Whats kind of god do you believe in?

Well the question of kind of god may sound funny, but I certainly see why the question should come up before a real discussion on the topic is presented. Most times when I see a debate on god, the two parties have very different ideas on what god is, or does, or even definitions of words used to make a point or rebut a point ect ect.

Many people hold differing beliefs. Nothing wrong with that, but try to understand and flush out that belief. I think blind faith is when you cant even answer the questions below in simple ways.

Do you subscribe to a god of the gaps? Not sure what I mean by god of the gaps? Do you believe in a supernatural god, miracles, answered prays, ect? Well if you have questions like so many of us it helps to think about what it means when you have a certain belief.

I highly doubt anyone will say they subscribe to a god of the gaps once they understand the concept, however you really have to ask yourself serious questions about your beliefs in order to qualify that answer. The following questions are not all about the concept of god of the gaps (that is just one observation I see when people refer to the miraculous), but are valid when trying to rationalize your faith. Many people do not like the idea of irrational faith, or being irrational in any sense. The way to remove irrational concepts is by using reason to understand your beliefs.

I know some folks cant follow format, so no worries, I dont care. It just wont be a post I read. But if you could follow the question format Id love ya long time. Try to keep you answers short, but I understand this topic is indeed one of those topics lol.

Questions:
1) Do you believe in a god that performs miracles.

2) Do you consider miracles to be supernatural. ie that nature would not have normally permitted a certain outcome, or the probability of it happening is 0. God allowed an exception?

3) Do you submit to an afterlife?
a) Where do you think this afterlife takes place? Another realm? Another reality? A Higher dimension? And Why one place over another? (Be careful here you either have to admit you have no clue or have to start rationalizing words like realm, reality, dimension, spirit world, ect . . . nothing wrong with that just requires some analysis of definitions.)

4) Do you believe in a personal spirit?
a) What is the purpose of a personal spirit?
b) What is the function of a personal spirit (keep it simple, just state what functions a spirit would need to facilitate its purpose.)

5) Do you believe in a universal spirit?
a) Is this god?
b) What is this universal spirit? Is this just a medium, energy, information storage? ect ect . .

6) If god created the universe, who created god?

7) If god has always existed then what dictated when god created our universe? ie Why now?

8) If god created the universe, is there other universes god has created or is this the only one?
a) If one universe, why one?
b) If multiple universes, why multiple?


Oh yea and I will be answering this myself, just sill working on my answers ect.

Questions:
1) Do you believe in a god that performs miracles. yeah... criss angel.

2) Do you consider miracles to be supernatural. ie that nature would not have normally permitted a certain outcome, or the probability of it happening is 0. God allowed an exception? miricles are magic,God does wtf he wants

3) Do you submit to an afterlife?
a) Where do you think this afterlife takes place? Another realm? Another reality? A Higher dimension? And Why one place over another? (Be careful here you either have to admit you have no clue or have to start rationalizing words like realm, reality, dimension, spirit world, ect . . . nothing wrong with that just requires some analysis of definitions.) yeah After life you go to seasame street

4) Do you believe in a personal spirit?
a) What is the purpose of a personal spirit?
b) What is the function of a personal spirit (keep it simple, just state what functions a spirit would need to facilitate its purpose.) Spirit = Ego

5) Do you believe in a universal spirit? No
a) Is this god? criss angel?
b) What is this universal spirit? Is this just a medium, energy, information storage? ect ect . . In that case maybe.

6) If god created the universe, who created god? Stan Lee

7) If god has always existed then what dictated when god created our universe? ie Why now? He got bored

8) If god created the universe, is there other universes god has created or is this the only one? Nope
a) If one universe, why one? Theres plenty
b) If multiple universes, why multiple?
Mo' Money!!!

No. Or one that doesn't, either.



I see miracles as delusions or misinterpretations or simple lack of knowledge. Go back a thousand years and an electric toothbrush would have been considered a "miracle."



