If God Exists...

[H a r o l d]

Life and existence are completely unremarkable. There is nothing to learn or discover, no mysteries, because it's all already in His infinite knowledge, as he controls everything. From the deepest depth of Earth's oceans to every planet in a galaxy on the other "side" of the universe, there is no exceptional knowledge to gain. If God made everything up, everything is pointless. If God were to reveal himself as existing tomorrow, I would kill myself, if only it would put an end to me, which, of course, doing so would not, as there's an afterlife and he can do whatever he wants with me.

If you believe in God, you can NEVER know exactly how brick-shittingly awesome and amazing the TRUTH is. Whereas the opposite is true if God actually controls everything. You can never ACTUALLY appreciate life and existence and sentience for what it TRULY is. For example, if God exists, killing people is not anywhere NEAR as harsh or serious a thing to do as it is if he doesn't.

tl;dr A universe controlled and created by a supremely intelligent being is not a universe I'd like to exist in.


Thoughts?

[Hare_Geist]

I find it interesting that you say if God made everything, then everything is pointless. I would say that one of the hardest aspects of evolutionary theory for many people to accept is its absence of teleology, because many people believe the exact opposite to you, they believe that a life without God is pointless. I don’t entirely agree with either of these viewpoints, and I think that if there is a God, acquisition of knowledge is still valuable: you can discover the purposes for which things are made, and see the consistencies God endowed the universe with, and then you can use this information to gain a better comprehension of God’s realm, to make predictive calculations and to produce technology.

[H a r o l d]

Originally Posted by Hare_Geist

I find it interesting that you say if God made everything, then everything is pointless. I would say that one of the hardest aspects of evolutionary theory for many people to accept is its absence of teleology, because many people believe the exact opposite to you, they believe that a life without God is pointless.

Yes, I know, and it's very aggravating to me.

Originally Posted by Hare_Geist

I don’t entirely agree with either of these viewpoints, and I think that if there is a God, acquisition of knowledge is still valuable: you can discover the purposes for which things are made, and see the consistencies God endowed the universe with, and then you can use this information to gain a better comprehension of God’s realm, to make predictive calculations and to produce technology.

Life and everything, existence, is really just a cruel trick if God made everything and there's a heaven. I suppose there'd be a purpose to live if God exists and you have to behave well during your time on earth, spread His word, etc to get into heaven, but wtf kind of life is that? Who would WANT that to be true, and live their life in accordance with that belief? What I'm trying to say is, the goals of science, expanding human knowledge, etc, at the least end up taking a back seat to what God wants you to do, and at most become COMPLETELY irrelevant.

For example, my goals as a living organism and sentient human being are to reproduce and do my minuscule part in the evolution of my species, and hopefully somehow contribute to humanities knowledge. Both of those reasons for staying alive are ultimately meaningless in a world with God.

No one else has anything to say about my thread?

I'd like to say that I mostly agree. I compared it to mariners on an ocean vs. a child in a bathtub. If we're alone, there is the possibility of "sinking"; but how shallow (pun not intended) is existence if all we are is just a child in God's cosmic bathtub?

Not to say you can't have fun in a bathtub, but I think it removes much of the sense of discovery, worth, etc. I suppose you could dedicate your life to understanding God and His Creation, and certainly it'd be interesting to see what all He's come up with, but it doesn't have quite the same epic feel.

[---Beany---]

Funny I think the opposite. I think life is/would be waaay more interesting if god does exist, but again.... it all depends on what you believe God to be.

And twisted ferret. Your bathtub analogy is the lamest analogy I've ever come across... no offense.

[H a r o l d]

Originally Posted by Twisted_Ferret

I'd like to say that I mostly agree. I compared it to mariners on an ocean vs. a child in a bathtub. If we're alone, there is the possibility of "sinking"; but how shallow (pun not intended) is existence if all we are is just a child in God's cosmic bathtub?

Not to say you can't have fun in a bathtub, but I think it removes much of the sense of discovery, worth, etc. I suppose you could dedicate your life to understanding God and His Creation, and certainly it'd be interesting to see what all He's come up with, but it doesn't have quite the same epic feel.

Exactly. Great analogy.

[BrokeProphet]

Originally Posted by Twisted_Ferret

I'd like to say that I mostly agree. I compared it to mariners on an ocean vs. a child in a bathtub. If we're alone, there is the possibility of "sinking"; but how shallow (pun not intended) is existence if all we are is just a child in God's cosmic bathtub?

Not to say you can't have fun in a bathtub, but I think it removes much of the sense of discovery, worth, etc. I suppose you could dedicate your life to understanding God and His Creation, and certainly it'd be interesting to see what all He's come up with, but it doesn't have quite the same epic feel.

Great analogy...

I do think that if God exists, and revealed it, much of the zest for life people have would be gone whether they realize it or not. Most theists at their core would be sad, after the intitial "I told you so" wore off. They would lose their passion.