I am putting-up NZ$1,000 to anyone who can explain to me, in terms I can understand…
“What is God?”.
This is a genuine offer (refer conditions below)
I will keep-posting this offer, so there are no time-restraints or limits on the number of submissions, nor the entrants location.
I will act as the sole arbitrator – this is for my benefit.
Please do not confuse the question “What is God?”, with “Is there a God?”.
For anyone to answer the question “Is there a God?” , we first need to establish the definition of ‘God’.
So imagine you are describing a domestic cat to someone who has never encountered one.
Let’s not get bogged-down in platitudes or meandering philosophical abstracts.
Nor do I want-to-get involved in semantics.
A cat has teeth and claws, this we understand ,without breaking-down the teeth and claws into their make-up, functions etc.
Just stick to the basic ‘make-up’ of God.
For example since The Bible tells us believers will enter heaven to be by his side, clearly this means he has sides – right?
But is he a square of a hexagon?
Have I misinterpreted ‘by his side’?.
Apparently humans are made in his ‘image’?
So if I bumped into God at the Supermarket, what would I behold?
We are told looks down-on us, so with all the activity he has to monitor, it’s reasonable to think he has a multitude of eyes, a bit like a house-fly?
See what I’m after?
Keep referring back to the domestic cat scenario, when answering and you won’t go wrong.
Remember, a cat is more than an animal with fur.
Keep at the back of your mind, I am not one of the 3 billion humans that are 100% sure God exists, and have never to the best of my knowledge meet a God, nor encountered any of his magical powers.
You need to start from square-one with me.
Also peoples, please do not belittle me by calling into question my intelligence or open-mindedness with statements like “You won’t understand”. May be I will, when you use terms a layman will understand.
Further, God, saw fit to use words as the sole method to describe his workings in his manifesto. These words ‘of God’ are what believers follow. Not a DVD or You-Tube, a book called The Bible. Therefore if it is good enough for God to use words to convey crucial information like, man-kinds life-mission, creation, what happens when we die etc - then surely there is scope in the written language to describe ‘God’? By stating there are no words to describe God, you are in-fact bringing into question the writings of The Bible and Gods very existence.
Thank-You.
Paul.
Conditions:
I will donate the money (equivalent of USD 660)to go to a ‘Secular’ Non-Political ‘New Zealand Registered Charity’.Like say Child Cancer or Crippled Children Society etc of the winners own choice. Overseas entrants are fine. Those of you from overseas may prefer to opt for an International Charity organisation (without religious or political ties). I will act as the sole arbitrator. No correspondence entered into. Leave your answers in the comments section.The more pedantic in our midst can contact canterburyatheist at gmail.com.
“What is God?”.
This is a genuine offer (refer conditions below)
I will keep-posting this offer, so there are no time-restraints or limits on the number of submissions, nor the entrants location.
I will act as the sole arbitrator – this is for my benefit.
Please do not confuse the question “What is God?”, with “Is there a God?”.
For anyone to answer the question “Is there a God?” , we first need to establish the definition of ‘God’.
So imagine you are describing a domestic cat to someone who has never encountered one.
Let’s not get bogged-down in platitudes or meandering philosophical abstracts.
Nor do I want-to-get involved in semantics.
A cat has teeth and claws, this we understand ,without breaking-down the teeth and claws into their make-up, functions etc.
Just stick to the basic ‘make-up’ of God.
For example since The Bible tells us believers will enter heaven to be by his side, clearly this means he has sides – right?
But is he a square of a hexagon?
Have I misinterpreted ‘by his side’?.
Apparently humans are made in his ‘image’?
So if I bumped into God at the Supermarket, what would I behold?
We are told looks down-on us, so with all the activity he has to monitor, it’s reasonable to think he has a multitude of eyes, a bit like a house-fly?
See what I’m after?
Keep referring back to the domestic cat scenario, when answering and you won’t go wrong.
Remember, a cat is more than an animal with fur.
Keep at the back of your mind, I am not one of the 3 billion humans that are 100% sure God exists, and have never to the best of my knowledge meet a God, nor encountered any of his magical powers.
You need to start from square-one with me.
Also peoples, please do not belittle me by calling into question my intelligence or open-mindedness with statements like “You won’t understand”. May be I will, when you use terms a layman will understand.
Further, God, saw fit to use words as the sole method to describe his workings in his manifesto. These words ‘of God’ are what believers follow. Not a DVD or You-Tube, a book called The Bible. Therefore if it is good enough for God to use words to convey crucial information like, man-kinds life-mission, creation, what happens when we die etc - then surely there is scope in the written language to describe ‘God’? By stating there are no words to describe God, you are in-fact bringing into question the writings of The Bible and Gods very existence.
Thank-You.
Paul.
Conditions:
I will donate the money (equivalent of USD 660)to go to a ‘Secular’ Non-Political ‘New Zealand Registered Charity’.Like say Child Cancer or Crippled Children Society etc of the winners own choice. Overseas entrants are fine. Those of you from overseas may prefer to opt for an International Charity organisation (without religious or political ties). I will act as the sole arbitrator. No correspondence entered into. Leave your answers in the comments section.The more pedantic in our midst can contact canterburyatheist at gmail.com.
12 comments:
I claim the $1000.
God isn't,
my bank acc number for direct payment credit is 12 3149 006876862
God is completely inscrutable, unconceptualizable, and unfathomable. And he makes it rain snakes and frogs!
