May 14, 2014

What is meant when one uses the word "god(s)"

I posted a thread in another forum asking about the definition of atheism. So I thought it might be interesting to create a thread on the definition of god here in religion.

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"] Empedocles [div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]The nature of God is a circle of which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere.

What do people mean when they use the word "god?" Are we all talking about the same thing? Or is this an abstract concept that most people really don't understand and each person has their own definition.

• Are they/he/she/it a force of nature given consciousness ala what we find in many polytheistic religions (gods of fire, water, earth, and air)?



• Or are they/he/she/it an all powerful all knowing all present supernatural person(s) that created the universe by sheer force of will? A personal God, like YHWH as described using a literal interpretation of the bible.



• Or is your god an all powerful force with which we can't relate like the god of Deism.



• Or maybe god is the essence flowing through and giving essence to everything. Like the God of Spinoza/Pantheism



• Or are you unsure if there is a god at all if not out right believe there are no gods. Atheism.



• Or is the very notion of a god nonsensical to you? A poorly defined concept that needs further thought and development before you possibly take a position? Ignosticism.



• Or something else entirely?

No poll options. I would like to hear you put your answer in your own words. Again, this is about how you define god not so much what god/religion you believe in, though if you want to share that, feel free.

What do you mean when you say god?

[center] Cross posted on the discussionist forums (not DU post at your own risk) [/center]

May 9, 2014

How do you define atheism?

There has been a lot of debate on what the word atheist means in the OTHER forum as of late.

In response, I thought it would be nice to have a thread here in the A/A forum for us to point to in order to show others how we, ACTUAL REAL LIVE ATHEISTS, define ourselves.

All that said, I humbly ask that any believers who visit our forum please refrain from replying.

So how do you define atheism? Is atheism a belief that there is no god(s), or is it a lack of belief in any god(s), or do you have a completely different definition?

Edit:
The agnostic version of this post can now be found here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/123023350