God is Dead!

Friedriche Nietzsche said that God is a projection of "ourselves" and that we imagined him in our minds and in realizing that, He no longer exists. He goes so far as to say that we killed Him.

It also raises many questions...

Can God die?

Is God really just a projection of ourselves?

Did God die? I'm asking this one because people always say God died on the cross for us, so...

If God died on the cross, wouldn't he be dead?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nelson on May 11, 2012 at 7:25am

And if there is no good there is no God.

How then is god omnipresent, which it is claimed to be.

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Permalink Reply by CD on May 11, 2012 at 7:33am

I'm not saying god doesn't exist because there is evil in the world.

I'm saying that the (usually Judeo-Christian) concept of god as loving and compassionate is contradicted by the existence of evil in the world. And, if god is loving and compassionate in this context, then god may be unable to do anything about the evil, which questions the power of god, and therefore, the godliness of god.

As for creating man, this is disputed by the evidence. But let's say god did do that. Alright. Now onto free will. What is that? The ability to make decisions unimpeded by biology, circumstance, etc (the 'dualism' of mind and body)? This too is disputed by the evidence. At most, our minds are by-products of our bodies, and any will inherent to it, is constrained by multiple layers of variables, meaning, it is constrained and not free will at all.

If there it were possible to quantify an infinite being using a finite system then he wouldn't be infinite and there would be no choice in faith

Are you saying that god is a black hole?

Evil must exist for their to be a choice.

Chicken and egg argument. Evil are actions and events. If you are correct, and we have free will, then evil is the product of free will. On the other hand, we don't have free will - it is merely constrained. So what then? Evil is the product of constrained will. But so is good.

The compassion of God occurs in his forgiveness that is rewarded in salvation not in earthly wealth and good fortune.

Why would an omnipotent god create an infinite universe, which, through the rules governing how objects grow and move in that universe, constrain will so that evil is possible, only to need a separate location, accessible only through death, in order to judge those creations for exercising their will, as constrained by the rules he also created?

If all prayers were answered wouldn't everyone pray for good health and wealth?

Demonstrate that any prayer to any god has ever been answered. Within the limits of observation god has placed in order to constrain our will.

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Permalink Reply by Hutch Hogan on May 11, 2012 at 7:37am

Why are you appealing to some who doesn't believe in a theistic god for the for support of the existence of a theistic god? Einstein used the term "god" to refer to the laws of physics.

"God created man with the free will to decide whether or not to believe in his existence. If there it were possible to quantify an infinite being using a finite system then he wouldn't be infinite and there would be no choice in faith. Evil must exist for their to be a choice."

How about this version of creation instead:
God created man with the free will to decide whether or not to believe in its existence, it then afflicted humanity with unwarranted suffering and the capacity to foresee suffering, the god also condemned any to decide that this god did not exist to suffer for eternity.

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Permalink Reply by CD on May 11, 2012 at 8:22am

it then afflicted humanity with unwarranted suffering and the capacity to foresee suffering, the god also condemned any to decide that this god did not exist to suffer for eternity.

That kind of god is most certainly not loving or compassionate.

Permalink Reply by Hutch Hogan on May 11, 2012 at 8:25am

@CD

My thoughts exactly.

Permalink Reply by Aaron Leathley-Andrew on May 11, 2012 at 4:21pm

I'm not "appealing" to anyone. I'm trying to use examples that would be commonly understood given the context of the discussion. I agree that he was an agnostic but he was neutral on the existence God. Most importantly he refused to deny the existence of God and did not like his work to be used to such an extent.

Is it not suffering that has brought about humanities greatest triumphs and successes? Suffering is also a matter of context and comparison. Some people would "suffer" without internet where as others suffer without food. Would anything be good enough for humanity to be satisfied?

I would also argue that the suffering was unwarranted. The Christian belief teaches the sinful nature of mankind and that suffering is a result of that sin. Also, This suffering would be necessary in the world to warrant paradise. If you were in paradise that what is the point in salvation.

I find that the complexity and improbability of the universe makes it difficult to believe that everything occurs by chance. I don't think anyone needs me to go into any specific examples for that. The idea of "intelligent design" is ridiculously in both theology and science. If there was a God that set the universe in motion then that does not explain the current complexity of the situation.

I would also like to apologize if I offended anyone. I do not mean to say that science is irrelevant, merely that it does not and cannot disprove the existence of God.

Permalink Reply by Hutch Hogan on May 12, 2012 at 11:56am

Is it not suffering that has brought about humanities greatest triumphs and successes? Suffering is also a matter of context and comparison. Some people would "suffer" without internet where as others suffer without food. Would anything be good enough for humanity to be satisfied?

So what do you think justifies still birth? Birth defects? Cancers? Flesh eating disease? The measure of 200,000 years without contemporary medicine and the resulting suffering is pretty extravagant to say that it's the result of a deity wanting humanity to learn.

I would also argue that the suffering was unwarranted. The Christian belief teaches the sinful nature of mankind and that suffering is a result of that sin. Also, This suffering would be necessary in the world to warrant paradise. If you were in paradise that what is the point in salvation.

So humans have sinned and as a result lambs must suffer parasitic eye infections? Cancers in other animals? That's pretty arrogant. What was the sin in the first place? Eating an arbitrary fruit? And let's not be silly, animals have suffered since long before humanity walked the earth.

I find that the complexity and improbability of the universe makes it difficult to believe that everything occurs by chance. I don't think anyone needs me to go into any specific examples for that. The idea of "intelligent design" is ridiculously in both theology and science. If there was a God that set the universe in motion then that does not explain the current complexity of the situation.

Is the universe really that complex? Matter is made of 12 particles and there are 4 forces.

Permalink Reply by Hutch Hogan on May 11, 2012 at 7:42am

Something you might find interesting is Dr. Kaku on string theory and the big bang:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYAdwS5MFjQ&feature=related