Where would we be now if there was never a concept of God? (page 4)

5go

The way I see it is god(s) is mankinds imaginary friend(s) and if we don't out grow it then we don't deserve to advance.

zack

I like TS Elliots thought: Man without God isn't even a little interesting.

I suggest that the concept of God and religion has been a tool of the rich and ruling class to manipulate the poor and working class. People tollerated harsh treatment and harsh conditions chasing the carrot of the afterlife in heaven. If people thought this life is all there is they wouldnt be as manageble by the rich. I wonder how many atheist are in George Bush's army and marines?

jaguarbass

god is a direct result of how we are wired. to find pattern and explain it, with stories. and God is found in all cultures because we are similar. Jung's Collective Unconscious explains this phenomena well, imo.

I would think many of us are entertaining this topic because in our minds at this time we have reduced God to a concept.

Tetra says "God is a direct result of how we are wired" Our terminology in describing our situation, how we are wired infers a creator or designer. When I took anatomy and physiology my professor, one who had no belief in God, spoke of pre-planned cell death, as to why we grow old and die. I'm pretty sure that is how the anatomy book puts it as well. Once again unbelievers refer to a desinger.

I don't know what I believe. But the above is what I observe.

nicolaou

consider this: we are where we are because we have been where we have been. It couldn't have been any other way. The results would have been vastly different from what we see around us. Do you genuinely think we could have got to this level of complexity without the intermediary stages?

Agree 100% But also, consider this: if we had skipped the intermediary 'god' stage, why presume that our level of complexity would have been less advanced! It may have of course, we are speculating and I accept the possibilty that the god concept has assisted the progress of humanity but it's only fair to accept that withou 'god' we may have been even further down the road of progress and enlightenment than we are now.

Guess I'm feeling feisty too!

tetrapod.sapien

Tetra says "God is a direct result of how we are wired" Our terminology in describing our situation, how we are wired infers a creator or designer. When I took anatomy and physiology my professor, one who had no belief in God, spoke of pre-planned cell death, as to why we grow old and die. I'm pretty sure that is how the anatomy book puts it as well. Once again unbelievers refer to a desinger.

okay jag, just replace "are wired" with "have evolved", then.

again, even my words, and the words of your professor, are the result of our being pattern seekers and searching for stories. if i infer a designer semantically, it does not mean i am thinking of one.

tetra

LittleToe

Nic:
I agree. Logically I have to allow that possibility, for the sake of conjecture.

However, mathematically I see that placeholders are required for any decent level of algebra. Most of our science is based upon mathematical models and logic. I'm now going to state an assumption, on my part: that you are measuring advancement in terms of scientific progress.

Historically, and at the very least, a "god-of-the-gaps" has been used to allow us to reach our current philosophical levels. Therefore I would posit that if we hadn't called the concept "God" we would just have labelled it something else. Science has also been yoked to the breadth of our vistas and language, hence to philosophy.

Ergo, I believe we would be exactly where we now are

LovesDubs

Didnt we read somewhere that God put it into us to "search for him"? We are always trying to explain stuff. People have a tendency to want solid answers to vaporous questions. So if the first two guys on the planet are pointing at the giraffe and one says to the other "Did you make that?" and the other guy says "No...are you saying YOU didnt make that thing?" "Oh hell no....neck's way wacked."

So they look at each other and say... "Well shit...if you didnt and I didnt...then WHO DID???"

Thus came God...rapidly followed by Star Wars.

LittleToe

Josh:Gotta agree. If we were wired differently we would be different beasts. Our wiring has evolved to the point where we are exactly where we are now.

tetrapod.sapien

heh, ya, it's ironic that i don't "believe" in him, and yet i can't imagine this world without him.

i mean, i can imagine a future place where God has become a metaphor again. but that is only in light of our past. and our past is what it is.

i would venture, "where do you think we can go in the future without a concept of God?" ... or without the literal God in the sky gonna make everything better for us.

to a large degree, i think we have already been answering that question for a while now. but much is yet to be understood as well.

tetra

Where would we be now if there was never a concept of God?

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