The Case for Theism

by FusionTheism 182 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • Heaven
    Heaven

    From the OP: "God" here means a being with a mind who initiated and/or wound-up the universe, and designed life on earth.

    Ok, so I'm taking it here you are speaking of the Greek god "Zeus" then.

    The presiding deity of the universe, ruler of the skies and the earth, Zeus was regarded by the Greeks as
    the god of all natural phenomena on the sky; the personification of the laws of nature; the ruler of the state;
    and finally, the father of gods and men.

    Using his shield, the Aegis, Zeus could create all natural phenomena related to the air and the sky, such as
    storms, tempests, and intense darkness. At his command, mighty thunders would flash and lightnings
    would roll, wreaking havoc; or the skies would open to rejuvenate the earth with life-giving water.

    As the personification of the operations of nature, he represented the grand laws of unchanging and harmonious order, by which both the natural and the spiritual world were governed. He was the god of
    regulated time as marked by the changing seasons and the regular succession of day and night, in
    contrast to what his father Cronus represented before him; absolute time, i.e. eternity.

    As the ruler of the state, he was the source of kingly power, the upholder of all institutions connected to the
    state, and the friend and patron of princes, whom he guarded and assisted with his advice and counsel.
    He was also the protector of the people, and watched over the welfare of the whole community.

    As the father of the gods, Zeus ascertained that each deity perform their individual duty, punished their
    misdeeds, settled their disputes, and acted towards them on all occasions as their all-knowing counsellor
    and mighty friend.

    As the father of men, he took a paternal interest in the actions and well-being of mortals. He watched over
    them with tender solicitude, rewarding truth, charity, and fairness, while severely punishing perjury and
    cruelty. Even the poorest and most forlorn wanderer could find a powerful advocate in Zeus, for he, as a
    wise and merciful paternal figure, demanded that the wealthy inhabitants of the earth be attentive to the
    needs of their less fortunate fellow citizens.

    Zeus is also called Jupiter, Dias.

    He overthrew his father, Cronus, and then drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades, in order to
    decide who would succeed their father on the throne. Zeus won the draw and became the supreme ruler of
    the gods, as well as lord of the sky and rain. His weapon was a thunderbolt which he hurled at those who
    displeased or defied him, especially liars and oathbreakers. He was married to Hera but often tested her
    patience, as he was infamous for his many affairs.



  • Heaven
    Heaven

    And... here is Zeus' updated look:


  • OneGenTwoGroups
    OneGenTwoGroups
    Doltologista day ago

    Atheism is a lack of belief in god(s), not necessarily a response to a claim.

    How can a lack of belief in something be a belief? That's illogical!!


    A lack of belief = belief? I agree that is illogical.

    Please help me see the connection to our discussion.

  • Ruby456
    Ruby456

    Heaven, yes Zeus was a God many of many roles, but mostly he was connected to power rather than to intellect very much like the Jehovah of old. And this olden days Jehovah is actually the Jehovah I recognize at the meetings.

    The modern day God who is connected to mind reflects our own preoccupation with intelligence and seems to be a modern construct. This mind God is almost never discussed at the meetings and I suspect that Jehovahs witnesses take a counter cultural stance to this God by their depiction of God as Power, so I think that if xjws do discover a God of MIND then they can use this to fuel a position of dissent towards a power mad entity who is bent on destruction.

  • Ruby456
    Ruby456
    prologos, the creator of which you speak, could be analogous to the theory that indicates that just after the big bang conditions were operating that set the whole universe on a particular path and that these conditions existed for a short period and then vanished.
  • prologos
    prologos

    JW is a muscle power god, that can not influence the minds. He has to lash out blindly causing untold colateral damage. Wt is now playing the emotional videos, "God is love" but the stick is still their schtick.

    Forget the mentally sterile hall, if we get better and better perspective of the creator, it will be the sciences pushing the limits, opening the gaps.

  • Doltologist
    Doltologist

    OGTG

    A lack of belief = belief? I agree that is illogical.

    Please help me see the connection to our discussion.

    Why are you asking me? You are the one who wrote Atheism is about belief, not me. I merely pointed out that Atheism isn't about belief. It is a response to a belief and then we got into this circular discussion.

  • Ruby456
    Ruby456

    prologos, I agree

  • Ruby456
    Ruby456

    dolto

    there may be some good news in that some guy in the British Museum (I think his name is Finkel-ish, if memory serves) is of the opinion that the great flood didn't happen in Noah's time but is actually a memory of a flood from a much earlier period. Also, there wasn't just one great flood, there were several according to geological evidence. Also, there's some theories being hauled up the flag pole, just to see who salutes them, that the floods were actually caused by tsunamis rather than climactic disasters. Also, there's also something about if the Arc had been designed according to the babble, it would have broken in two. Anyways, will do some reading and get back to you.

    I would put my money on the before and aftermaths of the 8.2, the 5.2 and 4.2 K year events in regards to influences on memory.

    there is an interesting myth that parallels the Noah myth. the Deucalion myth. In this myth Deucalion throws rocks over his shoulders and the rocks become people. It can function as a foundational myth. Put that together with the fact that melting glaciers transport rocks over huge distances. Rocks could be a metaphor for the people migratory chaos that brought several different localities of people together and there you have it - a recipe for inter marriage

  • Doltologist
    Doltologist

    Ruby

    I'm obliged to thee.

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