No, I think when you're dead, you're dead -- in the ground, or cremated, or eaten by a giant lizard, whatever. It's over.



No, I think this -- like most of these concepts -- is something people use to make themselves feel better about -- or deny -- their own mortality. A kind of drug without the pills or needles.



No, I see it as another fallacy.



Who created Tarzan, and Superman, and Sherlock Holmes? Same difference.



If Superman has always existed, why did he wait until issue #342 to defeat Bizarro's plan to overthrow Aardvark World? There is an element in much fiction, called "suspension of disbelief" that kicks in when something supernatural occurs. But some disbelief is more suspendable than others.



I believe there are probably multiple universes, although I have no concrete evidence of such....but I've read a lot about the subject, and I think the idea is infinitely more rational and credible than belief in any god....

Let me start by saying that I’m ultimately agnostic, meaning that I confess I don’t know. I also hold that all humans are agnostic. There only difference between an agnostic and a theist is their level of self-honesty.

However, having said that, I do have beliefs that I feel are possible, and even highly probably. One thing I can say with certainty is that I don’t believe that it’s important to believe in a God. I don’t think God cares one way or the other. I think what God really wants is for us to appreciate and enjoy life and each other. Probably the worst thing we can ever do is hate each other in the name of God.

With all that said, I’ll answer the question of what I would bet if I had to bet on the true nature of our reality.

1) Do you believe in a god that performs miracles.

The universe is a miracle as far as I’m concerned.

2) Do you consider miracles to be supernatural. ie that nature would not have normally permitted a certain outcome, or the probability of it happening is 0. God allowed an exception?

I have seen no reason to believe that there is an intervening God. I have neither seen, nor heard, of anything (credible) that I could not accept as being the result of natural causes.

Now I have heard unbelievable stories of supposed ‘miracles’ that I could not explain. (like limbs growing back miraculously, etc.) But I have no direct experience with this. I’ve also heard people claim to see Elvis too, so I’m skeptical about those kinds of things. I’d have to see such things first hand before I’d believe them. But the standard ‘miracle’ stories don’t impress me. I can easily accept them as pure chance or attribute them to other explanations.

3) Do you submit to an afterlife?

Submit? Do mean, do I believe in an afterlife?

I innately feel that that I am eternal. Not merely after death, but I’ve always existed even before I was born.

Do I believe this is the case? I don’t believe anything that I can’t directly experience. I can only say that I innately feel that I am an eternal being. Whether that feeling is true, or whether it’s just a feeling, I have no clue. All I know is that I feel like there was never a time when I was not, and there will never be a time when I will cease to exist. I have never feared death and I’m totally in the dark as to why so many people fear death.

a) Where do you think this afterlife takes place? Another realm? Another reality? A Higher dimension? And Why one place over another? (Be careful here you either have to admit you have no clue or have to start rationalizing words like realm, reality, dimension, spirit world, ect . . . nothing wrong with that just requires some analysis of definitions.)

I’ll gladly admit that I have no clue. In truth I think your semantics is basically meaningless to be honest about it. The spirit world is the spirit world, the physical world is the physical world. I don’t see the point to calling it a different ‘realm’ or ‘reality’ or ‘dimension’. Those terms would be more suited to working out a theory if you wanted to try to describe it using some sort of formal model or theory. And then, as you say, you’d have to define what they mean.

I would just define the spirit world as some existence other than physical, and leave it at that.

In fact, I believe that the physical ‘world’ is just a dream anyway. It’s a well-structured dream with well-defined parameters, but it’s still just a dream. I know enough about Quantum Field Theory to accept that model, and that model says that there is no ‘physical’ universe. It’s all done with vibration is quantum fields. And the quantum fields are ‘ghostly’ (maybe even spiritual)

4) Do you believe in a personal spirit?

I do. But I’m also aware that this is probably egotistical thinking. It a romantic notion to me (as I’m sure it is for everyone). In fact, it’s the preservation of the ego that attracts most people to religions like Christianity. Everyone would love nothing more than to have their ego preserved for eternity.

a) What is the purpose of a personal spirit?

