What Happens to Your God After the Extinction of Humans?

[Trailblazer]

It is likely that, given 5 billion other species or about 99% on earth have gone extinct, humans will eventually go extinct.

If or when this happens, what becomes of your God?

Theoretically, if that did happen, it would not have any impact upon God because God is completely independent from His Creatures and He does not need them at all.... It is His Creatures who need Him.

“Regard thou the one true God as One Who is apart from, and immeasurably exalted above, all created things. The whole universe reflecteth His glory, while He is Himself independent of, and transcendeth His creatures. This is the true meaning of Divine unity. He Who is the Eternal Truth is the one Power Who exerciseth undisputed sovereignty over the world of being, Whose image is reflected in the mirror of the entire creation. All existence is dependent upon Him, and from Him is derived the source of the sustenance of all things. This is what is meant by Divine unity; this is its fundamental principle.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 166

 

[ChristineM]

No. No other possibly sentient animal builds. We've been trying to communicate with dolphins since "Center of the Cyclone". We have shown that some of them seem to understand abstract concepts. Do your own research.

You would be surprised at the research i do and have done and no animal has ever... EVER... indicated worship of gods

So unless you can provide evidence that shows i am wrong the point is moot.

You seem to indicate here that a dolphin understanding abstract concepts is some how relevant to the topic, could you explain please.

 

[oldbadger]

@SalixIncendium said :-
what happens to God once humans become extinct?

Nothing will happen to God!

Nothing happened to God when the dinosaurs became extinct.
Nothing happens to God when giant stars blow up.

Nothing happened to God before the evolution of mankind.
Nothing will happen to God after 'an' extinction of mankind.

God is everything, as well as all the nothingness..

And God doesn't need folks to believe in Her/Him for existence.

 

[ChristineM]

I know. I don't need your permission, or approval.



Sometimes the fault is in the reader, not the writer.



Ah, the old 'God of the gaps' argument.

I repeat, there IS evidence for God. It's just not evidence that you accept as such. NOBODY believes in something without evidence. There is always something that is at the basis of belief, no matter how odd/illogical/weird/impossible someone else may think that evidence is.

Do not make the error of thinking that empirical evidence is the only kind of evidence there is, just because it's the only kind you will accept.

As to the 'God of the gaps,' thing, I have no problem with saying that if we don't know how something was done, we say 'God did it.' I also have absolutely no problem (and we have been told to do this, btw) in trying to figure out HOW God did it. That's the true wonder of being human and being here; to learn about and understand the how of things. Learning that does not disprove God any more than getting the recipe for that fantastic German chocolate cake one loves proves that the baker doesn't actually exist. So...if we come to find out that live began in some primordial ooze that some lucky lightning strike turned on, we say...ah...so THAT'S how it's done! Can we do it, too?

But this thread is about what happens to our concept of God when humanity goes extinct. Well, If my concept of Him is accurate...nothing happens. He goes on to deal with all the other worlds that have His children living on them. If my concept of Him is not accurate, then it dies when I do; no need to wait for the whole of humanity to go pfffft.

And then why are you pushing it?

When the subject is definite and the writer includes off topic straw men in a way to indicate compliance with the subject then the fault is most definitely that of the writer, not the reader because the reader is not a clairvoyant.

Not an argument but a fact hammered home with evidence.

You seem to be forgetting faith. If there were evidence why is their faith.

Yes and i answered this thread in a way born out by the evidence.

 

[ACEofALLaces]

Obviously this guy has not read the Bible

Obviously I HAVE read the bible. Now BELIEVING what I read, is an entirely 'nuther story.

It is "obvious' that you know nothing of cosmology if what you are doing is pooh-poohing off the idea that our Sun will self-destruct and take our precious Planet Earth along with it.

 

[oldbadger]

You would be surprised at the research i do and have done and no animal has ever... EVER... indicated worship of gods.

You were looking in the wrong directions, I reckon.
Every living creature pays attention to, and obeys, God.

They wait for the surges of the various migrations.
They wait and hope for the sends of the seasons.
They follow the most basic Natural commands.

But then, for a Deist, Mother Nature is our God, or the words that fit God most closely.

And you'll have a tough time in finding any evidence that contends against that.

 

[ChristineM]

LOL, humanity won´t become extinct.

And your hypothesis on how humanity will overcome the property of the second law of thermodynamics called entropy is?

 

[ACEofALLaces]

Do you honestly think God would care or have any difficulty with His plans just because our sun turns into a white dwarf?

You're suggesting that an omniscient God has a need for a PLAN? Why, pray tell....to remind itself what it needs to do next?

Oh and the problem with the sun is not necessarily that it ends up as a white dwarf, as much as in the process, it managed to completely obliterate planets Mercury, Venus, Earth...and possibly even Mars.

Now regarding whether God would actually DO something about that, would in itself set a precedent because to date, it can not be verified that this God has actually done ANYTHING, since 'resting' after having created the universe.

 

[ChristineM]

You were looking in the wrong directions, I reckon.
Every living creature pays attention to, and obeys, God.

They wait for the surges of the various migrations.
They wait and hope for the sends of the seasons.
They follow the most basic Natural commands.

But then, for a Deist, Mother Nature is our God, or the words that fit God most closely.

And you'll have a tough time in finding any evidence that contends against that.

And think you are applying supernatural awe to weather patterns.

The evidence that weather is understood if not completely predictable. It follows seasonal changes as earth travels is path around the sun then local climatic conditions change. Some animals migrate to follow the food best found at a specific climatic condition.

But you have faith that the orbit of the planet and hence natural weather cycles is a god(s), that is faith and not evidence

 

[oldbadger]

And think you are applying supernatural awe to weather patterns.

