Agnostic--same problem!?

Question

What a wealth of thoughtful responses to my "Am I an atheist" question (where I said I felt weird calling myself an atheist because I really don't know what theists believe in--'God' is just too vague a word.
Several responses said I was probably an agnostic, i.e. keeping on open mind on whether or not God exists. Well, not really. I've still got the problem that we're using this weird (to me) word "God" that is truly meaningless to me (as is Spiritual Entity, for instance, no offense meant).

How about assuming I'm a martian come to earth, with zero knowledge of earth culture. I've been brought up in a totally materialistic world (no spirituality, no religion, no need for a creator, no supernatural, no transcendence).

How do you go about explaining to me what you mean by God?

Answer 1

If you're an atheist it means generally you do not believe in God in the classical sense. That sense being as a SUPERNATURAL creator of the universe. There are of course other definitions but that is the one we're talking about in this sense.

We're talking about a God who performs miracles and listens to prayers, one that hears all and is everywhere. Or in a deist sense one that created the universe and pretty much let it go its course without intervening, both of these would be supernatural in nature.

And as far as atheism goes, there is no way to rule out a supernatural God, but then there is also no evidence as of yet to ones existence.

"Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of a blindfolded fear."

-Thomas Jefferson.

Hope I've been of help.

Best Regards,
Zach

Answer 2

This is actually a very good question, but way above the heads of some on this site.

If God is not objectively demonstrable (that is, belief is truly a matter of faith) then the claims of many believers to be able to pin down what God thinks, how he works, what he wants, ring a bit hollow.

When people tell you what they mean by God, they're actually telling you more about themselves than about an entity other than themselves. Only they pretend otherwise.

Answer 3

If you don't understand the term god then you don't believe in a god and are therefore an atheist. You're probably an agnostic as well, since you seem unsure about whether or not god exists (as you would have to be if you don't know what god means).
Basically the word god is used to refer to an omnipotent being, often one who is said to have created the world and/or people. God with a capital G is the Christian/Jewish god as described in the bible.

Answer 4

If you were to take a look out your window and look at the sky, the mountains, rivers, lakes, etc. Do you think that it looks accidental or created? If you are from another planet and have seen the stars up close and the galaxy, planets from afar (earth included), do they look accidental or created?

Creation points to a Creator. We call Him God in our language. He wants you to be with Him when your life ceases to exist. He is aware of what happens when this occurs and that there is a huge possibility that you WON'T be with Him because there are laws and that you have broken those laws. Since He is just, He must either punish you (away from Him) or accept payment for that punishment. Jesus paid that fine and we must accept it in order for it worth anything. The price will be paid. Either we can pay for it by suffering for eternity or accept Jesus' payment which was perfect and will allow us into Heaven.

Answer 5

If a watch maker would take all the components of a watch trow them up in the air and they would magical put them self together in the air and i told this story to you would you believe me of course not , there has to be a creator the same comes into to play when you talk about the earth if you think that a big bang created the earth with all the right molecules to create people animals and plants etc . well i got news for you it did not happen that way this universe has a Creator his name is I am , father god and he created the air you breath . read your bible because that is the manual for your life he wrote it using man as his instrument to create it hope this solves your problem if it don't get on your knees invite Jesus into your heart and ask god to reveal himself to you thats what i would say to any body that dont belive in are creator

Answer 6

Of the top of my head these would be my criteria for whether something is a god. Hopefully it will help somewhat
1) An unseen spiritual creature that may or may not take physical forms
2) A separate, conscious entity; not just a force of creation or spark of life
3) Very powerful, may or may not have unlimited power, may only have power over a particular thing ie. god of the ocean
4) Able to see us and things we do, may or may not be interested
5) Once created may become dormant but is basically immortal and theoretically could be reawakened

I would count Roman gods, Norse gods, tribal gods, not just the Jewish/Christian/Muslim gods

Answer 7

I'd use logic and scriptures. Hebrews 3:4 uses simple logic, stating that every house is constructed by someone anf He that constructed all things is God. Houses are simple structures compared to the time-keeping celestial bodies and a complex but microscopic cell. The Creator God has a name, too, and His name is Jehovah. God is a title just like "Lord" and doesn't carry much meaning. Jehovah basically means in Hebrew "He causes to become", and He causes himself to become our comforter, our friend, and the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.

Great article about our Creator:
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2003/2/15/article_02.htm

:)

Answer 8

Negatively, God may be defined as a wholly ineffable source of the universe, defined best by encompassing more than any definition our language can give. Mathematically, God may be defined as the only entity possessing the ability to reduce an infinite number of logical equations having an infinite number of variables and an infinite number of states to minimum form instantaneously.

Answer 9

okay fine now i know that you really don't want to open your mind up by what you just said so i don't know what to tell you you're on your own