Geshtinnanna

If God exist it does not need to be omnipotent all powerful etc. Why? Look at everything that does actually exist. None of it is omnipotent or all powerful. That's proof enough it doesn't have to be.

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marmalade

Because humans aren't primarily rational creatures.

Given that, why do we worry about rationality so much?

Why are so we obsessed with making sense of such a confusingly complex reality?

I'm not so sure that it isn't irrational motivations that fuels our desire for rationality. So, a better question is...

Why don't we understand ourselves to any great extent?

And why do we try to understand the universe when we're still so clueless about ours own humanity?

I would imagine that the funding given to psychological research is piddly compared to the funding given to the hard sciences. Why?

We worry about God because that is the way we are.

romansh

If "We worry about God because that is the way we are", I would argue that it is because of indoctrination not because of deep seated attribute of mankind.

I can meaningfully debate rationality and irrationality
I can try to understand man's nature.
You are probably right regarding the funding, but the funding given to all the other sciences no doubt impacts the understanding of ourselves. Psychology does not exist in a vacuum.

These things are in the here and now.

God remains a maybe, a wish, a fear.

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There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. ........... Douglas Adams

Geshtinnanna

I don't think so. That's the way we were raised. I don't worry about God at all.

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marmalade

Yes, much of it is. But I was using the term God in a more general sense.

Humans have been wondering about this type of thing for as long as civilization has existed which implies some inherent tendency within the human psyche(even if it doesn't manifest equally or in the same way for everyone). In terms of specific theologies such as monotheism, indeed we are in the realm of largely doctrination.

The tricky question is why does this tendency exist in humans?

Why do humans believe in things that they defy rationality?

Why do humans have weird experiences?

Is this aspect of humanity just an accidental fluke of evolution?

Are beliefs in God merely about social control?

romansh

I suspect we do have an inherent tendency(ies) in our psyche.
I don't have have enough data to rule out that it is a belief in god.
A better or more descriptive tendency (I think) is that humans require an explanation.
Believing in a god would be a subset of requiring an explanation.
So to answer your questions, assuming they were not rhetorical:

The tricky question is why does this tendency exist in humans? answered above
Why do humans believe in things that they defy rationality? because they are not INTPs ....
Why do humans have weird experiences? ...because they are not INTPs ....
Is this aspect of humanity just an accidental fluke of evolution? we are working on that question.
Are beliefs in God merely about social control? ..... No

ps went to MBTIcentral ..... there seem to be a disproportionate number of INTPs there? .... :shiver:

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There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. ........... Douglas Adams

marmalade

MBTIcentral is spawned off of INTPcentral and so many INTPs were the earliest members there. When I first became interested in typology, I was excited to discover the INTP forum. I was thinking that heck its only one letter off from INFP... I mean how much difference can one little letter make?

I've never quite been the same person since. I've slowly grown used to INTPs. I understand them as well as can be expected. In fact, half of my studying of MBTI has been simply to understand this weird phenomena called INTP. They are good debate partners which is one good thing going for them.

shadowind

on online test im been put into intp before, i've also been put into intj.

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remember "for mere impulse of appetite is slavery, while obedience to a law which we prescirbe to oursleves is liberty"-rousseau: the concept of the general will "if we can not reconcile all opions, then let us endeavour to unite all hearts."-?"to be is to be perceived"-? "‘We can be as honest as we are ignorant. If we are, when asked what is beyond the horizon of the known, we must say that we do not know’-Robert G. Ingersoll

nakamichi680zx

The book "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" was my first indication that God cannot both be omnipotent and at the same time all-loving.

Because suffering exists to the degree that it does in this world, it is clear that a God who is both would have not allowed it to happen. Since it is being allowed to happen, this means that either (1) God All Powerful but not all loving because too much suffering exists or (2) that God is all loving but not cannot be all powerful--because in spite of the "fact" that he loves us all, he is doing precious little about it.

This paradox is really (REALLY) bothersome for me and was my first turning point away of the classic God is all loving and omnipotent because the evidence is simply not there to support either.

It forces you choose:

"Is he all Powerful?" or

"Is he all Loving?"

Neither choices are satisfactory to retain the God that I would have wanted to have, which was both.

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GrassHoppah: The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.

QuantumTheory

Theists ascribe different definitions (and qualities) to the belief of a supreme being (God). Being all powerful is one term that is universally accepted amongst theists and deists. However, this term is subject to further discussion. What do they imply in a philosophical or scientific sense when they state 'all powerful'? Are they implying that God's supreme powers are limited to the physical laws of the universe or can even transgress beyond those limitations. In essence these are philosophical thesis' and at present are subject to further study/research consistent with the principles of the scientific method and logical reasoning.

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"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me".

Isaac Newton 1643-1727