God?

[Renegade_Turner]

...if he IS out there, he's either a terrible sloth, dead, or a downright bastard.
He could do a better job than this.

YOU try making a universe. I imagine it's hard to keep something so big in order. Fuck, I can't even keep my own room in order.

[Ragdollmaster]

Glabbit: You refer to the conditions on Earth today? That's just humans being shitheads.

But one explanation I've heard is that the Devil is in control of Earth politically. Something to do with a challenge to God's sovereignty starting back in Genesis when he said that humans (symbols Adam and Eve) didn't need God to tell them how to live and they would know what was right, and that while it would be easy for God to destroy the devil, it wouldn't look very good because people could think that the devil had a point and that God was trying to cover it up. Illustration; professor solves a problem in class, student says he knows a better way. If the professor kicks the student out of class, it wouldn't have a positive impact on the professor, so the professor lets the student show how he would solve the problem, problem representing ruling over Earth. When the student shows his version and then the professor can show why the original is better, then everyone else would see that the professor knows more than the student. (Professor being God, student being the devil.)

^Don't really know what to make of that. I guess it could make sense, but I can't really be bothered trying to sort it all out. Lot of stuff in the bible =P

[invertin]

Think of reality as a sandbox videogame. The creator of the game gives you rules to work in and lets you do whatever you want within those rules. If you find a situation you can't pass, the developer isn't going to help you fix it.

That's why god seems like he doesn't give a crap about us. It's because he wants us to give a crap about us. Think about it, if every time you had a problem you just had to wish it away, would you really care about anything at all?

Or, to bring back the metaphor, imagine playing the sandbox game, but there was a button that made you instantly win anything.

This is, of course, assuming that whatever created the universe actually cares about earth.

[Ragdollmaster]

Well considering Earth is currently the only known planet in the universe that contains life, I think it would be safe to assume that a creator of the universe would care about Earth and its inhabitants. I don't think they'd be going crazy over the whole ozone layer depletion and species extinction for fur coats thing though.

[Glabbit]

...if he IS out there, he's either a terrible sloth, dead, or a downright bastard.
He could do a better job than this.

YOU try making a universe. I imagine it's hard to keep something so big in order. Fuck, I can't even keep my own room in order.

Well, Yeah, me too, but being omnipotent and all should count for something, right?

And yes, humans are shitheads, so why hasn't god done anything about it?
The Devil being in command would explain a lot, but something tells me if that were so it'd be even worse.

Also, Invertin, if that's the setup God made, why doesn't he help those who do try to get it sorted? Now everyone who tries what they can is being held back by the other 97% of the human race which consists of selfish brutes who couldn't care even if they tried!

And Ragdollmaster, good point, and I completely agree, but there's also the fact that if God would be omnipotent, he'd also be omnicogni-... omnicogi-... know everythinh. So he'd know about any other planets supporting life, too. Considering I imagine the universe as a near-empty space without borders (seriously, borders? what idiot thought that up?) it'd mean there's infinite space for there to be chances for more planets with life on, thus potentially, nearly infinite, or in any case a whole damn lot, of other world with, indeed, life.
*breathes for a bit before continuing*
Thus meaning that God could easily, as Ren says, have his 'hands' full.
This, as I said, I don't believe, since he's supposed to be omnipotent ANYWAY, meaning he can DO EVERYTHING.

FIX THIS MESS, KAMISAMA! *throws a rotten egg into the sky, only to have it fall back into his head*

[invertin]

He doesn't help us because he doesn't want us to rely on him. That, or he just doesn't care.

And as for "earth is the only planet with life that we know of" I would like to put emphasis on the "that we know of" part.

Even then, we have no idea how god thinks, or if he thinks at all, so it's impossible to really tell what he's doing or why.

[Endoperez]

I've read one explanation of Christian God's omnipotent nonaction as the only way to guarantee free will. You know, peace in Earth and happy time for all only works if no one chooses to do any evil. And since at least some people would choose evil, the next big question is "why do humans choose evil over good?". Questions of morality, while interesting, lead to more questions which can't all be answered.