I don’t think it needs to have a purpose. It just is. Does some thing need to have a ‘purpose’ to exist?

If you suddenly realized that you exist do you need to have a purpose. Would you think, “Gee I have no purpose, there’s no sense in existing”.

I don’t think so. Existence itself is purpose enough.

b) What is the function of a personal spirit (keep it simple, just state what functions a spirit would need to facilitate its purpose.)

Well, according to my last response the only purpose of existence would be existence itself. So any functions would probably be aimed at making that existence worth existence. In other words, to enjoy the existence would be a worthy function.

5) Do you believe in a universal spirit?

Yes and no.

I do believe in a universe ‘life source’. I’m not so sure it needs to have it’s own consciousness though. At least not in the sense of a central ego. I imagine that it experiences the experience of all spirits. What it is I have no idea. I don’t think that it’s important to know.

I often have dreams of being in the spirit world. I see individual spirits like myself floating around in an empty space. They appear as fuzzy globes of light. However, they can transform into any image they which to transform into. But there is no physical substance to them. They are thought-beings.

However, there is a ‘source’ of light which I automatically know as the life-source. It’s like a shadow. It’s always there, it moves when I move. Just like my shadow (except it’s a point of light). It actually behaves more like a rainbow. No matter how hard you try you can’t change your distance from it. It is always the same distance away from you. Always out of your reach, but always a part of you. There is no mystery to it. You fully understand that it give rise to your existence. You don’t worship it, you don’t fear it, you don’t do anything but know that it’s there. You aren’t even curious about it because it is so much a part of you that it’s not a curiosity to you. Kind of like your shadow on earth. It’s just there, and part of you, yet not a part of you.

a) Is this god?

In my dreams that point of light is god. And yes, there’s absolutely no need to capitalize the ‘g’. It does not demand anything from you. There is no need to worship. Your very existence is all that it desires. It just wants you to be you. That’s what makes it happy.

b) What is this universal spirit? Is this just a medium, energy, information storage? ect ect .

In my dream there is no curiously concerning it. There is just no desire to question it or investigate it. It wants nothing from you, and it is not a threat. Perhaps it is causing you to feel this way because it doesn’t want you to investigate it. I don’t think you’d get very far if you tried. Not because it would try to prevent you. But like I say, it would be a futile as trying to reach the end of a rainbow. No matter what you do you’re never going to get there. It just isn’t within your ability to do that.

I think it’s the same way with God. Even if you tried to investigate it you would just give up after a while realizing that it’s a futile thing to do. And why even bother? It wants nothing from you, it’s no threat to you, and it is what causes you to exist. Why would you pester it?

I might add here also that in my dream, as a spirit, I have no want or desires that I cannot manifest on my own. There would be nothing to gain. I would have nothing to gain by attempting to investigate my life-source. What would I do with it if I could figure it out anyway? There’s just no reason to even want to try. It would be like trying to capture your own shadow. What would you do with it if you could capture it?

6) If god created the universe, who created god?

For some reason, in the spirit world that question would be so moot that all it would do is cause every spirit in heaven* to well-up in an honest to goodness belly laughter. It’s like who cares?

* I’m just using the terms ‘heaven’ for the spirit world. I don’t mean to imply that it is the ‘biblical heaven’. It’s not the final resting place of spirit. It’s just the spirit world. Spirits will soon become incarnated again into another physical world. That’s what spirits do. “Heaven” (or the spirit world) is more like a huge library where spirits live. And what they do is become incarnated into interactive ‘books’ or fantasy worlds (like Planet Earth).

7) If god has always existed then what dictated when god created our universe? ie Why now?

Our “universe” is merely one of infinitely many incarnations (interactive books) in the spiritual library.

In fact, spirits love to create! That's what they do!

They are creating new books, new scenerios, new universes all the time. It's a never-ending fantasy.

8) If god created the universe, is there other universes god has created or is this the only one?

