God- what does that word mean anyway?

Re: God- what does that word mean anyway?


Here's the greatest verse in the whole Qur'an (regarding God)-

Allah! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permits? He knows what (appears to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He wills. His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory). (Surat al-Baqara: 255)

Just follow this link: http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&q=define%3A+god

No definitions yet... Only the same old poetry and some rather inadequate descriptions of "supreme being", "object of worship", supernatural deity". They are all more riddles that the initial question, and it only goes to reinfoce my claim that there is no definition of the word.

Seems to me that it is rather futile to debate wether or not god exists when we cannot agree on what the word even means.

I started this thread because through my participaton in various threads on the topic of god I have come to realize that no one is talking about the same thing.

Someone think of god as something that trancends possibility. Others as something that is to vast to fully grasp.

It is a strange thing, because all other concepts that have no definite application would be discarded. Why not this concept?

I think most people use the word "God" as a personal source of "origin". Man sees and creates change in his "reality" and assumes the same for the reality. With that said, if God is the source and "guardian" of his creation, surely he IS beyond the framework of what we see around us, as a creator then, words become nonsensical in discussion of "him". Personalisation of the term i.e. imbuing the word with will is understandable & natural but not very helpful (IMHO). I guess when the word/concept/ideal becomes personal, it multiplies the definition exonentially as if you asked a set of people to describe their ideal friend, partner or whatever.

Good points Ashers, as I understand them. Still, the lack of definition is a pretty glaring hole in the "reason" of anyone who tries to justify their beliefs.

So a debate on god is just as meaningful as discussing who is right when I think blue flowers are prettiest while you think that red flowers are, for example.

So what are we really debating when the topic is god?

Gonna wait for a while and ponder the question before responding. I don't think the question can be answered...just responded to.

Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us not into nada but deliver us from nada; pues nada. Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee.
Hemingway, Ernest

I know there are plenty of folks around here who believe in god. There's even a few who claim to know that god is real.

But not one, it seems, who knows what god is....

"Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him. "

[Chapter 112 of The Qur'an]

Another riddle. But no definition.

 
God (Definition)

A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.

The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being.
 

Ok, there's one definition. But how do we know that it is correct?


I think god is an idea that originated in the mind of man, and that is the reason it is so hard to define. It is a term used to dress the incomprehensible in a guise that we can relate to. This is my opinion, my definition.


Based on this, if someone holding to Ethmer's definition were to ask me if I think god is real I could say yes, (based on my own definition of what it is). It is an idea, as real as the idea of democracy or timetravel, for instance. (I am not saying that the things the ideas represent are real, just the ideas themselves)
But this person would take it to mean that I believed that god according to his definition was real.
How can understanding be reached on such a basis?

God is what you make it/him/her. Are Gods made up? In a world where everything is scientific, it has come to the point where even higher science is starting to sound impossible- but it is based on logic and facts! Our world is far to complicated for us to truly perceive (as Brahman is beyond comprehension), and so we create Gods to fill in the blanks.

But are we wrong to do so? Guesses aren't always wrong, and even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Science is starting to hint that the universe is infinite, which is incomprehensible, and if we can't trust the own extents of our knowledge, then what can we trust?

And what is real? The Matrix makes ignorance look like bliss. Why not? If you live and die in a fantasy world, then was your fantasy world not just as real as another's more "correct" world?