Yahweh is Spirit. He is also "Love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness,..". He is the transcendent, immanent, almighty Creator of all.
Boy, this is proving hard, like drawing-teeth. After 6weeks, not even one decent attempt to describe God in terms that would say ‘stand-up in a court of law’.
All I've got is something airy-fairy about 'spirits' which is like arguing if Superman will beat Batman in a fight.
The only spirits I know come with a Gordons label.
For believers in God or Gods this should be ‘money for jam’. This is an honest open-offer, yet it is proving impossible to solicit anything that goes even close for me knowing “What is God?”
Surely there must be one believer on the planet that can answer this question in a succinct fashion and for their trouble pick-up a grand for his/her favourite charity??
Dismal effort so far.
Cheers.
Paul.
You're asking for a physical picture? Well, I can't pull out my wallet and show you the photo we took at last year's Christmas party. I can tell you that as we are made "in his image," I assume he is a two-armed, too-legged individual like us, like Jesus Christ. Therefore, I apologize for those who have cameras ready for the gates of Heaven, waiting to see God as a baboon-headed, eagle-winged, fish-tailed, lion-bodied thing. That would be weird! Na, He looks similar to us. Now, is he fat, thin, short, tall, et cetera? Well, I don't know yet, as I can't say what YOU look like.
God is a trinity--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--which sounds so unbelievable and crazy, I know! How is it possible to be three different things--and yet one thing? Well, it is like water, which can exist in three forms: liquid (water), solid (ice), and vapor (steam). These three substances are physically completely different--and yet exactly the same element we know as water. Or a man who is a husband to his wife, a father to his child, and a son to his father. Three different titles--yet it is the same man. Such is God, Christ Jesus (his son), and the Holy Spirit (God inside of us). And as the Bible says that Jesus is in Heaven preparing a place for us, I assume that is exactly where He is, while God (the father) is in Heaven watching over us, and the Holy Spirit is His spirit inside of each and every one of us, that conscience you have, that tiny voice inside that you feel rather than hear, and that little something everyone knows as "common sense."
As I've never personally seen God, just as I've never personally seen the wind, I can't tell you what He looks like exactly. I can, however, tell you of His actions, just as I can see the leaves tousled by the breeze. It is where faith comes in--and faith is not people pretending to be sheep, herded around by an invisible shepherd. No, faith is knowing beyond a doubt that no matter what happens, you will be held. God is love, and not the human-twisted love that mostly revolves around lust and selfish needs. God's love is unconditional, "I love you no matter what you do, whether you give anything back or not." And yes, that includes Jeffrey Domer. Unfortunately, even many Christians don't practice that love, like many preachers stuffing their pockets with tithe money, leading everyone to further believe Godly attitudes as no more than selfish past times.
So what is God? I can't give you physical proof, but that is what is amazing! It is up to God to show you who He is, all I can do is testify according to what I've read and seen. Faith and believe? I'm afraid that's all anyone can offer, really. Proof? Ask Him yourself, and He will give you proof.
No one alive has seen a Moa (a long-extinct large bird from New Zealand) But we know from cave-paintings, bones, feathers, archeological evidence etc what one looks like, what it ate, size, the different sub-species etc. So using simple quantifiable criteria you do not need to actually ‘see’ something to give a fairly accurate description.
How for example do you know God takes the form of a male (outside the anecdotal, and every word in The Bible is anecdotal) without using the similar research/examinations that tell us all about the Moa? That’s to say corroborated evidence.
No-one guessed what Moa looked like or any of the dinosaurs etc.
Now this thing about elements, which is a good point but it doesn’t go anyway to assisting your argument. Matter is made-up of atoms and molecules –so what is God made of? How can a God make the wind-blow etc when he is made of what I can only call ‘nothing’?
Thanks for your input but my $1,000 is still there awaited a good cause.
Keep them coming.
Paul.
God is white, fluffy, sticks his tongue out a lot and wags his tale, weighs 20 pounds and sits around all day trying to catch some sun.
Pictures are available upon request.
As for his omnipotent powers and unlimited strength over the world, it is my understanding that just like he came to earth as Jesus he came back as a fluffy white mutt and is spending a vacation on my couch maintaining the world by remote control and begging for leftovers every day.
As for the money, send it to any non-religious, non-political charity foundation near you.
"The Bible tells us believers will enter heaven to be by his side" - Source?
Glenn mate, I only publish a fraction of the crap I get sent by nice theist folk (“you will find-out about God when you die and he sends you to hell” etc). Much of it, if I published it would shock you with its naivety and vitriol.
Here is an atheist wanting to know about God.
Not his actions and magical powers – first I want to know who he is?
Starting with his substance.
I’ve tried to avoid long-winded extrapolations by making this as simple as possible by giving some analogies as to format I am chasing.
If you have evidence that God doesn’t have sides, but is say circular, pink in colour, furry, with a row of big fangs - then please by all means I am happy to receive them.
My quest is genuine and my offer honourable.
I have no intention getting wasting time on pedantic folk who avoid the crux of the offer and want to embrace semantics or throw brick-bats in my direction.
A guy, doctor of all things, like you must be a cert for the grand I'm putting-up?
Surely the lecturers down at Otago Uni they taught you theology guys the answer to the question on the first day?
Gotta shoot.
Paul.
Hebrews Chapter 1:
"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word"
Hmmm…sorry mate, don’t get what you are saying?
What is this 'representation' and 'radiance'business you refer to?
They obviously mean something significant – so please elaborate.
Thanks.
Paul.
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