Is there any test...?

[Willum]

So is there any test that can be made to distinguish God from an imaginary friend of the same name?

An imaginary friend with a popular name, of course.

Any way at all?

The debate topic is: There is none.

[Tart]

Certainly God can be shown to be true and real... But note* we are talking about the Christian God (i am assuming)....

In which case if Christianity is true, then God will answer those who seek God. But to those who refuse to know the truth, God will allow to be deluded and to believe the lie.

So... What test can convert an unbeliever?

Try not putting a question mark where God put a period.


"They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie." 2 Thessalonians 2

[1213]

So is there any test that can be made to distinguish God from an imaginary friend of the same name?

An imaginary friend with a popular name, of course.

Any way at all?

The debate topic is: There is none.

Could this be suitable test:

Jesus therefore answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
John 7:16-17

[Tcg]

I'd suspect however that Willum would expect to be given a valid test.

Whether it's valid or not is a matter of opinion...

No it isn't. As I have already explained, your test doesn't answer the question the OP asks. It is therefore unquestionably invalid for the test under consideration.

[Willum]

So is there any test that can be made to distinguish God from an imaginary friend of the same name?

An imaginary friend with a popular name, of course.

Any way at all?

The debate topic is: There is none.

Could this be suitable test:

Jesus therefore answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
John 7:16-17

Yes, it seems to prove without a doubt, Jesus had an imaginary friend.

[Guy Threepwood]

So is there any test that can be made to distinguish God from an imaginary friend of the same name?

An imaginary friend with a popular name, of course.

Any way at all?

The debate topic is: There is none.

if you wash up on a deserted island, and you see 'HELP' spelled with rocks on the beach , no sign of any person ever being there...

do you assume the waves probably just washed them up like that?
or do you deduce that there may be another soul somewhere on the island?

You tell me; what test did you use to conclude this 'imaginary friend' as the least improbable explanation?

[Willum]

[Replying to post 25 by Guy Threepwood]

Well, if I washed up on a beach, this topic would be the last thing I thought about.

However, what does that have to do with discriminating between God and an imaginary friend of the same name?

I don't see your point...

[William]

[Replying to post 20 by Willum]

You have inadvertently created a false dichotomy. "Know" and "imaginary."

Everyone who believes, believes they know.

Sure. But everyone who knows, has no more reason to believe.

So if the argument then is "Everyone who believes there is a GOD" = "GOD is an imaginary friend" then "Everyone who knows GOD exists" = "GOD is not an imaginary friend."

[theliteratebookworm@gmail]

I would characterize the idea of God more akin to a hallucination (though not the quite the same) than an imaginary friend. As noted before, most people are aware that imaginary friends are... imaginary. The same cannot be said of deities, therefore a hallucination fits better.

Though, what I think fits best is a mixture of confirmation bias and self grandeur. People who tend to believe in God also tend to think of humans as the peak of life. Most people would consider themselves more important than a pig, or a chicken, for example. These same people would use religion to justify this. Example the Old Testament is vehemently Israelite ethnocentric (the idea that Israel is the chosen people, the Tigris and Euphrates being the location of Eden, the slander of other people groups: Esau (Edom) being rejected in favor of Jacob (Israel), Moab (Moabites) and Ammon (Ammonites) being the results of incest, and Canaan (Canaanites) being cursed to serve his brothers).

The reality is that I think religion is a result of necessity, and self grandeur, and egotism. Thus, people convince themselves that it is true and use anything they can as "proof" of said truth, because their religion in the end also becomes their source of meaning.

It is why people like to appeal to anecdotal events, and such as to why they believe, or use the Bible to justify the Bible.

Note, I am not saying that what they believe is false. I don't believe in a God, but I am not saying there is no god. I am merely pointing out why I think people believe.

[benchwarmer]

So is there any test that can be made to distinguish God from an imaginary friend of the same name?

An imaginary friend with a popular name, of course.

Any way at all?

The debate topic is: There is none.

if you wash up on a deserted island, and you see 'HELP' spelled with rocks on the beach , no sign of any person ever being there...

do you assume the waves probably just washed them up like that?
or do you deduce that there may be another soul somewhere on the island?

Sorry for the brief side track Willum, but I have to respond to this.

The answer, of course, is neither. I would not assume waves created the message, nor would I assume someone is still on the island.

I would, however, assume that someone WAS on the island at some point and MAY still be there. Or they may have already been rescued, drowned, fell into that cave over there, etc.

Ok, back to the topic:

Is there any test? Sure there is and JW actually gave what I would use. "Pray" or in other words talk to each and see what response you get:

Me: Hello imaginary friend, what can you tell me about yourself?
IM: .... silence ....

Me: Hello God, what can you tell me about yourself?
God: ... silence ....

So, while the test is useless in this case because both are actually imaginary, it is a valid test. If one were to answer, then you would have some confirmation. You could then engage the subject and discover what you are conversing with.

I suppose the tricky bit would be if BOTH answered!

Then of course you might want to check yourself into some sort of care under a mental health professional since you can elicit responses from imaginary friends.

[Willum]

[Replying to post 27 by William]

OK, if someone, anyone knows, they should be able to demonstrate the difference.
Right?