I Believe God Exists

[stromboli]

"In panentheism, the God/dess is not viewed as the creator or autonomous power, but the eternal animating force behind the universe, with the universe as nothing more than the manifest part of the God/dess. The cosmos exists within the God/dess, who in turn “pervades” or is “in” the cosmos, is in us. While pantheism asserts that the God/dess and the universe share the same area, panentheism believes the God/dess is greater than the universe and that the universe is contained within the God/dess."

Gotcha. Proof?

(edit) Tyson did say we were made of stardust. 

[aitm]

My religion of Panotheuism is far better than Panentheism

[stromboli]

Can I still be stardust?

[aitm]

nah, yer still an old fart

[GalacticBusDriver]

Evidence or STFU!

[aitm]

Evidence or STFU!

HEY! Where the fuck you been boy? Haven't seen you in awhile.

[stromboli]

nah, yer still an old fart

Can I fart stardust?

[PickelledEggs]

Can I fart stardust?

[aitm]

Can I fart stardust?

[GalacticBusDriver]

HEY! Where the fuck you been boy? Haven't seen you in awhile.

Just hangin' around. Lurkin' more than postin' and being obsessed with Skyrim.

[Hydra009]

This forum is open to theists too :p

Forgive me if I misread you.

Open to theists?  Yes.
Great place to preach?  Not so much.

[DunkleSeele]

The reason I have arrived at the conclusion that God exists is because the alternative is not convincing. The alternative, of course, being that we exist in an objective material universe. In which case the God Hypothesis would be entirely unnecessary.

Just out of curiosity: what is not convincing about the "alternative"? That we exist in a universe, that this universe is material or that it is objective?

[DunkleSeele]

It seems most of you are still confused about what I mean by "God", even after I have provided a definition. Admittedly the definition I provided does require a little bit of deep thought to see what exactly is being said, so because of this I will further expound upon what I believe "God" to be like.

The default conception of God is of some outside entity that exists somewhere "out there" apart from us that has unimaginable attributes and characteristics such as omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipotence, etc. Most people that believe in Gods believe in their conceived God in this way and therefore most Atheists disbelieve in Gods that are conceptualized in that way as well.

I don't believe that God is something separate from what we are. I believe that ultimately, there exists only one thing, and that thing is God, and everything, including us, are parts of it. I believe that the ultimate reality, and the ground of all being, is Mind, and I believe that source of all Mind, is God, which I have defined as "Infinite Mind."

In short: Consciousness is fundamental. We and all life forms are individual units of consciousness. And the term "God" is reserved for the ultimate source of what we are and all that exists. The entire and all encompassing coagulation of all consciousnesses together as one conscious thing is "God."

Let me now point out that in my world view it is not so much important that "God exists" nor that people "believe in God" as it is that the actual nature of reality is such that this conception of God unfolds out of it. Of course if materialism is true than this conception of God is just as fallacious and fictitious as any other. But if Materialism is false, then that changes the whole conversation entirely. So for me, I am much more interested in discovering the true nature of reality, than I am in converting people into Theists.

Perhaps now I have shed sufficient light onto what my conception of "God" is, and I can begin the actual work of debating the evidence.

Oversimplifying it, I'd say your idea of god resembles "The Matrix".

[Jason78]

Not quite. Pantheism as I understand it is to say that "God is the material objective universe." in which case calling it God will add no further meaning than simply just continuing to call it "the material objective universe." Pantheism is redundant and unnecessary. And Deism as I understand it is the belief that some unknowable god kicked everything off and left, in which case whether or not god exists it would make no difference, because we are still here, in the material objective universe, on our own. Deism is a cop-out.

I am arguing for neither of these two ideologies, nor a mixture of the two.

You seem to have a list of pre-debunked labels in your arsenal, and if you wish to just slap the closest label that fits onto what I am arguing for in order to dismiss it, then you are just straw-manning my argument instead of addressing it directly.

It still seems to me like you're just calling what everyone else calls the universe, "god".   If this isn't what you're doing, please explain yourself.

[Bibliofagus]

It still seems to me like you're just calling what everyone else calls the universe, "god".   If this isn't what you're doing, please explain yourself.

His universe has got a hive mind.