Thanks, Ellis! May we always agree to disagree, agreeably. And have fun doing so.

The thread title raises the question: Is there evidence for God as an objective being, or person, to whom one can point and say: There is a god called God?

I agree, atheism is right! Not even theism says that there is such a god. Check out:

http://www.iep.utm.edu/god-west/#H3

Western Concepts of God

Western concepts of God have ranged from the detached transcendent demiurge of Aristotle to the pantheism of Spinoza. Nevertheless, much of western thought about God has fallen within some broad form of theism.

Theism is the view that God is unlimited with regard to knowledge (omniscience), power (omnipotence), extension (omnipresence), and moral perfection; and is the creator and sustainer of the universe.

Though regarded as sexless, God has traditionally been referred to by the masculine pronoun. Concepts of God in philosophy are entwined with concepts of God in religion.

This is most obvious in figures like Augustine and Aquinas, who sought to bring more rigor and consistency to concepts found in religion.

Others, like Leibniz and Hegel, interacted constructively and deeply with religious concepts. Even those like Hume and Nietzsche, who criticized the concept of God, dealt with religious concepts. While Western philosophy has interfaced most obviously with Christianity, Judaism and Islam have had some influence.

The orthodox forms of all three religions have embraced theism, though each religion has also yielded a wide array of other views. Philosophy has shown a similar variety. For example, with regard to the initiating cause of the world, Plato and Aristotle held God to be the crafter of uncreated matter.

Plotinus regarded matter as emanating from God. Spinoza, departing from his judaistic roots, held God to be identical with the universe, while Hegel came to a similar view by reinterpreting Christianity.

Issues related to Western concepts of God include the nature of divine attributes and how they can be known, if or how that knowledge can be communicated, the relation between such knowledge and logic, the nature of divine causality, and the relation between the divine and the human will.
Table of Contents

1. Sources of Western Concepts of God

There is no evidence whatsoever. Belief in God and gods, as such, requires faith, and nothing but faith. Which is OK by me, if one is willing to go that route....

UNITHEISM
Me? As a unitheist, I'm with Spinoza and Hegel. For me G0D (Note the zero, 0)--an acronym, not a noun--is as real as existence--the universe as perceived by the senses. Here I include intuition and feelings. This is why I say: We need to redefine G0D. See www.redefinegod.com

Atheists, do you deny existence and the future of being? You are free to do so. But what benefit is this to you, or to anyone?

Meanwhile, as a unitheist, I say we, as one with G0D, are in the business of creating existence and the future.

If atheists are right, they will never have the fun of saying: See, we were right! But think of the fun unitheists will have. laugh

Last edited by Revlgking; 08/17/09 04:32 AM.

G~O~D--Now & ForeverIS:Nature, Nurture & PNEUMA-ture, Thanks to Warren Farr&ME AT www.unitheist.org