Is God's Existence Meaningful?

[boatsnguitars]

I suspect that if you can do anything you want then everything is meaningless.

Is God's Existence Meaningful? Are we meaningful to God?

Wootah clearly indicates that if we have Omni-Powers, or complete freedom to do what we want, this would be a meaningless existence. In fact, "everything" would be menaingless, even other people's lives.

So, how does this apply to God? And what is God's purpose? What reason does God have to 'get up in the morning'?

God has already experienced the life of everyone alive, and has lived, with perfect knowledge ever nanosecond in all history, and for all eternity into the future. There is literally nothing God is waiting to see. God isn't curious, isn't waiting to see what happens at Sally's dance recital, or with Ukraine, or with ChatGPT.

It's all known to God. No challenges for his perfect mind, no secrets to discover, no souls to meet.

We don't know how God happened to be this torturous, boring and ridiculous character, but it's what Theists claim exists.

How is this meaningful? How do we have meaning just because a God exists? What does Theism offer us? It sounds like an eternity of being absorbed into a tragic Borg with no goal other than to collect souls to praise it.

Atheism, at least, offers an escape from an eternity of boredom.

[1213]

...
"Then that's what atheists do, too."...

Sorry, I don't see that to be true. But, it would be very nice, if that is really true.

The same argument applies to life, not just morality. We goddless have the same values, appreciation and meanings in life as the Believers....

But does not dying ..well, not permanently...really add meaning or value just to perpetuate what we do forever? Like it was said - it could become very boring and where is the meaning and value then? Is it not just fear of death and nothing more than that? Aside terror of hellthreat which I am delighted to say has NEVER been a worry for me.

Fearing hell is not reasonable, it does not do anything on its own.

I agree that it is not reasonable from believers to speak about life being meaningless, if person is without God. Person can make some meaning of his own. I think value of things depends on person. Anyone can choose what he keeps meaningful. And if for some this life is not meaningful, then it may be so for him. I think it is possible to choose own meaning to own life. But, perhaps doing things is not the meaningful matter, being something may be better. Being in higher state of mind may be more meaningful.
And I personally think love is the greatest meaning of life.

[1213]

If you could do anything, and have eternity to do it, you've done it all. There is nothing new - ever.
....

I think that is interesting way to think. For me "new" is not important matter. I don't need to have constantly new matters. The things I like, I would like them to remain.

[boatsnguitars]

If you could do anything, and have eternity to do it, you've done it all. There is nothing new - ever.
....

I think that is interesting way to think. For me "new" is not important matter. I don't need to have constantly new matters. The things I like, I would like them to remain.

I guess, but not all of us are Autistic/OCD. Some of us like a little variation in our lives.

[TRANSPONDER]

...
"Then that's what atheists do, too."...

Sorry, I don't see that to be true. But, it would be very nice, if that is really true.

The same argument applies to life, not just morality. We goddless have the same values, appreciation and meanings in life as the Believers....

But does not dying ..well, not permanently...really add meaning or value just to perpetuate what we do forever? Like it was said - it could become very boring and where is the meaning and value then? Is it not just fear of death and nothing more than that? Aside terror of hellthreat which I am delighted to say has NEVER been a worry for me.

Fearing hell is not reasonable, it does not do anything on its own.

I agree that it is not reasonable from believers to speak about life being meaningless, if person is without God. Person can make some meaning of his own. I think value of things depends on person. Anyone can choose what he keeps meaningful. And if for some this life is not meaningful, then it may be so for him. I think it is possible to choose own meaning to own life. But, perhaps doing things is not the meaningful matter, being something may be better. Being in higher state of mind may be more meaningful.
And I personally think love is the greatest meaning of life.

Not bad. I might argue that Love is fine and dandy, but how do we do it? I have my doubts that being ordered to do it by the invisible dictator of a religious movement is the best way, even if it didn't sow divisions with a serious shortage of Love directed towards those not in the group.

But I have an idea that Love - Real Love - is best served by understanding. Ourselves, others, and the world we inhabit. And it takes the knowledge we get from science to tell us that we, others and all are One.

Now the Higher State of Being is a very attractive idea. It is a common human conception from Siberian shamans to Taoists and from whirling dervishes to Tibetan meditation. The Thing accessed by the meditation is common but the religious trappings around it are different and thus irrelevant. I did Buddhism because it cut those out. I also cut out the bothersome claim that one could do it quickly and easily without tying the legs in knots.

Bottom line, I have no reason to believe that the Higher State of Being is anything more than a common human experience with nothing beyond that. Can be accessed by months of fasting and prayer or a Quick Whiff before the evening video, and I doubt that overblown supernatural faithclaims about it are going to make the credibility cut.

