@"Arguably that IS your sign from God...a lot of people with radically different beliefs all giving you the same advice."

Now obviously i'm not going to agree with the first part. But the second, well if a lot of people with radically different beliefs all agree, then probsbly you have hit on the wisdom of the crowds.

For different independent reasons, we all seem to think this is a bad idea. So yeah, 100% agree with the latter bit.

I think there is an excellent conversation here about subjectivity and the 'made up gods' in our head.

But perhaps it needs its own thread.

Perhaps it does. Brainbomb's initial "argument" ( God didn't answer my prayers so is either an asshole or doesn't exist)/is illogical
If God exists, or God's & other deities exist is of little practical use, imho, for brainbomb in dealing with the "grief" of his broken heart. What he should concentrate on is not a more confusing issue such as the existence of Gods, but how to get further away from the Bermuda triangle / disaster that he was in & get to happier waters & he can do that without the millstone of Gods holding him back

I think it's incorrect to dismiss people who find religion a positive or comforting influence in such situations. At a minimum, it's another way to reach people with the same message, and that's often helpful.

Who is dismissing them?

Why is it of any importance at all if god is real or not?
If it's real,fine.if not who cares?
How is it changing anybodie's life anyway?
God does what ever it wants and everyone of us is expendible and insignificant in the big plan.
The idea of praying and expecting that pray to answered is egocentric and shameless.
Do you really think that god works for you?

@taos, god definitely exists, in the sense that was described above of this imagined being of our own creating. And thos who believe in this (these) god(s) are affected in their behaviour.

So yeah, whether or not an omnipotent benevolent being who does not interfere exists doesn't matter; except that people are care about this because the god in their head affects their day-to-day life.

It certainly matters to BB by the sound of things. Of course what really matters is faith, because if you don't believe then a lot of these ideas don't affect you... (Nit talking about organised religion here, which is entirely the creation of man, and a mechanism for control... Like communism, or politics or advertising)

Personal faith matters, because the meme-god (that is god as an idea which spreads from person to person and mutates depending on the host environment - which may include organised religion, and theistic states) has no power without personal faith.

Faith can exist without the need for a deity. Faith existed in polytheism too, why assume its a monotheidtic monopoly

A billion people are hindu in this world. Their 'faith' isnt just some false ideology. If there was One deity it wouldnt allow that

sure i believe that BB will play a live game with me today gameID=189502

Poly or monotheistic makes no difference to my 'god(s) of your mind' concept.

i have polystyrene in my motorcycle helmet, is that the same?

'One deity it wouldnt allow that'. sometimes parents allow us to make bad choices so we will be taught by natural consequences instead. permissiveness does not equal approval

So you are saying God allowed a billion people to follow a religion that worked for thousands of years before christ, as a way to act as a parent.

"Who is dismissing them?"

I suppose I misunderstood MM's point as more broadly meant than it actually was. My mistake.

@ Orthaic, "god definitely exists, in the sense that was described above of this imagined being of our own creating" & "Poly or monotheistic makes no difference to my 'god(s) of your mind' concept."

A "god of your mind" is not a part of reality... it is imagined... it does not exist. This is distinctly different from a God that does exist; whether or not someone believes it. The first believes in something that does not exist. The second does not believe something that does exist.

If god exists it doesn't matter. Let's move on guys.

@Devonian, the things in your head definitely exist, and have an impact on the world.

Like math. It is mental construct, a language, a thinking tool. But it's not real, right?

And yet the existance of this mental construct has a huge impact on our world.

'So you are saying God allowed a billion people to follow a religion that worked for thousands of years before christ, as a way to act as a parent.'
yes. see the 'flood' narrative.

Not only has the flood been scientifically proven false, but the size of the arc carrying 7.7 million slecies is a ludicrous belief.

God displays ten commandments, never mentions being gay. Condemns divorce/adultery so uhhh.... where am I going with this... finish my thought

There is debate about whether or not math exists. Is it a useful tool for describing reality? Yes, but it is not universally agreed that math itself exists.

An example might be Geometry. We now understand that we live in a non-euclidean universe, but euclidean geometry is still useful in our everyday life. Math is just a tool used by our minds to describe reality, it is not in and of itself reality.

But, this is even further off topic and perhaps better suited to another thread.

There is also a debate about whether or not God exists.

But in both cases there is no doubt that the ideas themselves exist.

@Devonian

math itself is a system of analyzing things, numbers are just symbols which represent some quantity

God is supposedly an actual entity... i mean both definitely exist as an idea, but i'm not sure whether anyone really ever argued Math exists as an entity.

Perhaps we are getting hung up on semantics. The distinction between existing as an entity and existing as an idea is not insignificant. My point is that there is a distinction.

And in light of that distinction, I will re-phrase my earlier statement using revised semantics:

A "god of your mind" is not a part of reality... it is imagined... it does not exist (as an entity).
This is distinctly different from a God that does exist (as an entity); whether or not someone believes it. The first believes in something that does not exist (as an entity). The second does not believe something that does exist (as an entity).

I cannot conceive of god.

the 'flood' narrative is found in many cultures and beliefs

ortho has no ideas, just platitudes and paradigms

unfortunately God conceived of you jamiet