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I am religious and believe in free will

70 (27.6%)

I am religious and do not believe in free will

10 (3.9%)

I am not religious and believe in free will

113 (44.5%)

I am not religious and do not believe in free will

61 (24%)

Total Members Voted: 249

[TD1]

Perhaps being a source of some form of 'truth' makes one a God? Worship is probably a big part too.

[hector13]

That applies to televangelists.

[TD1]

That applies to televangelists.

Fair point, though I'd note that the worship is at least ostensibly not directed at the televangelist.

[Strongpoint]

I'm not sure if I agree with that definition, if I want to be worshiped and convince people to do so, does that make me a god? What if I have super powers? I still don't think I'm a god there, I think that'd just make me an asshole.

If you're on the usual power attributed to even e.g Greek gods... well why not? You'd be a god for all intents and purposes, if most likely a bad one.

Am I a god for a potted plant, then?

Sure, I decide its environment, its nutrition, and many other things. But there is nothing divine or supernatural in my control. Neither it is unlimited.

[Egan_BW]

There's nothing supernatural in anything, because if it existed then it would be natural.

[Criptfeind]

There's nothing supernatural in anything, because if it existed then it would be natural.

I don't find this a impediment to coming up with a definition of god that includes that it must be supernatural.

[Schmaven]

There's nothing supernatural in anything, because if it existed then it would be natural.

Another definition for supernatural that leaves room for the supernatural to exist might be: Something that defies the rules by which everything else exists.  If science has no explanation for it, then it is supernatural (unless some future, yet to be theorized science can explain it, then it just appears supernatural and fools us for now).

[Egan_BW]

If it defies the rules by which everything else works, then it still follows its own rules which can be learned and reconciled with the other rules.

[TD1]

Supernatural, then, in the sense that it is outside it.

Coming from without or before our universe. By that logic God would be supernatural, but Superman would not.

[Frumple]

Eehh... that probably depends on the superman. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some incarnation of it or another that preempted their universe's existence, somehow.

Without is something of a bad joke to comic book characters, though. Extrauniversal is something of a "big whoop" to those critters.

[MaxTheFox]

I'm not sure if I agree with that definition, if I want to be worshiped and convince people to do so, does that make me a god? What if I have super powers? I still don't think I'm a god there, I think that'd just make me an asshole.

If you're on the usual power attributed to even e.g Greek gods... well why not? You'd be a god for all intents and purposes, if most likely a bad one.

Am I a god for a potted plant, then?

Sure, I decide its environment, its nutrition, and many other things. But there is nothing divine or supernatural in my control. Neither it is unlimited.

If the plant was sapient and you wanted to be worshiped by it, yes by my definition.

The Greeks, iirc, did not really have the same split of natural/supernatural as we do. Neither were their gods unlimited in power. And yet we call them gods.

This definition causes odd results but it's the only logical one to me honestly.

[EuchreJack]

Nah.

Both my plant and myself are linear. We sprout, we grow, we die.
Plus, my plant might overlive me, as maybe a crack in the ceiling brings it enough water to survive as I rot on the floor next to it.
Or less morbidly, a neighbor adopts it when I go to the hospital to die like a mature person.

God exists outside all that.

My biggest gripe is that stupid limited humans (that is ALL of us, by the way) try to bring God down to our level.  We place weird artificial restraints upon God because we want to feel we've got some control & understanding. But we do not.

The Joy of Christianity is that we have a Benevolent God. For it could be equally true that we have an Indifferent God, that couldn't care less if we're happy.

Thankfully, since God is so much bigger than us, we can also say whatever we want (such that Jesus has boobies) and God does not care. I like to think that this actually pleases God slightly, since it is a fight against the Pharisees that have taken over Christianity, just as they took over Judaism.

Possibly related video

[hector13]

You do have an indifferent god though. A benevolent parent doesn’t let their children suffer when it’s clear they’re incapable of looking after themselves, or indeed learning to do so.

Edit: If you take the current state of the world as an example of benevolence, I would very much never want to see what indifference would be like, wowzers.

[MaxTheFox]

Nah.

Both my plant and myself are linear. We sprout, we grow, we die.
Plus, my plant might overlive me, as maybe a crack in the ceiling brings it enough water to survive as I rot on the floor next to it.
Or less morbidly, a neighbor adopts it when I go to the hospital to die like a mature person.

God exists outside all that.

My biggest gripe is that stupid limited humans (that is ALL of us, by the way) try to bring God down to our level.  We place weird artificial restraints upon God because we want to feel we've got some control & understanding. But we do not.

The Joy of Christianity is that we have a Benevolent God. For it could be equally true that we have an Indifferent God, that couldn't care less if we're happy.

Thankfully, since God is so much bigger than us, we can also say whatever we want (such that Jesus has boobies) and God does not care. I like to think that this actually pleases God slightly, since it is a fight against the Pharisees that have taken over Christianity, just as they took over Judaism.

Possibly related video

He said "a" god. Not "the" God. Read the previous conversation. I agree with you on this but the conversation moved on from Christianity.

[EuchreJack]

Lesser gods are blasphemy, so I don't have to care about them.