God doesn’t create them. We do. God just gives us the power to do it.

a) If one universe, why one?

I already said there are infinitely many interactive books, aren’t you paying attention?

b) If multiple universes, why multiple?

Because nobody likes to be bored.

Define God?

There are so many terms for it actually?

Some believe a man sitting on clouds, others a force field shield of some sort, some think it is energy of some type, others believe it is just a feeling one has, and the list goes on. I personally hope it is a naked woman sitting on clouds offering me a refreshing mug of dark german beer.

Maybe we use the term god for things we don't understand yet have questions for.

Why do we have life?

answer: Because God made us many say.

Yet if God means I don't know then the answer would be:

I don't know

God = don't know

something beyond our comprehension to understand

Now I know that this contradicts faith and feelings for about 90% of the world population and this is for them a bunch of nonsense what I say, yet really think about it and give yourself a honest answer.

What is God?

your imagination
a feeling
your concerns and questions
curiousity
faith
fear
amazement
a once in a lifetime ticket

it can mean so many things

as a agnostic person who consistently searchs for answers cannot come up with the answer to tell you the truth. Hey at least I am brutally honest about it!

I would say the best thing you can do is believe in whatever makes you wake up happy for that day.

if you are a christian or catholic and believe Jesus is the son of God and you are saved then practice that

if you are into believing many gods at once and love the different idealogies it brings then practice hinduism

if you believe in allah as the last living prophet to teach us the teachings of the Quran then practice that

if you are a buddhist and believe in enlightenment and a state of nirvana then practice that

if you are an atheist who feels best just believing that there is no god and when you die that is it then believe in that

if you are a native indian and believe in spirits who guide us each day then practice that

if you are the other thousands and thousands of religions that makes YOU personally happy each day then practice it

in the long run with 6 billion people on this planet everyone has a different idealogy and vision of what god is. Perhaps it is meant to be like this for a reason to allow us to believe the way we like it best, feel comfortable in, and prosper in life with confidence when doing so.

To the other questions dear OP I will not mention anything about for the possiblities can be endless and the answers can be vast.

Just enjoy the life you have and adapt to different idealogies to understand the different perspectives of what people may enjoy each day.

All the best

Questions:


Never met him.... no.



The probability zero does not exist in the holographic matrix.




After what?




Everything exists HERE NOW.




You mean a soul? I believe in my higher self, the real self. It is very personal to me... it is me.



My higher self, (personal spirit as you name it) animates my incarnations and guides my purpose on earth.



Ultimately the universal spirit is self. It is the body, mind and spirit of the universe.




The universe created Itself.





There is no time. (Now is all that exists.)




I don't know. I see no reason for any particular limited number of universes. I have heard there are currently seven, at least in this sector, but I don't know the nature of these seven universes.

There could be an infinite number. (I suspect there is,) and that they may all exist within other universes.

JB

Hey I'll convert!

How do I get a ticket to that heaven?

Can I order a tea-toddler Goddess?

I don't want an old one with gray hair and a beard thought.

Maybe I can resurrect Aphrodite?

I think she was into grapejuice.

That's close enough to tea for me.

I mean perhaps god is exactly what you personally envision when you pass away so this means everyone will go different directions anyway.

Then of course their is the philosophy that we are gods ourselves and were bored and come here to this planet to have some entertainment. Did you first mention that to me James or was it Jeanniebean I read somewhere? Anyhow that could be a possiblity also.

Well yes a goddess wouldn't be a bad thought at all you are right. lol

Whip it all out, might as well heresy it up!

