From: BoshStrikesBack | #072
If we're just using the word God to symbolize and entity with knowledge and power far greater than we can comprehend, the existence of God seems pretty logical. I would go as far as saying probable. My issue is with humans who claim to know who or what it is, how it acts on our world, and the exact things it wants us to do.
So you're a deist (or at least saying that deism is a possibility)? I appreciate your honesty, but this runs into its own set of problems: namely, how it impacts human action from day-to-day. What should we do in the face of moral problems? How do we reconcile our inextricably limited mental faculties with our claims to certainty?
I understand I'm far more apathetic to these issues than most people, but I just do not see why it should have any impact on our day-to-day. If "God" has not bothered to show himself in any way I can perceive, I see no reason for me to think about him. As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't exist.
Morality based on religion is also something I have a huge problem with. I think morals are your own, and that the best you can do is surround yourself by people who share the same morals. I can see that insulting someone makes them feel bad, so I never do it. I understand that things like violence and rape can have lasting negative effects on someone's mental and physical health, so I abstain from both. I don't think I need a set of rules to govern what I believe is right and wrong. I look at the effects that my actions have on the people or things I act upon, and decide what is right for myself.
If everyone on the planet thought like me, I don't think religion would even exist. I have no interest in knowing how or why we came to be. Sure it might be interesting to find out, but I'm not the least bit concerned with it. If I'm living my life wrong, so be it. I'm having a pretty good time doing what I'm doing. I just try to make my time here as enjoyable as I can for myself and everyone I meet. Basically taking the phrase "Don't worry, be happy" as far as it can go.
The way I see it, every day we know more about the world than we did the day before (speaking figuratively here) with unlimited time and resources we will continue to add to the knowledge gained from the people that came before us. Honestly speaking, I see no reason that there should not come a time when we can understand literally everything there is to know about the very nature of the universe.
This is the position known as logical positivism, and it assumes that there is a definite structure to the universe that the human mind can understand. You're making the same mistakes I laid out before: you suppose that the fallible mind of man has potential access to universal truth, and you suppose that the universe follows rigid natural laws for seemingly no reason.
I'm just speculating on the way things have went so far. I guess it's possible that there is no universal truth or order to universe. Maybe the "truths" to our universe don't apply to other universes... I'll be the first one to tell you that I know nothing. Like any religious person, I'm just choosing to "believe" (in the sense that I believe it is possible) in the future that I prefer.
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