What is a God?

[flobadob]

How would you define a God?

[society]

He is the master of all creations.

[MarkRae]

An imaginary being invented by people who have no other means of explaining things such as the creation of their world, etc...

[cupid04]

how do you explain creation etc?

[beso]

God is a delusion.

[waterboatman]

the cosmic jester is a more apt description.

[naomi24]

A futile hope.

[LazyGun]

A Symbol, or an Avatar, into which humanity in its various cultures, have assigned supernatural, omniscient powers to explain that which humanity - a species that absolutely requires a narrative view of the universe and their place in it - cannot explain by their current understanding of the natural world.

An avatar that becomes less and less relevant with each successive generation, and the improvement of our knowledge of the fundamental forces underpinning the universe and biological life. It is no accident that all the well established Gods are old, and were created at a time when scientific knowledge and our understanding of the universe was poor.

[jno]

LazyGun, I agree, witha couple of reservations. First, I don't think it's necessarily 'narrative' that's in question, that seems to come from a separate impulse, the drive to tell stories. The earliest deities, like the Earth Mother, appear to have been simply too big and powerful to have stories told about them (though of course I'm guessing). Second, not all gods are old: scientology is new, and there are all sorts of prophets (Jim Jones for instance) who attract followers when they arise. (I know you said 'well established' gods - but that's just another way of saying 'old'.)

[tweaker]

God - from the Holy Bible.

I doubt a tall grey bearded man. However things 'atoms' say, do not just appear from nowhere. The universe was designed and something that has been designed needs a designer. I'd suggest buying the Nag Hammadi

http://www.amazon.co....qid=1275212972&sr=1-2

Pretty much what you've asked is explained in here.

Rather interestingly the Gospels of Judas, Thomas, Phillip, and Mary are in here too. The Great divine and the Origins of the World explain it all.

[naomi24]

There are numerous tales in existence of Earth Mother goddesses.

[naomi24]

//The Great divine and the Origins of the World explain it all. //

So does Genesis - if you choose to believe it.

[LazyGun]

@Naomi - Sure, there are some modern religions and cults and prophets. But none have established themselves within the human pysche and culture in quite the way the Abrahamic religions have done. Maybe thats just time, or, more likely in my opinion, a more sophisticated, less credulous general population.

I perhaps didnt explain what I meant by the narrative comment very well. What I mean is that as a species, we need explanations of things to provide comfort and reduce doubt and fear - things like thunderstorms, earthquakes, solar eclipses, the stars in the heavens, death, life, etc - we need a narrative to satisfy our desire to understand the universe around us and our place in it, and for me at any rate, this provides the explanation as to how all God/ Goddess/Earth Mother motifs arise.

[tweaker]

naomi24,

Great divine and the Origins of the World, are really good. There is alot in the NH that predate Genesis which make one think that Genesis (which it is) rather linear.

[naomi24]

LazyGun, should your post be addressed to jno?

Tweaker, I know.

[LazyGun]

@Naomi - oops you are right ;)

[bibblebub]

a dyslexic's dog

[chakka35]

A god is a supernatural creature (oops, sorry, naomi!) which does magical things and for whose existence there is not a scintilla of evidence.

[jno]

LazyGun, yes, I think being well established is a matter of time; if Scientology is still around in 2000 years, god forbid, it will be well established, even if it remains a minority cult.

I see what you mean about narratives, I misunderstood. A lot of gods, for instance the classical ones, did have stories around them - Zeus turning himself into a bull to get at women, for instance. It seems rather unlikely that anyone ever took these very literally, just as believers today don't necessarily take Genesis literally; they're myths or fables that may entertain or make some moral point but people don't always see them as factual.

[mibn2cweus]

. . . but amazingly and unfortunately some do take it as gospel truth and act accordingly. And many more are left scratching their heads in wonder whether it might be true, a costly diversion from what might otherwise be a search for and understanding of established and hard won knowledge, leaving those of us who have questioned unfounded beliefs to once again pick up and reassemble the pieces only to await the consequences to follow the creation of the next superstition.

[flobadob]

I asked this question in the context of a previous post I made http://www.theanswerb...e/Question899928.html I can't quite get a sure hypothesis.