1) Do you believe in a god that performs miracles.
No

2) Do you consider miracles to be supernatural. ie that nature would not have normally permitted a certain outcome, or the probability of it happening is 0.
Yes
[edit: let me qualify that by saying that I consider "Nature", in this context, to be synonymous with "The Laws of the Physical Universe"]

God allowed an exception?
Not applicable to my belief system

3) Do you submit to an afterlife?
I believe that I continue to exist after the body dies.

a) Where do you think this afterlife takes place? Another realm? Another reality? A Higher dimension? And Why one place over another? (Be careful here you either have to admit you have no clue or have to start rationalizing words like realm, reality, dimension, spirit world, ect . . . nothing wrong with that just requires some analysis of definitions.)
I believe it takes place in this physical universe

4) Do you believe in a personal spirit?
I believe I AM a spirit, not that I HAVE one.
a) What is the purpose of a personal spirit?
Whatever the spirit decides it wants its purpose to be.
b) What is the function of a personal spirit (keep it simple, just state what functions a spirit would need to facilitate its purpose.)
To achive the goals and purposes it sets for itself.

5) Do you believe in a universal spirit?
I wouldn’t use that terminology to label anything I believe in, so I guess not

6) If god created the universe, who created god?
Not applicable in my belief system

7) If god has always existed then what dictated when god created our universe? ie Why now?
Not applicable in my belief system

8) If god created the universe, is there other universes god has created or is this the only one?
Not applicable in my belief system

I really enjoyed some of your answers, I just wish you would have elaborated on some as to why its not applicable, or perhaps just explain more about your beliefs.

Thanks for responding.

PS. JB I love your answers also hehe.

I can do that :)

The main reason for the "N/A" answers is that I don't believe in a "Single, Omnipotent God that created the universe".

My view is more like this: We are all gods that have agreed to play a game together. The "player tokens" are bodies. The "game board" is the physical universe. Like any game, there are various, self-imposed restrictions - all of which could be summed up under the heading of "imperfections". When these imperfections interact with the laws of the physical universe (also rules of the game), you get the "ungodlike" behavior we see in everyday life. As you progress through the game, you gain "powers" that can enable you to "cancel" or "override" various rules. The final goal of the game is to "regain godhood."

Now that is a horribly grotesque oversimplification. And some of the semantics are just begging to be refuted. But it it's a pretty accurate analogy for my "religious beliefs".

Awesome! Yep, its all a game folks!

Fantasy Island earth!

Come and play the game of life and death, good and evil, go around as many times as you want!

Its a battle for the earth as the galaxy aliens scramble to attain spiritual enlightenment by harvesting the experience attained by the humans before the humans ascend to the fifth density matrix.

Get your tickets here folks! There is only a limited number of spaces left.



JB

There is one thing I have to add. I prefer to use the word “theories” instead of “beliefs”. Technically, there is very little difference between the two words, but “belief” tends to imply that observed phenomena that don’t align, are either simply discarded, or are assumed to be erroneous, whereas “theory” implies that observed phenomena must be accepted at face value for the theory to be valid.

Oh boy - a comedian. Is this the jokes section?

Questions:
1) Do you believe in a god that performs miracles.
I believe in many gods and goddesses that have the ability to influence. Yes I believe in magick (that energy that surrounds us and connects all life) and yes I believe it can be focused toward a purpose with success. Do I believe in "miracles" such as described in the bible? no. In my view it's how they explained magick

2) Do you consider miracles to be supernatural. ie that nature would not have normally permitted a certain outcome, or the probability of it happening is 0. God allowed an exception? No, I believe magick is natural (again to me, miracle = magick)

3) Do you submit to an afterlife? yes
a) Where do you think this afterlife takes place? Another realm? Another reality? A Higher dimension? And Why one place over another? (Be careful here you either have to admit you have no clue or have to start rationalizing words like realm, reality, dimension, spirit world, ect . . . nothing wrong with that just requires some analysis of definitions.) I believe the after life is. It is a continuation of this existence, and yes I believe we can be reincarnated. I believe that heaven, avalon, "the otherworld" are all the same place, do I believe in hell, no. I believe there is one afterlife, and how you live your life here will determine how you are received and treated there. i also don't believe that you are forced to reincarnate. I believe you are given the choice. However, I'm pretty sure that for some that choice is easier than for others to make. for example, when mother theresa was recieved in the afterlife, it was warm and receptive. It wouldn't be such a bad thing for her to say "you know, i think I want to stay here in the afterlife." However, when hitler got there, the greeting was probably quite different and can imagine it was easy for him to make the choice to come back and learn a few more lessons

4) Do you believe in a personal spirit? yes
a) What is the purpose of a personal spirit? it is our life essance, it's what individualizes you from me.
b) What is the function of a personal spirit (keep it simple, just state what functions a spirit would need to facilitate its purpose.) explaining the function of the personal spirit is like explaining the function of our being... good luck perhaps it is just that, for us to simply exist as the individual we are.