If philosophy was a measurable science, philosophers would have replaced lawyers.

[Renegade_Turner]

Well, Yeah, me too, but being omnipotent and all should count for something, right?

And yes, humans are shitheads, so why hasn't god done anything about it?
The Devil being in command would explain a lot, but something tells me if that were so it'd be even worse.

Lol, what a simplistic view of a creator. The creator must be able to see all, and the creator must be able to snap his fingers and make things better, and the creator must have some "evil" doppelganger.

Also, lol at "he's supposed to be omnipotent". HE HAS TO BE, IT'S THE RULES.

[invertin]

I'm really trying hard to push us away from the Christian idea of god here.

Not because I don't believe in it, it could be true, it's just that if we're trying to seriously consider whether or not there is a higher power we can't just think about this one possiblity.

[Glabbit]

Well, Yeah, me too, but being omnipotent and all should count for something, right?

And yes, humans are shitheads, so why hasn't god done anything about it?
The Devil being in command would explain a lot, but something tells me if that were so it'd be even worse.

Lol, what a simplistic view of a creator. The creator must be able to see all, and the creator must be able to snap his fingers and make things better, and the creator must have some "evil" doppelganger.

Also, lol at "he's supposed to be omnipotent". HE HAS TO BE, IT'S THE RULES.

Hey, I'm just quoting my teachings of the bible here XD

[Ragdollmaster]

No one's made a joke about potency yet.

There may be some hope for the internet.

[NinjaRabbits]

i believes in God... but now and then I wonder if He really is real... so said to be normal for a person my age.

[yuiop952]

i do not pray to invisible space people who dont answer ANYONE!!!!!!! sorry i yelled in web form but it is true

for humanity to live religon must DIE!

Bill maer

[Count Roland]

hey now who says that god doesn't answer anyone, everytime I pray I get what I want, I guess it might just be luck but I figure if it works I'll stick to it and believe that god exists because of that. The devil having gained control of the world could make sense, cause it doesn't really say in the bible that he's pure evil or anything, just that he tried to rebel against god and get "Adam" and "Eve" to rebel against him too by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge. After he failed he got thrown into hell where all things suffer even Satan (seems like this kind of strikes out the being all good and probably omniscient as well for god, he could still be omnipotent though. My logic being that if he's omniscient he would feel what everything in hell felt because that's part of knowing is being able to know what it feels like, so he wouldn't want to do that with Satan, besides which why didn't he think to throw Satan down there before hand if he knew that Satan would cause so much trouble for people.) So by this logic technically Satan's not all bad and God's not all good, I mean how good can you be if you get pissed off enough to make someone suffer for an eternity? The reason I put Adam and Eve in quotes is because I think that given theories of evolution, genetics, and breeding, I don't believe that we could all have come from just two people so it's more likely that adam and eve referred more to groups of people possibly using the names of their leaders. Of course this is all wild speculation and an attempt at justification of my beliefs, but just as much so as the big bang theory and other possibilities of the universe's creation. (besides which the big bang theory doesn't necessarily rule out there being a god)
Some more wild speculation/god justification:
Given that we all know that the earth is much older than previously though, i.e. the start of the bible isn't necessarily the start of time and maybe God was just watching while most of the earth formed for millions of years and as different species evolved, but was more involved in the creation of humans, and that the first groups to think of their creation passed down their favorite ideas, i.e. in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. If there is an all mighty creator of the universe though I think it unlikely he would be anywhere near as he's portrayed in the bible, that portrayal being too human for anything which is omniscient, or at least omnipotent. Than again the bible does say we were made in his own image.
My point with all this is mainly that it's all speculation, in the end people will believe what they want too, and justify it however they want also, criticisms of other's beliefs is not only useless it's stupid people can believe what they want to believe so long as what they believe doesn't hurt anyone. my personal belief right there, hahahah.

[Untadaike]

God? HA HA HA HA HA!

What I do believe is that there are things in the universe that cannot be explained scientifically and never will be. There. I said it.