ATHEIST. How do you describe God?

Question

When someone mentions "God"... what do you imagine.

I know you dont believe in a God but...

Im just trying to think if Theists and you guys even have a common understanding of what God is.

Answer 1

i think of children's literature and fantasy stories

Answer 2

That's a good question.

I try to approach it with the understanding of the person mentioning God in the first place... If they are a Christian, I try to think of the God(s) described in the Bible. If they are a Hindu, I imagine the Pantheon. If they are a deist, I think more of the "Pantheistic" version of God.

I then try to compare all of these other concepts with the version the person assumes and see how compatible they are. It is by studying all religions that I believe we can best understand the point of view of believers.

Answer 3

God with a capital 'G' is always the god of Christianity (see the work of Bishop Ulfilas). So when someone mentions 'God', I imagine just what the Bible presents to us, an incoherent mass of contradictions and best guesses from bronze age desert nomads, a 'gargoyle' of metaphor that could not (logically) exist.

Answer 4

When a theist talks about their god to me, I imagine some amorphous supernatural being that has powers beyond human powers.

Of course, since there is no evidence that supports the existence of any such being, I think they are imagining the attributes of their god, since they cannot know.

Answer 5

When I was a kid I always imagined God looked like my next door neighbor Jim. Now I'm an atheist but I still think of his face when someone says God. I didn't worship him or anything hehe, but he was a really nice guy.

Answer 6

Here is how I would describe god: an imaginary person who has a white beard dressed in a white rode that is suppose to have magical powers and who loves us but will not use his magical powers to help those who are suffering in the world because of something called free will. At the same time we are suppose to do certain deeds because it is gods will.

Answer 7

It depends on what god they happen to be talking about.

Honestly, my description of any god is an imaginary construct that adds personal value to that person's particular understanding of the world around them.

I find value in truth and honest inquiry... which is why I'm an atheist.

Answer 8

They describe "god" as this being that has always existed, needs no food to survive, created everything, is everywhere, is all-knowing and all-powerful, cares deeply about everything and everyone everywhere, yet is going to cast those he created into an eternal damnation for doubting that he exists, because he so obviously does as proven in the book he "ghost-wrote" 6000 years ago. He's not just one being, but actually three, but actually one, one of whom sacrifice himself, but didn't actually die, to save us from the divine torment that his father/he created, and he's coming back soon to destroy the earth he created and the "demons" that he created, only to establish a new earth.
Am I wrong here???

What utter nonsense.

Answer 9

I am not an atheist.


I believe they would describe him as an imaginary being of some kind that many people use as a crutch or as a justification for hate..

Answer 10

Are you saying all religionists have a common understanding of what a god is?

I'm agnostic, I don't describe something I know nothing of.

Answer 11

Certainly , I understand exactly what " god " is . Superstitious imagination .