5) Do you believe in a universal spirit? yes
a) Is this god? yes/no I don't believe in an "all powerfull creator god" gods and goddess are ascended spirits, one day we can be among them (IMO)
b) What is this universal spirit? Is this just a medium, energy, information storage? ect ect . . the universal spirit is the original 'all' that all existence... whether flesh or spirit sprang from, it's what connects us all as it's where we all came from. In my believe the 'all' was simply life energy, that became sentient and aware of itself. where it came from... does it matter? even as a christian i never understood why someone needed to know the source of their source... seriously, I don't have the energy to fall into that whirlpool.

6) If god created the universe, who created god? I believe my opinion on that would spring from my answers above.

7) If god has always existed then what dictated when god created our universe? ie Why now? the all became sentient and aware of itself... imagine being the only life in existence.

8) If god created the universe, is there other universes god has created or is this the only one? the universe, i believe created the all. (i.e. energy massed, became sentient) but I do believe in multiple universes.
a) If one universe, why one?
b) If multiple universes, why multiple? there is evidence thanks to quantum physics (that I am like very much just scratching the surface of knowledge in) that not only are their multiple universes, but we are one in a sea of universes that coexist.

No Every time we study miracles we find natural causes we would have never expected . . . anything that defies common sense is called miracle, but its all nature working normally. (Nature turns out to be stranger then any super-nature ever presented lol)

No

Not in the traditional senseInformation is required for sentience, we loose all information when we die. Our energy lives on . . . . our consciousness does not.

Nope No personal eternal connecting force that can store information has been found, I tend to only buy what can be sold.

Yes All matter, all energy CAN store information, but this information requires an observer to make sense of it. The universal spirit is just reality.

Infinite regression explains nothing

Time lines outside our universe are not relevant to our reality, there is no reason to even contemplate such a thing in context to our reality

If some higher dimensional being does exist that kick started the universe then there is no reason to believe he has stopped doing so. . . . There is also no reason to believe one exists in the first place.

If he created one, then why one? If one, then why then, and not later, or before. These are actually relevant questions. . . .

Was there even a concept of time for this being that creates? If not then without time you have no cause and effect, without cause and effect you cannot have intelligence which is a formal expression of ideas that come from a relationship with causation. If we cannot analysis of our observations, then we are not sentient, we are not conscious, we are not intelligent.

So if there is a force that can be called god that lived outside space time, then it could not by definition be intelligent.

Like DI said at most it could only be an organizing force . . . without purpose, purpose requires cause and effect, which requires time, which requires space-time, which was what was created, and if only one universe and no higher dimensions then it cannot be that way at all . . . .

The only thing physicist can come up with that meets these conjectures is one presented by Paul Davies that uses the quantum mechanical effect of future causation.

I would be tickled to death if someone would read the "Cosmic Jackpot" and could have anything to say on the issue of future causation.

Ill link a page with some details in another post im running out of time to edit this.

Ok, I got my term wrong, its not future causation.

But Backward Causation, or Retro-causation. Here are some links, this is the kind of thing that will help understand the very beginning of time . . . not pondering a infinite creator. You have to work from fundamentals to complexity not the other way around, unless you have the complex thing in front of you to deconstruct. (Empirical evidence ect)


http://aca.mq.edu.au/PaulDavies/publications/papers/arrow_of_time.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrocausality
http://www.springerlink.com/content/x930446324433h36/fulltext.pdf?page=1