The number 5 doesn't exist. Show me a 5... go ahead.... you can't. But you can show me a hand that has the attribute "five fingers". The same can be said of God. We can debate the attributes of God all day (can anything be all powerful, etc) and they exist as concepts. But God, an entity, does not exist.
2007-09-20 01:01:09 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Interesting idea.
2007-09-20 01:07:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
The number 5 exists as a written character--I can discuss writing a "5" on the blackboard independent of using it in a mathmatical sense.
Your analogy is interesting, but not perfect.
2007-09-20 08:15:33 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Nice comparing
Umm that was lame of me. I think that whatever we will say about this topic, the truth (that we know nothing about) will stil not change. We'll all know after we die, but we can't come back to tell people "ha! I was right!" :)
As for the abstract conceptions, god is not one of the abstract conceptions, for we can imagine it with a shape and some atributes (can you imagine 5? how does it look like and what is a five? what are it's atributes?)
2007-09-20 08:07:41 · answer #3 · answered by larissa 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
No. 5 can exists in the brain of the person who thinks it. Of course the existence of no. 5 is not the same as the existence of you or me, it is a sort of mental existence and it ends as soon as you stop thinking it.
2007-09-20 08:10:24 · answer #4 · answered by remy 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
PROOFS AND EVIDENCES OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
One of the proofs and demonstrations of the existence of God is the fact that man did not create himself: nay, his creator and designer is another than himself.
It is certain and indisputable that the creator of man is not like man because a powerless creature cannot create another being. The maker, the creator, has to possess all perfections in order that he may create.
Can the creation be perfect and the creator imperfect? Can a picture be a masterpiece and the painter imperfect in his art? For it is his art and his creation. Moreover, the picture cannot be like the painter; otherwise, the painting would have created itself. However perfect the picture may be, in comparison with the painter it is in the utmost degree of imperfection.
The contingent world is the source of imperfections: God is the origin of perfections. The imperfections of the contingent world are in themselves a proof of the perfections of God.
For example, when you look at man, you see that he is weak. This very weakness of the creature is a proof of the power of the Eternal Almighty One, because, if there were no power, weakness could not be imagined. Then the weakness of the creature is a proof of the power of God; for if there were no power, there could be no weakness; so from this weakness it becomes evident that there is power in the world. Again, in the contingent world there is poverty; then necessarily wealth exists, since poverty is  6 apparent in the world. In the contingent world there is ignorance; necessarily knowledge exists, because ignorance is found; for if there were no knowledge, neither would there be ignorance. Ignorance is the nonexistence of knowledge, and if there were no existence, nonexistence could not be realized.
It is certain that the whole contingent world is subjected to a law and rule which it can never disobey; even man is forced to submit to death, to sleep and to other conditions -- that is to say, man in certain particulars is governed, and necessarily this state of being governed implies the existence of a governor. Because a characteristic of contingent beings is dependency, and this dependency is an essential necessity, therefore, there must be an independent being whose independence is essential.
In the same way it is understood from the man who is sick that there must be one who is in health; for if there were no health, his sickness could not be proved.
Therefore, it becomes evident that there is an Eternal Almighty One, Who is the possessor of all perfections, because unless He possessed all perfections He would be like His creation.
Throughout the world of existence it is the same; the smallest created thing proves that there is a creator. For instance, this piece of bread proves that it has a maker.
Praise be to God! the least change produced in the form of the smallest thing proves the existence of a creator: then can this great universe, which is endless, be self-created and come into existence from the action of matter and the elements? How self-evidently wrong is such a supposition!
These obvious arguments are adduced for weak souls; but if the inner perception be open, a hundred thousand clear proofs become visible. Thus, when man feels the indwelling spirit, he is in no need of arguments for its existence; but for those who are deprived of the bounty of the spirit, it is necessary to establish external arguments. Â 7Â
(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 4)
http://bahai-education.org/
http://bahai-education.org/
There is only one God
Some one has asked this question, "What are the proofs through which one can establish the existence of God?" 104
Humanity is divided into two classes: -- one is satisfied with the knowledge of divinity through its attributes and the other strives to understand the mysteries of divinity and be informed of the fundamental principles of divine philosophy. I will speak to you of the scientific proofs which establish the existence of God and I will not quote the scriptural proofs from the Old and New Testaments, or the Koran, with which you are more or less familiar.
Science teaches us that all forms of creation are the result of composition; for example, certain single atoms are brought together through the inherent law of affinity and the result is the human being. A number of primordial atoms have gone into the make-up of a plant, the result of which is this flower. Again, looking into the mineral kingdom, we observe that this law of attraction is working in the same manner. Many atoms go into the composition of a piece of stone which through purification may reach to the station of a mirror.
When the particles of a given composition are disintegrated, this may be called non-existence in that kingdom; but the original simple elements go back to their primary atoms and are ever existent. When the body of man becomes the subject of decomposition we call that death. That the existence of phenomena depends upon composition, and mortality upon decomposition, is a scientific fact and there is a great difference between facts sustained by science and theories 105 upheld by blind belief which is the result of traditional susceptibility of conscience.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 103)
Above i included the link to the oceans library download, its great and has the writting of most of the major religions and you can cross refrence things aswell.
it'll let you read the rest of this as I was not able to put it all on here.
Meg
2007-09-20 08:16:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
That's funny...my son has a set of rubber puzzle numbers that he likes to chew on...I'm pretty sure the number 5 has teeth marks. Love in Christ, ~J~
2007-09-20 08:12:50 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Yep, nice to know my pay check is only a concept.
2007-09-20 08:09:32 · answer #7 · answered by Sal D 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Very interesting way of looking at it.
2007-09-20 08:07:41 · answer #8 · answered by glitterkittyy 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I think you're right.
I may start using a derivative of that.
2007-09-20 08:14:22 · answer #9 · answered by NONAME 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Does IDEA exist?
What is EXISTENCE?
2007-09-20 11:20:32 · answer #10 · answered by timekiller unlimited 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