God

[ironyak]

"Religions as inherently discriminating" seems like a pretty broad claim given the diversity of views represented in world religions. Do you mind unpacking that a bit as to why any religion that is (or perhaps could be ;) practiced in Hawai'i would have to be inherently discriminating?

[MyManao]

"Religions as inherently discriminating" 

Not so much as to distract for the discussion on religion, but it is worth pointing out that any modality, a family unit for instance, can be said to be "inherently discriminating"  in that it is focused on the unit and not the broader community, and as such is "discriminating" to the neighbors.

And, while I'm checking in, I will further note in my OP I said..

For me this is all very simple. I am a card carrying member of the Church of One. There ain't no church, building, there ain't no leader, or followers, and I assume every last one of you are members. Mine is just the clear and unshakable belief that the universe exists and every single thing in it is a part of it, and it is harmonious, it has order, and it works. In other words, there is only one god. And he/she/it.. if anyone needs a deity.. is in all and everything. Period. I have faith, but find trying to define what I have faith in to be futile. And more work than it is worth.

I didn't say anything about religion other than to mention..

And he/she/it.. if anyone needs a deity.. is in all and everything.

In other words my original thesis is built on god having nothing to do with religion. Whereas Tom immediately came back with..

If you want to argue that a god has nothing to do with religion, well, good luck with that.

And has continued to try to tie the two together ever since. Whereas religion is man's constructs, theorized structure and all that, of god. God in and of itself is just a term that implies some unifying force inherent in all and everything.

[TomK]

And has continued to try to tie the two together ever since. Whereas religion is man's constructs, theorized structure and all that, of god. God in and of itself is just a term that implies some unifying force inherent in all and everything.

You need to add local goddesses to that as well. Pele. You seem to be saying that religion is something that has been constructed by human beings. I agree with that. But then you go on to say that god is a term, constructed by humans, I believe, that represents a unifying force. Well, that unifying force isn't doing much unifying, is it?  In the meantime, Pele is being an asshole and destroying people's property and lives. Is Pele a rogue unifying force? Or are there others? Many cultures have believed in several gods, obviously all constructs, and perhaps unifying forces if you look at it in some strange way, but then, who should we believe? And why believe in any when there's no evidence that shows a god or gods exist?

You've answered your own question. It's something humans have made up; it's a construct.

[ironyak]

MyManao - Mine is just the clear and unshakable belief that the universe exists and every single thing in it is a part of it, and it is harmonious, it has order, and it works. In other words, there is only one god. ... God in and of itself is just a term that implies some unifying force inherent in all and everything.

Sounds similar to Spinoza's God, which Einstein believed in: "Spinoza argued that whatever exists is in God. The divine being is not some distant force, but all around us. Nothing in nature is separate from Him: not people, animals or inanimate objects. Today, the view that God is synonymous with nature is called “pantheism,” and this term is often retrospectively applied to Spinoza."

TomK - why believe in any when there's no evidence that shows a god or gods exist?

Why believe in aliens when there's no evidence that shows they exist?

[TomK]

MyManao - Mine is just the clear and unshakable belief that the universe exists and every single thing in it is a part of it, and it is harmonious, it has order, and it works. In other words, there is only one god. ... God in and of itself is just a term that implies some unifying force inherent in all and everything.

Sounds a lot like Spinoza's God, which Einstein believed in: "Spinoza argued that whatever exists is in God. The divine being is not some distant force, but all around us. Nothing in nature is separate from Him: not people, animals or inanimate objects. Today, the view that God is synonymous with nature is called “pantheism,” and this term is often retrospectively applied to Spinoza."

TomK - why believe in any when there's no evidence that shows a god or gods exist?

Why believe in aliens when there's no evidence that shows they exist?

The evidence is very solid that life exists in the universe. There's no evidence that a god exists.

[MyManao]

In the meantime, Pele is being an asshole and destroying people's property and lives..

Really? "Pele is being and asshole"

And the funny thing is I suspect you take yourself seriously. Whereas as I read that, at first, I was on the floor convulsing in laughter. Tom, oh dear Tom, I have said, repeatedly throughout this thread, Pele is no more than one cultures way of telling the same thing as is volcanology our's. Same same brah.

And no, the volcano, using any terminology you like, is not an "asshole." But hey, a lot of the people that are foolish enough to build their homes, invest their lives, in a lava flows path are. You can't say because we build on the flank of a volcano the volcano is wrong when it destroys our buildings, can you? Really?

---

The evidence is very solid that life exists in the universe. There's no evidence that a god exists.

Ah, but as I posit, that life you speak of is proof. All by its little lonesome. 

I think, since I have gone on extensively defining what I think of as god (and yes Yak, bingo! Einstein was right there) maybe you should share with us your definition of god, Tom?

[TomK]

In the meantime, Pele is being an asshole and destroying people's property and lives..

Really? "Pele is being and asshole"

And the funny thing is I suspect you take yourself seriously. Whereas as I read that, at first, I was on the floor convulsing in laughter. Tom, oh dear Tom, I have said, repeatedly throughout this thread, Pele is no more than one cultures way of telling the same thing as is volcanology our's. Same same brah.

And no, the volcano, using any terminology you like, is not an "asshole." But hey, a lot of the people that are foolish enough to build their homes, invest their lives, in a lava flows path are. You can't say because we build on the flank of a volcano the volcano is wrong when it destroys our buildings, can you? Really

That has to be the biggest straw man I have ever seen. I haven't once said that the volcano is wrong. People built homes in a place they knew could be overrun by lava. My argument is that Pele, the goddess, doesn't exist, and if she does and causes volcanic eruptions that destroy people's lives and homes, she's probably quite evil. 

That's a very different argument from the one you are attempting to make up.

[MyManao]

she's probably quite evil.

ROFLOL!

[TomK]

she's probably quite evil.

ROFLOL!

Well, if I'm wrong, she can sue me. I don't know why you're on the floor laughing when so many people in Puna were displaced and their lives disrupted. That seems callous to me.

"I've seen Pele act so much as if there is an awareness at play, but hell, I don’t know. Though it sure looks like it’s by design to me." - MyManao

[ironyak]

TomK - The evidence is very solid that life exists in the universe.
Well yes, it's right here and now on Earth. But does the evidence show that life exists elsewhere in the universe?

TomK - There's no evidence that a god exists.
Prove it.