this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2024
478 points (95.1% liked)

Cool Guides

4736 readers
1 users here now

Rules for Posting Guides on Our Community

1. Defining a Guide Guides are comprehensive reference materials, how-tos, or comparison tables. A guide must be well-organized both in content and layout. Information should be easily accessible without unnecessary navigation. Guides can include flowcharts, step-by-step instructions, or visual references that compare different elements side by side.

2. Infographic Guidelines Infographics are permitted if they are educational and informative. They should aim to convey complex information visually and clearly. However, infographics that primarily serve as visual essays without structured guidance will be subject to removal.

3. Grey Area Moderators may use discretion when deciding to remove posts. If in doubt, message us or use downvotes for content you find inappropriate.

4. Source Attribution If you know the original source of a guide, share it in the comments to credit the creators.

5. Diverse Content To keep our community engaging, avoid saturating the feed with similar topics. Excessive posts on a single topic may be moderated to maintain diversity.

6. Verify in Comments Always check the comments for additional insights or corrections. Moderators rely on community expertise for accuracy.

Community Guidelines

By following these rules, we can maintain a diverse and informative community. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to the moderators. Thank you for contributing responsibly!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Mrs_deWinter@feddit.org 2 points 4 months ago

The question whether god may understand or be bound by moral standards is irrelevant though. Apparently he doesn't act on it. Either he doesn't care enough to do or he can't.

Of course one can imagine god in a way that's compatible with our world - for example an evil god, a god that doesn't care about humans, a god that has no relationship with the world, or a god that's incapable of interference with it. Epicurus doesn't say god doesn't exist, merely the (formerly prevalent) idea of an all loving, all knowing, omnipotent creator god. That one is apparently impossible and therefore most likely doesn't exist.

And going one step further we can say: Well okay, maybe god doesn't exist, but apparently not in a way that's relevant to this world. At least not beyond the idea itself. There is no tangible influence of god in this life - he doesn't interfer (for whatever reason). And since the formerly prevalent idea of god is obviously wrong it's hard to say if humans were ever justified in thinking we know something about god at all. (Would be a feat anyway, giving the fact that god apparently doesn't interfer with our reality.) This however leaves very little room to justify or explain the need for religion.

When I was a believer this was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. I understood that we know nothing of god, cannot know anything of god, and cannot claim to say he does exist - and that religion therefore made no sense. Back then I called myself an agnostic, taking into account the possibility that, as unlikely as it might me, god could yet exist in some form. Today I don't even believe that. The term "god" stems from a tradition of groundless and increasingly refuted attributions, and there's just as much reason to assume the existence of such a concept as every other work of fiction out there. If you'd experience the world without the predenomination of religion you wouldn't arrive at anything close to their idea of a god in the first place. This was my conclusion from the Epicurean paradox.

So, n=2, now we have a tie.

(Exercise like this might feel futile to you - I find them immensely interesting.)