaginary friend devalues their perception of god.

No real disagreement with the rest of your post, but this kin of sticks out....

Devaluing the perception of God, what you say is true, but is this necessarily a bad thing?

I suppose I'm beyond seeing a need for God in my life. God could or could not exist, it'd make no difference in my life. I won't say there is no benefit in believing in a God for some, just hard for me to see it.

God could be an imaginary entity that some benefit from believing in. Not saying that's the truth but I'm not sure the truth would make any difference here.

 

[Nakosis]

Of course God is an imaginary friend.

It's a mental puppet people use that can be made to say or do whatever people like.

That would be true whether there is an actual God or not.

I see it more a mental puppet of the unconscious mind. Folks don't usually have any direct control of this God they experience/interact with. From that perspective perhaps God is real to them in that their God is an entity that is separate from their conscious awareness.

 

[wellwisher]

Earlier this week, I was watching one of the Christian-content religious channels on television (there are two such ‘church channels’ in my city) and I was listening to the televangelist say that “even if you have no friends in this world, God will be your friend.” Immediately after hearing these words, I was struck by how much “God” sounds like the imaginary friends that children sometimes invent to keep themselves company. If your child were to tell you that she played with “Magna” all afternoon, and you know she was alone in her bedroom the whole time, you might worry about your child’s emotional well-being. What, then, should we think when adults say they talk with “God” (or “Jesus”)? Given that there is no more tangible proof for the existence of “God” (or “Jesus”) than there is for “Magna,” are we not justified in asking if “God” (or “Jesus”) is merely an imaginary friend for adults? Indeed, “God” appears to serve the same purpose for adults that “Magna” serves for little children: providing comfort and companionship when no actual human is available.
Is God merely an imaginary friend for adults? – Dangerous Intersection

So, people have experiences with God that they are convinced is real. I don't doubt this, having had such experiences myself. A real issue though is adults when claim to know the difference between real and imaginary. The difference being they would conscious of creating an imaginary deity and having this knowledge of conscious creation, they'd know positively themselves as being the source of the character.

However what if it is not a conscious creation? What if the unconscious mind were capable of creating the experience of such a deity/entity unaware to our conscious knowledge?

Consider when you dream, you dream of someone you know or perhaps a stranger. You didn't consciously create them, are not directly controlling their actions. They act completely autonomous of your thoughts, you have no direct control over these individuals you experience in your dreams.

Is it not possible for the God or gods you experience to be one such creation of your unconscious mind? And/or if you do not believe this is the case, how would you know. How could you test it?

A friend, imaginary or otherwise, is someone who is parallel and equal to ourselves in many ways. God, on the other hand, is defined to be a being who is in a different league, way beyond humans. Imaginary friend is not appropriate for God. A better term is more like hero worship.

The hero is admired and/or feared. They are allowed to remain above and beyond. This above and beyond the norm is what makes the hero special. The worshipper does not wish to dumb down their hero. The hero is allowed to set the bar as high as possible, and the worshipper tries their best to be like their hero so they can rise and meet the hero.

Hero worship is not just for the religious. Atheists also do hero worship, but typically they worship special humans. It could be a political figure or a sports legion. It could be a Diva from the opera. We admire them because they are above and beyond. God is the King of the heroes.

 

[Nakosis]

A friend, imaginary or otherwise, is someone who is parallel and equal to ourselves in many ways. God, on the other hand, is defined to be a being who is in a different league, way beyond humans. Imaginary friend is not appropriate for God. A better term is more like hero worship.

The hero is admired and/or feared. They are allowed to remain above and beyond. This above and beyond the norm is what makes the hero special. The worshipper does not wish to dumb down their hero. The hero is allowed to set the bar as high as possible, and the worshipper tries their best to be like their hero so they can rise and meet the hero.

Hero worship is not just for the religious. Atheists also do hero worship, but typically they worship special humans. It could be a political figure or a sports legion. It could be a Diva from the opera. We admire them because they are above and beyond. God is the King of the heroes.

Personally, I've become pretty jaded when ti comes to hero worship these days. A God at least can remain aloof and perfect, not subject to human frailties. In many cases, God seems the ideal of perfection that humans strive for.

 

[Trailblazer]

So you are not one who has a personal relationship with God?

I do not believe that anyone can have a personal relationship with God because God is not a person.
God is and always has been beyond anything that can ever be recounted or perceived by humans.
According to my beliefs, we can only relate to God through His Messengers, who act as Intermediaries between God and man, thus bridging the gap..

Interesting. I just see a difference between folks in real life and what is written about them. Often what is written about a person can give a completely different view from who they really are. Jesus for example, we only know of through the eyes of others. I'm not sure how much trust I can place in what others have claimed.

I agree, and that especially applies if what was written is remote in history and we do not know who wrote it or if they even knew the person they were writing about, as in the case of Jesus. We cannot trust those writings to be accurate, Imo.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

No real disagreement with the rest of your post, but this kin of sticks out....

Devaluing the perception of God, what you say is true, but is this necessarily a bad thing?

I suppose I'm beyond seeing a need for God in my life. God could or could not exist, it'd make no difference in my life. I won't say there is no benefit in believing in a God for some, just hard for me to see it.

God could be an imaginary entity that some benefit from believing in. Not saying that's the truth but I'm not sure the truth would make any difference here.

Same. I don't think of the word unless chatting on RF. I'm sure that one can speak of other people's gods without calling it imaginary friends. While I'm indifferent to it in general, that doesn't exclude that it is rude based on how its said in context.

 

[Trailblazer]

I suppose I'm beyond seeing a need for God in my life. God could or could not exist, it'd make no difference in my life.

For most of my live since I became a Baha'i at age 17, I lived as if God did not exist, because I had no connection to God during those years. Why that happened is a long story, but suffice to say I decided to give God and my religion another go about seven years ago. That has changed my life, because I take my beliefs very seriously. It has been a struggle though because I have mixed feelings about God. Luckily though, I do not have mixed feelings about Baha'u'llah, and I feel certain He is God's Representative on earth.

I won't say there is no benefit in believing in a God for some, just hard for me to see it.
God could be an imaginary entity that some benefit from believing in.

I do not think there is any benefit in believing in God if God does not exist.
Imo, the only legitimate reason to believe in God is if God exists. Otherwise people are living a lie.

 

[1213]

The real question I think, is who is God for you now?...

To me, He is what the Bible tells He is. And it means for example:

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4:24

He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.
1 John 4:8

We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
1 John 4:16

 

[1213]

Like what?

That in the beginning there was only one continent.

God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas. God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:10

And also, that Jews will be scattered and later gathered back as it is happening nowadays.

Gods that human imagine have nothing to offer, no wisdom or knowledge. After all, if human would have something wise and good to say, why give credit to some imaginary good and not take it to self?

 

[loverofhumanity]

I'll just point out that these folks are dead, so they are not here, physically at least.

Are they really? Physically yes but They and Their teachings have managed to live on in the hearts and minds of men thousands of years after Their death. So are Tyey really dead?