... So Rev--Can we agree that god is a term that encompasses all that people mean by that term ... ?
Interesting question. I agree that 'god' is a noun; that there is a plural form, gods and the proper noun, God.
But, for some time now, my thinking has led me to the conclusion that the noun 'god'--singular, plural or Proper--is not sufficient to contain the awesomeness of what I have in mind when I write the acronym G0D, or GØD. They sound the same, but, when I speak, I always point of the deeper meaning.
BTW, as physicists, such as Seth Lloyd, begin to make us more and more aware of the "unphysical" nature and mystery of matter the more useful I believe this acronym will become. The prominent psychologist, Dr. Stanley Krippner, who strongly supports the use of this term, says so in
www.redefinegod.comI also believe that this will make the world safer for people to be open and honestly a-theistic without appearing to be cynical cranks. BTW 2: For those who say that all religion is destructive, keep in mind that it was liberal Christianity and Judaism which made it safe for sophisticated people in the west, including atheists, to say that the ancient Greek and Roman gods were figments of the imagination of the people at that time; they no longer exist on the mountains, even within the imaginations of modern Roman, Greek, Orthodox and Protestant Christians throughout the west.
But this is not true for countries like India, where even modern Hindus can believe in the Hindu pantheon. There, it can be problematic for atheists to speak out openly about what they think of the gods.
In the same way, it
is very problematic--even deadly--for atheists, in devoutly Muslim countries, to openly say, "There is no god, or God."
