Does God exist?

---

Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 31 Oct 2002 13:05 PST

Dear adrianv,

What diety exactly do you have in mind? The Jewish god Jahve of the
Old Testament, god according to Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist,
Anglican, Greek-Orthodox, Russian-Orthodox, Arian, Nestorian, or a
special other kind of Christianity? The god as defined by one of the
various forms of Islam? The Zorothastrian god Ahura Mazda od Ormuz? Or
maybe not one of the monotheistic dieties but rather a member of a
polytheistic pantheon, such as the Roman god Iuppiter, the Greek Zeus,
the Egyptian Osiris, the Germanic Odin?

Regards,
Scriptor

---

Clarification of Question by adrianv-ga on 31 Oct 2002 13:16 PST

Do any gods exist?

adrianv,

Your question hits on one of the most fundamental issues of
philosophy: the nature of existance. Despite all of our knowledge,
there is no proof that anything actually exists. Any attempt to prove,
for example, our own existance (such as Descartes' claim "I think,
therefore I am") is flawed by the use of circular logic (how do you
*know* that *you* are doing the thinking?) So our definitions of
existance are based on our perceptions of what we believe exists.

Existance can take on many forms. The computer in front of you is an
item that you can touch and interact with, so you are comfortable in
accepting its "existance". But the words you are reading do not exist
in the same manner; they are electrons arranged into a form on your
monitor that you can interrept in some way, that move if you scroll
the screen and disappear if you turn off the monitor. You cannot see
the Internet structure that brings these words to you, but we "know"
it must exist by the effect it causes, allowing me to communicate with
you in this manner.

From the Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, one of the
definitions of "exist" is "To be manifest in any manner" Let us
consider this in relation to God. People may argue whether or not
there is a physical God that created the universe in seven days. But
there is no denying that millions of people believe in God in some
manner. These believers shape the society you live in, the values you
possess, the culture that has been formed, regardless of what you
individually think of God. Without the God of these believers, the
world would have been manifest in a very different manner.

It is because of this effect that God has that we know that God
exists, as we know that Santa Claus exists because of the belief of
Virginia and many other children around the world, as we know that the
Great Pumpkin exists because of Linus's perpetual resolve in the face
of all the disbelievers around him. And they will continue to exist as
long as at least one person continues praying, one little boy goes to
bed excited on Christmas Eve, and Charlie Brown's friend continues to
spend cold nights in the pumpkin patch every Halloween.

Sites cited:
  Descartes
  http://www.creatingthe21stcentury.org/Intro8b-Descartes.html

  Dictionary.com
  http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=exist

  Santa Claus
  http://www.barricksinsurance.com/virginia.html

  It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
  http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?ean=97361561141

Google search terms:
  "Santa Claus" Virginia
  "I think therefore I am" Descartes
  Linus "The great pumpkin"

---

Request for Answer Clarification by adrianv-ga on 31 Oct 2002 22:08 PST

So if someone believed that a god existed, and another believed that
that same god did not exist, your saying that that god exists because
one person believes in that god?

---

Request for Answer Clarification by adrianv-ga on 31 Oct 2002 22:16 PST

If everyone believes that a god exists, and then suddenly one person
stops believing that this god exists, does that god stop existing?

---

Clarification of Answer by hailstorm-ga on 31 Oct 2002 22:19 PST

adrianv,

I'm saying that that god exists both because one person believed in it
and one person came out and said it did not, because you can only deny
the existance of that god if there is some conscious recognition of
the concept of its existance to begin with. The very act of denying
the existance of a god confirms its existance in some form.  The only
gods that don't exist are the ones for whom nobody thinks anything of
one way or the other.

Until now, the Furless Beavnix (half Beaver, half Phoenix) God of
Tupelo, Mississippi did not exist. But now that I have mentioned it,
it does, and any attempt you make to deny that existance only serves
to justify it on some level.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by adrianv-ga on 31 Oct 2002 22:43 PST

Is there not a difference between the abstract existance you've been
talking about and the existance I normally think of when I talk of
physical objects?

---

Clarification of Answer by hailstorm-ga on 31 Oct 2002 22:56 PST

That depends on your perception...but your question did not specify
any specific definition, so I believed that proof of any sort of
existance would suffice.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by adrianv-ga on 31 Oct 2002 23:22 PST

Does a god exist outside of the abstract realm of thoughts and ideas?

---

Clarification of Answer by hailstorm-ga on 31 Oct 2002 23:42 PST

I believe this is outside the scope of your original question.  If you
wish to submit a new question, we may be able to continue on this new
scope.

Please look for my new question...

Yes she does.

Oh no he doesn't!

Hail Eris!