And yes, doing the good because it is right, not because of hope of a ticket to heaven, is what atheists do. Just as the Christian apologists say they do, if pressed on it. Now I gather you are claiming that Christians do lots of Good, especially to nice hobbitses. Much more than atheists do. But that isn't the point - it is the motivation being the same, not how much of it we do.

[brunumb]

If you could do anything, and have eternity to do it, you've done it all. There is nothing new - ever.
....

I think that is interesting way to think. For me "new" is not important matter. I don't need to have constantly new matters. The things I like, I would like them to remain.

That's a rather simplistic response to make when your experiences have only been for a limited number of years or decades. Have you never felt the need for change, variety or new experiences? I wonder how you would truly feel after having done the same things over and over for a relatively short time like a million years out of eternity. Maybe God performs some sort of lobotomy on the soul to make eternity bearable.

[TRANSPONDER]

If you could do anything, and have eternity to do it, you've done it all. There is nothing new - ever.
....

I think that is interesting way to think. For me "new" is not important matter. I don't need to have constantly new matters. The things I like, I would like them to remain.

That's a rather simplistic response to make when your experiences have only been for a limited number of years or decades. Have you never felt the need for change, variety or new experiences? I wonder how you would truly feel after having done the same things over and over for a relatively short time like a million years out of eternity. Maybe God performs some sort of lobotomy on the soul to make eternity bearable.

It's more than simplistic - it's wrongheaded. Sure i get 'if it's not broken don't fix it' - especially in this age of nuisance upgrades just for the sake of it (1). But what we keep and what we shed for the new - at least in the case of thought and knowledge should be based on good reasons not just because of what we like. That is the problem with religious belief - it cannot see the difference between what one wants to believe and what one on evidence ought to believe.

(1) of course fashions and preferences in art and music are down to personal likes and the Wrongheadedness (which we often get, unfortunately) is to confuse personal preferences in (say) music with what makes a person right or wrong or even good or bad.

[1213]

If you could do anything, and have eternity to do it, you've done it all. There is nothing new - ever.
....

I think that is interesting way to think. For me "new" is not important matter. I don't need to have constantly new matters. The things I like, I would like them to remain.

That's a rather simplistic response to make when your experiences have only been for a limited number of years or decades. Have you never felt the need for change, variety or new experiences?

I have only need for change those things I don't like.

[1213]

...I might argue that Love is fine and dandy, but how do we do it? I have my doubts that being ordered to do it by the invisible dictator of a religious movement is the best way, even if it didn't sow divisions with a serious shortage of Love directed towards those not in the group.

I have understood love means to care without conditions. I think that is not really genuinely possible by force or by order.

But I have an idea that Love - Real Love - is best served by understanding. Ourselves, others, and the world we inhabit. And it takes the knowledge we get from science to tell us that we, others and all are One....

How does science show that to be true?

[1213]

If you could do anything, and have eternity to do it, you've done it all. There is nothing new - ever.
....

I think that is interesting way to think. For me "new" is not important matter. I don't need to have constantly new matters. The things I like, I would like them to remain.

I guess, but not all of us are Autistic/OCD. Some of us like a little variation in our lives.

So, you think i am autistic? That is interesting. If it is true, then it is miraculous that I believe in God.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/autism-atheism_b_1557098

[TRANSPONDER]

If you could do anything, and have eternity to do it, you've done it all. There is nothing new - ever.
....

I think that is interesting way to think. For me "new" is not important matter. I don't need to have constantly new matters. The things I like, I would like them to remain.

That's a rather simplistic response to make when your experiences have only been for a limited number of years or decades. Have you never felt the need for change, variety or new experiences?

I have only need for change those things I don't like.

That's your own personal preference and right. But to change them for anyone else, you need good reasons and a bit of a consensus.

...I might argue that Love is fine and dandy, but how do we do it? I have my doubts that being ordered to do it by the invisible dictator of a religious movement is the best way, even if it didn't sow divisions with a serious shortage of Love directed towards those not in the group.

I have understood love means to care without conditions. I think that is not really genuinely possible by force or by order.

I agree. Which is why a religious diktat is futile. Now if we take the religious directive seriously, how do we do it? While, like all this ethical stuff, it isn't perfect and uncritical and unconditional is no more possible than 'never tell a lie ever', and nobody does it. So reason is already the better way. Understanding helps.

But I have an idea that Love - Real Love - is best served by understanding. Ourselves, others, and the world we inhabit. And it takes the knowledge we get from science to tell us that we, others and all are One....

How does science show that to be true?

Understanding biological evolution is a good first step. We are all brethren and sisrten, even if we quarrel and have to brother carrot or kangaroo to stay alive. Natural selection didn't consult with us any more than a god how we should survive.

But we can do better, Senator, both in ethics and beating natural selection and understanding all this and more helps to eliminate those tribal divides and lack of thought for others that is our innate social and ethical problem which Religion I have to say, makes worse, not better.