People forget that the Apostle Paul was also the Pharisee Saul of Tarsus who studied under the teacher Gamaliel. Paul was a scholar, a Pharisee, and a devout Jew whose writings brought the events surrounding Jesus into an Old Testament context that would have been readily understood by the Jews...
It looks like what your describing as an analytical perspective I have confused with what I understand to be a naturalistic perspective. Considering that,
if you are looking to a god with "superior qualities, but not supernatural ones" then I doubt that many would worship because that god is...
"I'd say active acknowledgment of god as one's superior of a more-than-human kind to whom thanks and great respect are due. But since that's off the top of my head, I'm still listening."
Again, from a Christian perspective:
My concept is that acknowledging God as your superior falls far short...
"It seems to me that there's a religious mindset in which god ─ and his powers and the nature of his existence ─ don't need to be understood in the analytical sense I'm talking about, but rather god is worshiped with consequent emotional rewards for the worshiper."
Addressing this from a...
Looking through the threads it appears that this topic is a mile wide and hinges on several things, below are just a few:
1. Who/What do you believe is god/God/or not?
a. Depending on that concept, is God understandable?
I. If so - to what degree...
I like to hear why people have made the religious choices they have. I like to hear how they've formed their view of the world and their role in it. So much more. I like a challenge. I like to have my faith and beliefs challenged. These things are useful and beneficial to my faith, but...
I can't rescue anyone, especially if they aren't interested. I can talk about things as I see them and folks will either listen, or not. Talking with folks is usually interesting, sometimes enlightening (for me & hopefully for others), and often entertaining (in a good way)...