God??

mingbop said:

Is Nature not a god in itself? Getting away from the usual interp of the word "god" then... who do you see as the big boss ? Who is in charge? Where does the buck stop?

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The buck stops with each of us, as gregory said.

Why does there need to be a "big boss?" Perhaps that is what religion is all about - the setting up of somebody/something that can be asked to take on the big questions. Somebody/something that takes ultimate responsibility when the unexplained happens? It is comforting, I suppose, to believe that things happen for a reason, that cause and effect is there not only in physics, but in society as well.

It is an interesting question. And from my own point of view, I say that there are no gods, or supreme beings. But sometimes, I really want to be able to say, "Well, this has happened because <god> willed it." Or "Things will get better because I am a good person and <god> rewards those who are good." But it hasn't happened yet.

I believe in the power of the universe, magic, a force

It feels like a god to others, but to me it is a huge energy we can all tap into

Maybe I used the wrong word, but I didn't know what else to call it. I certainly definitely dont believe in a being that has to be prayed to/beseeched/grovelled to. But I do stand in total awe and gobsmackedness of Nature herself. I find it quite a confusing concept LOL as you'll already have gathered !
Ok so those of us here who believe that we go on to another place after physical death... who's in charge of that bit then?

mingbop said:

Ok so those of us here who believe that we go on to another place after physical death... who's in charge of that bit then?

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Why does an entity need to be 'in charge'? That makes it seem like the army or a giant corporation with 'management'.

To me this is creating personal myths for ourselves. Doesn't mean anything of the sort actually exists.

Alta said:

Why does an entity need to be 'in charge'? That makes it seem like the army or a giant corporation with 'management'.

To me this is creating personal myths for ourselves. Doesn't mean anything of the sort actually exists.

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What she said ! IF there is an afterlife (and I suspect that there is but am by no means sure !) I don't think there will be any more suggestion that one entity is "in charge" than there is here in the present where we live now.

And if by chance there is some one entity in charge when I kick the bucket, I certainly hope they do a better job of it than anyone who may be in charge where we are now. Surely the mess we are already in tells us that it is down to us. No-one could (or would) design a world as messed up as the one we have made for ourselves.

Sure - nature is awesome. That doesn't mean it's in charge of anything. I think the stars are pretty good, too, and they aren't in charge either.

Ooooh very interesting, thanks everybody for your views. I don't really think anything, I just wondered what everybody else did

I don't have much to say about the concept of a God or Gods.

I am, however, a Goddess worshiper.

My concept of God manifests itself in the universe. The universe is divine. But besides that, I do worship kemetic deities, which I feel are part of the larger universal God, as are we all. Confusing...

Man created God in his image makes much more sense than God created Man in his image.

We are not an image of God ... we are an image of a primate. We are animals. Our speciality in the animal kingdom is something we uniquely developed - not larger claws or speed or camouflage but culture .... 'God' is part of culture, not nature (i.e. nature extended to any thing natural including cosmos and physics).

I like the " reflections of the moral templates both good and bad of the inventing culture" definition. That is an important cultural function; we can call it the super-ego or dress it up as a Goddess and call her Ma'at - being flamboyant, creative, artistic creatures, that works best (at times), through symbol and analogy I find that quiet acceptable - whatever works. Sociocultural change and evolution is best sealed via 'spiritual' revelation, whether by prophet, priest or shaman. 'Terrestrial based' revelation does not seem to have a lasting effect (e.g. communism - hopefully capitalism wont either).

As far as the 'running of the Universe' goes, it actually makes no difference to us if God exists or not.

Why does anyone need to be 'in charge' . Who is 'in charge' of nature ? The lion, Pan, Dancing Animal Master ? Its not that simple ... 'in charge' is a concept .... I suppose it could be extended 'philosophically' to "God is the big alpha-male" but the more I think about that the more ridiculous it seems.

However I do believe there must be a regulating principle in life and the more I study that, the more I am lead into certain mysteries about evolution and the genetic code. There does seem to be 'regulating' principles in genetics that lead to greater purposes and this is reflected in cultural evolution; an expression of some type of 'consciousness' of life ... or 'behind' life.

'Another place after death' ... why would someone need to 'be in charge' of that? Again, most of our ponderings about what is behind life (and death) are extensions of local cultural social patterns .... it all started with the idea that the King was an incarnation of God (in ancient Egypt) - tribal people dont have A person in charge of the afterlife .... there are 'the ancestors'; a multiple concept ... I have never heard of A ancestor in charge of the afterlife.... its a matrix, and that is also a reflection of how they see their lives; a PART of nature ... not in charge of nature .

Perhaps our biggest problem is we think WE are in charge ? Who gave us the right to treat our environment and the other animals the way we do ? God apparently (in Genesis; "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." )

Subdue and dominate ... ? If anything WE (think we) are in charge and since 'Man is made in Gods image' - we, in a classical mythological inversion process made God in our image and then we (as God) gave ourselves a divine right to **** up the very things that our survival depends on .... what a mess !

Obsydian , that was a cross-post .... I was surprised to see yours (and its subject matter) pop up there as I posted mine

(I thought , when I was writing, about adding at the end of my post .... I am off to make an offering to Ma'at )