Posted by Pierre Charles on June 20, 1998 at 01:00:25:
In Reply to: Words, words, words posted by Matt Berry on June 19, 1998 at 13:18:36:
: The words, "Atheist" and "God," are the pivotal point, not the actual nature of beliefor disbelief.
Today anybody uses the word "God" to mean almost anything. Why not simply abandon the word completely. Because your are affraid the believers won't speak to you. For me its easy, I'm not here to convice them of my understanding of the world. But "they" are here to save me of my misconceptions. That's the difference.
. I believe that God is, was, and always will be a consequence of something real ...
I thought that God was the Cause without cause
not a consequence.
something which results from my immediate sensory contact, my ability to reason and solve problems. Anything "beyond" these influences is, by definition, unknowable ... and therefore, irrelevant speculation. If I do indeed receive an influence (however subtle it may be), by its very contact, I must conclude that it does not belong to the realm of a "beyond."
That's why I prefer not to use the word "God" but Infinity if a speak of the universe, and Elohim if I speak of the Creators of humanity. I accept that we have no proof of what Elohim is. For me it is "Those who came from the sky"
: I use the word "God" to represent the beauty and awe in Nature, but I feel more akin to the Atheist than I do the Theist, since most rigid Theists demand that I deny key aspects of reality in order to "believe" ... which to me is an act of dishonesty, eliminating any chance I might have of cultivating a genuine "spirituality."
Spiritualize matter and demystify religion, that should be the role of "True" science. When I meditate I "feel" with my senses this harmony and unity with the Infinite, the hebrew "En Sof" of the mystics.
: You verify and approach this real God with your senses, applying reason, and never denying reality.
I do not align the REALGod with myself. (That is true arrogance.) I align myself to the REAL God (True humility). ... that is the attempt anyway.
And our knowledge of Infinity with the instrument of science can confirm only a "True" prophet's message. If not he's a false prophet. That's my position. But let's not forget that the instrument is still young. Just think of everything the space telescope has permitted us to better understand.
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