The evidence that weather is understood if not completely predictable. It follows seasonal changes as earth travels is path around the sun then local climatic conditions change. Some animals migrate to follow the food best found at a specific climatic condition.

But you have faith that the orbit of the planet and hence natural weather cycles is a god(s), that is faith and not evidence

No faith needed.

And Mother Nature stretches far far further than weather cycles. Mother Nature is an exploding star or colliding galaxies, and I promise you that everybody holds Nature in awe.

All around me and within is a part of my Diety, I call that 'Nature' because I always did, always have.

And Mother Nature will go on without mankind, without this whole tiny solar system, even.

No faith required.

 

[ChristineM]

No faith needed.

And Mother Nature stretches far far further than weather cycles. Mother Nature is an exploding star or colliding galaxies, and I promise you that everybody holds Nature in awe.

All around me and within is a part of my Diety, I call that 'Nature' because I always did, always have.

And Mother Nature will go on without mankind, without this whole tiny solar system, even..

No faith required.

The faith is, you consider nature to be a god

Of course nature is universal, holding in awe does not require that godhood is bestowed on it

That is your faith that nature is your deity and yes it is required, without it the scientific explanation suffices or even a simple "i dont know but i refuse to guess and attribute my ignorance to a god".

 

[SalixIncendium]

I don't believe God will allow humans to go extinct, but for argument's sake, He could repair the earth, recreate new forms of life, make other planets into living spaces... There is no shortage of options.

That's a reassuring sentiment, but it's generally accepted that our sun will continue to expand until it incinerates life on earth. What then?

 

[atanu]

It is likely that, given 5 billion other species or about 99% on earth have gone extinct, humans will eventually go extinct.

If or when this happens, what becomes of your God?

ETA: It would appear the wording in my post has led to confusion. To clarify, by "God concept," I mean your God as you perceive it rather than the concept itself. In other words, what happens to God once humans become extinct? I've since removed the word "concept" to eliminate confusion. Apologies for any confusion or lack of clarity in my OP.

As per Hindu cosmology, brahmA, the creator has a day of 4.32 billion human years and the night of equal duration. During brahmA’s night all living souls go into un-manifest state within brahmA and are brought back to manifest state during the day.

As per Hinduism, souls are without beginning. Extinction may simply mean change of form.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Hopefully not. But it will change as all species have done.

Why does the swimming human need such a big nose (top, center)? Did he/she not develop gills?

At least until the sun expands and envelops the earth.

(aside from the title, no other relevance to the thread; just an upbeat musical interlude)

 

[SalixIncendium]

At some point, the world is redeemed and perfected, we are resurrected and judged, and then the world enters into eternity in communion with Him, drawing ever further into His love.

We're talking about a God Who created the entire universe and Who existed before time itself even began. Do you honestly think God would care or have any difficulty with His plans just because our sun turns into a white dwarf? He can undo that process or rearrange the universe as He sees fit when the time comes.

I'm not singling you out but merely using what you said as an example for one of the reasons I created this thread.

I suspected that there were those here that consider God to be concerned with human matters and nothing else in the universe. As above, some stated his focus would shift exclusively to human judgment and resurrection and presumably be unconcerned with the rest of existence in the universe. A few implied here that once humans were gone, God would just dust off his hands and either move on to other ventures or simply poof out of existence.

For those of you who replied as such, for what reason do you think God is concerned only with humans and no other life or matter (or anti-matter for that matter) in the universe?

 

[Polymath257]

Why don't we get real "bushy-tailed" about this and consider when the Sun will go 'nova', then 'super-nova', and in the process, engulf the inner three planets.
NOW, what happens to God, THEN?

Just a technicality. The sun will NOT go supernova. It isn't large enough to do so. It *will* go through a red giant phase and engulf the inner planets (including the Earth).

 

[Aupmanyav]

Why don't we get real "bushy-tailed" about this and consider when the Sun will go 'nova', then 'super-nova', and in the process, engulf the inner three planets. NOW, what happens to God, THEN?

Why should God be concerned about that? He is not here. He is in his heaven. Let life on earth be destroyed. Did he not do exactly this earlier also?

Do you honestly think God would care or have any difficulty with His plans just because our sun turns into a white dwarf?

A red dwarf, Shiranui17, as Polymath said.

You would be surprised at the research i do and have done and no animal has ever... EVER... indicated worship of gods.

No animal?! What about those cousins of apes and chimps?

And think you are applying supernatural awe to weather patterns.
The evidence that weather is understood if not completely predictable.

ChristineM, you too are doing just the same. Ascribing all things to God.

 

[dybmh]

It *will* go through a red giant phase and engulf the inner planets (including the Earth

Followed by a satisfied cosmic buuuuuuurp.

 

[wandering peacefully]

It is likely that, given 5 billion other species or about 99% on earth have gone extinct, humans will eventually go extinct.

If or when this happens, what becomes of your God?


ETA: It would appear the wording in my post has led to confusion. To clarify, by "God concept," I mean your God as you perceive it rather than the concept itself. In other words, what happens to God once humans become extinct? I've since removed the word "concept" to eliminate confusion. Apologies for any confusion or lack of clarity in my OP.

It goes back to where it came from before humans thought it up. Nowhere. Just ask a gorilla.

 

[dingdao]

You would be surprised at the research i do and have done and no animal has ever... EVER... indicated worship of gods

So unless you can provide evidence that shows i am wrong the point is moot.

You seem to indicate here that a dolphin understanding abstract concepts is some how relevant to the topic, could you explain please.

I'll agree that we have no evidence that [other] animals have a concept of deity, let alone worship one.
It has been shown that some crows are good at problem solving, bees understand the concept of zero, and dolphins can understand receiving the task of coming up with a different swimming technique each time and accomplishing it.
With these behaviors, we cannot rule out the possibility of other complex mental processes.