If there is a God, is he an atheist?

by DT 20 Replies latest jw friends

  • DT
    DT

    Of course, any God would believe in himself, but would he believe in someone greater than himself? Would he postulate an external cause for the realm in which he lives? You might expect that a hypothetical God would be all knowing, so he would know if there is another greater God, but he couldn't know if there is another realm that he doesn't and can't know about. It is similar to any of us who can't prove or disprove the possible existence of a higher spiritual realm.

    Another possible objection is that this God may be eternal and have no need of an external cause. However, how would he know he is eternal? I have no recollection of a definite beginning to my existence, but that doesn't mean that I'm eternal. Furthermore, there would be no way for him to be certain that he wasn't created with just the false memories of an eternal existence. Even if he were eternal, this wouldn't preclude the possibility of another realm that is outside his laws of physics and concept of time that could contain a deity that is greater than him and may have had some influence on his existence.

    So if a God believes in an even greater God, wouldn't that be the better choice for us mere humans to worship? If, on the other hand, this God points to the lack of evidence of an even greater deity, and is therefore a heavenly version of an atheist, isn't it possible that this God would have a greater respect for open minded, terrestrial atheists and agnostics? If there is a God, could it be that that a path of healthy skepticism and avoidance of blind faith would be the best way to gain his approval?

  • Elsewhere
    Elsewhere

    Of course an "all mighty" god would be atheist.

    I don't like dealing with middle men, so I dropped the Jehover deity.

  • mindmelda
    mindmelda

    Okay, now I have a headache.

    You're making me and the baby Jesus cry with that. But, yes, I kind of see your point, because if there is a God, he worships nothing, because there is nothing greater than himself..or herself, or whatever pronoun one uses for superhuman entities who lack human genitalia.

    I don't know if "atheist" is the proper term, since it refers to human philosophy, but no, God wouldn't have a God.

    You need to stop thinking like this, though. Your head will go splodey as you disappear down your own navel.

  • thetrueone
    thetrueone

    I wish god was a secular humanist along with being a atheist.

    He would have been a great help to humanity and wouldn't be concerned so much about trying to kill us off as much.

  • bluecanary
    bluecanary

    Very interesting thoughts, DT. This is exactly the kind of thinking I went through upon leaving JWs.

  • wobble
    wobble

    BTT for a great ,nay Historic, post.

    Wobble

  • GromitSK
    GromitSK

    Surely as God one would be omniscient and there would be no need for belief of any kind since one would know everything. :)

  • OnTheWayOut
    OnTheWayOut

    The omnipotent, omniscient God of this reality would know everything within this reality.
    Just as we don't know everything about this God, He wouldn't necessarily know everything or even anything about the creator of His reality.

    I get the point well. Could God absolutely know that He has no beginning and fully comprehend that and expect us to fully comprehend it, OR is it possible that he doesn't absolutely know that and expects more of us than He does of Himself?

  • GromitSK
    GromitSK

    If there is something he doesn't know then he isn't omniscient surely? (I know your not called Shirley :)).

  • Robert7
    Robert7

    DT, That was really good!

    I love abstract thinking like this... What a great point! Very cool, and I'll have to think about it some more.

    Once I brought up a similar thought in service... What if God was actually Satan claiming to be god (wolf in sheep's clothing) and this God (Satan as god) convinced the world that the real God is actually the devil... so we'd actually be worshipping Satan while thinking we were worshipping God. No one liked to think of that :)

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