God the creator of Life, the Universe. and everything. However, he/she
is not responsible for Microsoft Windows, your slow bandwith and
Netscape's BLINK tag.

Some Real Truth about God
I feel that this is the right place to clarify some very old
statements from god which have been misinterpreted for more then
nearly 2,000 years now:

1).There isn't neither a hell nor a heaven. It's called planet Earth
for you this time.
2).Unfortunately life doesn't really end with death  and there is no
paradise  waiting for you. If you didn't discover the real paradise
for yourself until then, you just will have to try again  Sorry in
advance for any inconveniences this will cause to you.
3).The weather forecast for tomorrow isn't true at all.

Hey, this is GOOGLE Answers. Perhaps you have us confused with...

http://www.mortalwombat.com/Image/Goddle_logo.jpg

Yes God exists. Thank him everytime you wake up in the morning, for a
brand new day is given unto you.

I don't believe the question can be answered.  There's no proof one
way or the other.

In one of my favorite books, Neil Gaiman's "American Gods", the main
character finds himself tangled up in the middle of a war between the
gods of our forefathers - Odin, Loki, Bilquis, Eostre, Anubis, Thoth,
Kali, among others - and  modern gods - Technology, Television and
Money among them.  As the tale unfolds, Shadow (our main character)
comes to understand that the reason the gods of old are at war with
the gods of today is because of *belief* - without belief, these gods
will die, and pass into oblivion, forgotten.  Gods, being vain, don't
take kindly to being forgotten.

Shadow had this to say about gods and beliefs and the consequences of
believing:

"People believe, thought Shadow.  It's what people do.  They believe. 
And then they will not take responsibility for their beliefs; they
conjure things, and do not trust the conjurations.  People populate
the darkness; with ghosts, with gods, with electrons, with tales. 
People imagine and people believe:  and it is that belief, that
rock-solid belief, that makes things happen."

(Neil Gaiman - American Gods - 2001 - page 418 (HC) )

I think that if you agree with that philosophy, then your god,
whatever he or she may be, would exist.  Even a tiny bit of belief is
a powerful thing.

--Missy

The moment you think of something, it exists. If someone else thinks
of the same thing, it will exist even more.

Is God real? Unless one has had a very sheltered life, indications
that things happen which science cannot account for are everywhere.
Some folk might attribute the unexplainable to gods. Mostly I blame
pixies.

Of course God exists.  Just look in the mirror.

Ok, so....Why a half beaver god for tupelo?
speaking as a resident,
Taloas

The people of Tupelo love beavers. Everyone knows that. So combining
it with the immortal phoenix seemed like a natural.
Are you looking for information on how to properly worship it?

Does God exist? According to Nietzsche, God is dead! lol

The teleological argument for God's existence has a variety of forms.
The following are a few: 1. Order (purpose, design, pattern) exists in
the universe. Order cannot exist without an orderer. Therefore, God
exists as the source of that order. 2. Things move toward goals; they
struggle to complete themselves. God exists as the intelligent being
that (a) impels things toward their goals, (b) sets up the goals, and
(c) designs the means by which these goals are to be attained. 3. The
universe as a whole has a purpose toward which it is struggling. God
exists as the creator and the sustainer of that purpose.

Then again, according to God, Nietzsche is dead....  : )

it's rather interesting how my Nietzschean statement always seems to
elicit the same sublime response, but with varying degrees of
apodeictic certainty! lol

Herr Nietzsche believed that the demise of Christianity will bring
about a newer, higher phase of human history, and that to become
worthy of their deicide, humans will have to become gods themselves.

Dear Adrian,

If you wish for a serious, down to earth answer, then it is yes, but
it is necessary to spend some effort in study to prove this to your
own satisfaction.  An excellent book to start with is "The Case For
Christ" by Lee Strobel.

Bravo for asking such a big question!

...and at such miniscule price!

If you can please answer these question first before asking your
question.
These question may lead you to some answers, that is if you are
searching for one.

Let us begin by your very self, who created you? Who created the
animals, the birds and the trees?
And then who created this earth, the moon, and the sun? And to whom it
belongs?
Who created the Universe, and who owns it, who has the right, the
power, the means to hold it in its form, who controls it? What hold
all the stars, the earth, the sun, the moon and the skies from
collapsing, or breaking into each other? Why does each and every one
of them has a set path, an eternal orbit that they never missed, never
diverted, never stopped, never speeded, never slowed down? Unless
there journey was over
Who holds all this in this perfect harmony and never weary, never
ailing, never departed or just gone?
Who hold the balance in this universe? even if you can’t see the
balance, there is one, and some people do see it, but they are only a
few.

