If God Didn't Exist

[dairygirl4u2c]

i have a feeling option four will be popular choice

[Didymus]

this is a conditional question, what's your thesis/speculation?

if......then what?

[cathoholic_anonymous]

I don't understand what you're asking. "If God didn't exist...?" What's the question?

[Jaime]

If God didn't exist, I'd miss your polls.

[uruviel]

this is a contradiction of terms because if God did not exist we would not exist.

[track2004]

If God for sure didn't exist I'd try to be a decent person. I can't say I'd go for perfect because I don't really do that now. For society to work we have to be somewhat decent people or we'd just implode. If I was God I'd want people to be decent whether I existed or not. I wouldn't want them to only be good because they thought they'd get a prize at the end. I would want them to be decent because it is the best for them.

[Sojourner]

If you're asking if I would be good/work toward perfection without the promise of punishment/reward ... I don't know.

I would like to think that I would ... but realistically, my ideals of good/evil and perfection are based in large part on my conceptions of God and his relationship to me. Without that standard, how would you determine what "perfection" is? I think, though, that without God there is no way I would be able to love ... I only am able to love because of His love for me. If love is in any way related to perfection (and I think it is) then it would be impossible to love without God taking the first step.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

If God didn't exist, then the point of life would be reduced to secular humanist utilitarianism. So, I suppose the question is: if God didn't exist, would you try to be good in order to fulfill your duty to the social construct around you? Of course, if God didn't exist, there would be no objective good and no obligation to do good. Of course, if God didn't exist, there simply wouldn't be.

[Didacus]

If God didn't exist, the devil would dance.

[track2004]

Arguably if God didn't exist, there wouldn't be a devil.

[Fixxxer]

i'm not sure. I think i would probably be about the same. There are many good people in the world who dont believe in God.

[Anomaly]

Such small minded answers. She's asking if you did not have a fear of final judgement, would you try to be perfect? Altruism isn't a condition of monotheism.

[Budge]

What religion is dairy girl?

Anyone figure it out yet?

BTW atheists try to be 'perfect" usually according to the PC liberal code, with a few exceptions.

[got2luvjc]

I'd rather not imagine my life without God, because I have God, and He rocks, and I wouldn't have it any other way

[Guest JeffCR07]

Any Anselmian, or any philosopher who considers the Ontological Argument sound, would answer this question by saying that it is unanswerable. This is true because we don't really understand the phrase "If God didn't exist..." Such a saying is unthinkable in the same way that the saying "If a square could be round..." is unthinkable. We could never answer the question "if a square could be round, what would geometry be like?" precisely because it is impossible to imagine such a scenario. By definition, a square cannot be round, and so we cannot imagine a square ever being round. In the same way, the Anselmian or anyone holding to the Ontological Argument (myself included) would say that by definition, God cannot [i]not[/i] exist, and so we can't even conceive of what your question actually means.

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='JeffCR07' post='1208273' date='Mar 4 2007, 09:43 PM']Any Anselmian, or any philosopher who considers the Ontological Argument sound, would answer this question by saying that it is unanswerable. This is true because we don't really understand the phrase "If God didn't exist..." Such a saying is unthinkable in the same way that the saying "If a square could be round..." is unthinkable. We could never answer the question "if a square could be round, what would geometry be like?" precisely because it is impossible to imagine such a scenario. By definition, a square cannot be round, and so we cannot imagine a square ever being round. In the same way, the Anselmian or anyone holding to the Ontological Argument (myself included) would say that by definition, God cannot [i]not[/i] exist, and so we can't even conceive of what your question actually means.[/quote]

that's pretty awesome. but what would a Thomist say?

Edited March 5, 2007 by StThomasMore

[N/A Gone]

shh

jeff only does Anselm....but he does him AWESOME!!!!!

[MIKolbe]

if there was no God, there would be no atheists - GK Chesterton

[Anomaly]

dairy,
I've been thinking alot about the answer to this question. I think that the real answer is people have a combination of motives for the actions they choose and don't choose.

Many people, whether acknowledged atheists, or believers in God, have at least some sort of life philosophy. They often choose to do 'Good' because they may feel it is connected to the good of the greater society and their own benefit. Human creatures are by nature, social animals. We have a society and interconnected relationships with the greater society. Unless we want to live like cavemen as hermits, we have to go along with societal norms to get along in society. Making choices to do 'good' becomes our habit, our nature, and isn't neccessarily connected with a conscious desire to do God's will.

On the other hand, there are 'gray areas' where we have free choice. Like the old saying says, honesty is doing the right thing because we don't want to get caught. True character is doing the right thing when we know we can get away with doing the wrong thing.

That is the question is see in your poll. If given the choice, would we just follow the letter of the law, or do we live the spirit of the law?

[matthew1618]

[quote name='Anomaly' post='1208473' date='Mar 5 2007, 08:56 AM']dairy,
I've been thinking alot about the answer to this question. I think that the real answer is people have a combination of motives for the actions they choose and don't choose.

Many people, whether acknowledged atheists, or believers in God, have at least some sort of life philosophy. They often choose to do 'Good' because they may feel it is connected to the good of the greater society and their own benefit. Human creatures are by nature, social animals. We have a society and interconnected relationships with the greater society. Unless we want to live like cavemen as hermits, we have to go along with societal norms to get along in society. Making choices to do 'good' becomes our habit, our nature, and isn't neccessarily connected with a conscious desire to do God's will.

On the other hand, there are 'gray areas' where we have free choice. Like the old saying says, honesty is doing the right thing because we don't want to get caught. True character is doing the right thing when we know we can get away with doing the wrong thing.

That is the question is see in your poll. If given the choice, would we just follow the letter of the law, or do we live the spirit of the law?[/quote]



(Hey, you know.....cardboard is, uh, one of the coolest things ever
made by paper! Dance on cardboard)

Oh no they broke out the cardboard
Looks like I'm headed to the dance floor

to break it down for 'em once again
Guess what, jigga what, hey, I can do a head-spin
I don't care what jam is on
Cause i ain't going home until the break of dawn
Find myself in tune with the groove


[img]http://www.grooveking.com/blog/uploaded_images/windmill1.jpg[/img]