RPGguy wrote:Just because 90+ percent of the planet believes in a deity, it doesn't mean that numbers are evidence of truth.
Nuance, please. 90% of humanity believes in everything from a single, anthropomorphic god to an intelligent spirit that inhabits us all, to a non-intelligent but alive spirit that inhabits us all, to a force that cannot be understood, to a multitude of gods.
You're superimposing the Judeo-Christian-Islamic god on all those people who don't believe it, and who happen to form the majority of people who believe in some form of deity(ies). Those people don't expect a god or gods to come rushing to the rescue on some giant white horse. That's not what they're around, for. I would add myself to that number, by the way, and have noted this repeatedly in the past.
I agree with you fable in the sense that that the only definition of 'god' that can possibly remain after this is the one that doesn't intervene or make himself, herself, itself known. I am perfectly comfortable allowing that and knowing that he/she/it will continue to allow anything and everything, even if we want to nuke each other and take all of the natural world with us.
Right: we're in charge of what we do, and we can't pass the responsibility off to some anti-deity. Nor can we expect rescue from some deity. Why should we?
Which mean he/she/it doesn't care. At all. Which means he/she/it isn't worthy of human worship.
So you're saying that the only god that exists is one who sees everything just as we do, follows the same logic, and will rescue us all the time? That sounds very similar to a Judeo-Christian-Islamic god, again, but why should the rest of us who have beliefs but don't accept this kind of god, do so?
And if a god or gods isn't supposed to rescue humanity from earthquakes, or plague, or starvation, then why should they be denied worship for not achieving what they never intended to do? That's like criticizing King Lear because it doesn't make you laugh.
As for worship: worship needn't follow a Judeo-Christian-Islamic model, and it need not be intended for a god who acts as Superman. From my personal perspective, there aren't any gods who ever act like this, or have ever promised to do so. **** happens. The gods help us in a variety of ways, including dealing with suffering, but they don't prevent it, anymore than they weigh in on one side or another in battle--unless it's a god associated with a particular group of people. Like Yahweh, the old tribal storm god. And those are usually not very nice ones, if you get my meaning.
Of course, I'm not suggesting you believe as I do. I'm just asking you to consider the possibility that gods exist and are worshipped completely outside a standard monotheistic pattern.