Why would anyone want to be left in the dark woods of skepticism and
doubts when the truth is there for you to seize? Its true that this
road of “Never stop asking why” led and still can lead to useful and
astonishing inventions and discoveries that we can cherish and find
benefit in some. But we must distinguish matters of modern science,
health and the like from matters of the ultimate truth, the soul
creator and controller. Even if you ask “why” about the Ultimate
truth, but with the true intention of finding the truth, just like a
good scientist who wants to reach the light, and to leave the dark,
You will seize the truth, and you will reach the light, maybe it’s a
question of will after all.

What holds this perfect karma in your life, who makes it come back in
“what you do comes back to you”, who makes what goes around comes
around? Who else knows what you only know and never told anyone about?
And everyone can feel this one.
Who gets someone to do the exact same thing that you did to someone
else, sometimes years and years back, to settle the score?
Why if we oppress our parents, we are doomed to be oppressed by our
sons and daughters? And vice versa? Who is this perfect Architect? And
this Architect is also a forgiver to those who have found the truth

Who created this perfect duality in life, from every single creature a
male and a female, and left himself the only true ONE in the whole
universe? And why there is a notion of Oneness in our heads if we are
all pares?
And who is the only God, because if there was more, each would take
his creatures and some gods would be better than others, higher than
others and people would be scattered among the gods?

Why do you think we were created, why are we here, do you think that
we are here in vain, that we were created just to live life as we
please? Or were we created to thankful to who granted us life, to
worship Him and be good to Him?

 
Dear Adrianv, To me the answer to all these question is ONE, I hope
that it is the same to you too, If not then Peace be upon you and I
hope that one day …you’ll know

But please do more research, contemplate, seek the truth, look into
yourself, into your heart, and search for Him, Believe, The truth is
here but the majority of the people denies it

there is no order in the universe. only perceived order in the chaos.

Planets get flung out of orbit and galaxies collide. the heavens are
actually a very terrible place up there in the sky. it may look
beautiful, but so does chaos (ever wonder why the clouds look so
pretty? why Pollack's paintings are so mesmerizing? it's because chaos
is beautiful. so is the universe, but don't fool yourself, there is no
natural order. The birds and the plants and humans are just the
fragment of perceived order in the infinite chaos (don't forget we're
are only one out of seemingly infinite planets, so all the random
elements needed for intelligent life will eventually surface.. it's
just one big combination lock.

anyways. i think it's better to think of god as a concept then as an
entity.

"Who created the Universe, and who owns it, who has the right, the
power, the means to hold it in its form, who controls it? What hold
all the stars, the earth, the sun, the moon and the skies from
collapsing, or breaking into each other? Why does each and every one
of them has a set path, an eternal orbit that they never missed, never
diverted, never stopped, never speeded, never slowed down? Unless
there journey was over"

You can learn about God and the purpose of life here: http://www.cwg.org

He does exist. And so also do the angels, Jesus, resurrected and Satan
the devil. Its all in the bible. The miracle that were recorded in the
Hebrew scriptures all happened. But how?. Man certainly does not have
the power necessary. Genesis l;l states " In the beginning, God
created the heavens and the earth. For us, because he loves us, his
creation. My proof is the amazing co-operation between the animal and
plant world. How a certain tree or plant supplies just exactly the
right substance to maintain the animal. Anbd vice-versa. Animals that
spread the seeds of the plants, toghether with fertilizer. That is a
neat trick. How come eskimos have no vege patches, eat only blubber
and yet they get their ration of vitamin C. Its a big plan. Everything
fits. The world itself is angled to the plane of rotation by 23 & 1/2
degrees. It gives us seasons. Without this, we would fry or freeze.
There is just too much organization for the system to be " by chance"
Q.E.D.

St Anselm, an Italian, is said to have proved the existence of God in
the 11th century, and there is some debate on this, as below:
http://www.unconventional-wisdom.com/WAW/ANSELM.html

Hi,
You should really read this...there's a great answer for your question:

http://www.beconvinced.com/ISTHEREAGOD.htm

god or no god,existence is something,although cannot be proved,cannot
be denied either.well,that's the way it is.human life is a sort of a
matrix;interpretationless but we humans have got to exist even
then,since we cannot find no reason that it is unreal.hence i suggest
the mantra should be-`greatest thing is being alive-exist and
reproduce' and please stop thinking about existence.u will never find
the absolute answer.just one thing-when humans
get bored of life;JUST STOP REPRODUCING.that's it.

Existance is infinate, that's all it is.  Belief is just what shapes
it.  You are an equal part.
Ash.

To begin answering the question, this is where I started:
Picture one atom in your body, zoom in.  There are smaller particles
that make up that one atom.  Zoom in on one of those particles, more
particles that make up that one.  And so on.  Zoom out, you are one
being part of Earth made up of infinate particles.  Zoom out more, we
just a part of something even bigger.