what if there are no gods/goddesses?

[adament]

1st let me say that i know i'm in a bad place in my life right now that has me questioning EVERYTHING...usually at 3 a.m.

but...what if there are no gods/goddesses? what if, mankind as a species is pre-disposed to believe in a higher power as a psychic (sp? blonde moment) band-aid?

*sigh*

adament

pay no attention to the witch behind the curtain

[Raevyn]

I thought about this one a lot a few months ago - the answer is if there are no Gods then people waste their time worrying about it, trying to find deity, and working towards deity. But you know what? People find comfort and guidance in their deities, people find a purpose and hope, and it helps people get on from day to day. There's no way we can prove whether there are deities or not, and does it really matter? Even if you are holding onto a false dream, at least you have that dream, and it helps you get by and deal with life.

At some point I personally realized worrying that there may not be deity is just as much wasting time as thinking there is and working with that deity, and at least in the latter case I find comfort and guidance.

What's your answer?

[Haedis]

"...it would be necessary to invent them"

Actually I dont think of them as anthropmorphic physical beings. I see the Divine as the energy that connects everything and causes action in the Universe. I think that deities exist mainly because we believe in them. Believing in them adds energy to a "cosmic well" of energy and I think that you get out what you put in. So for example if you believe in a God/dess and put loving energy towards worshipping him/her then the energy will be reflected back to you and you will feel loved in return, even if the God/dess is nothing more than a collection of energy that you've created. Now to me it doesnt matter whether its a conscious being thats loving me or just a natural law of return that is indiscriminate. I think I've succeeded in making no sense at all. My job is done here.

[Flar's Freyja]

Funny you should post this. I got into it with my previous boyfriend about the subject of whether there is a god at all. I had loaned him Neale Donald Walsh's "Conversations With God," and there is a passage where God himself supposedly says "What if I don't exist and you people just made me up?" My ex was a Baptist and this really freaked him out. He wanted to know what the point would be of living your life to get into heaven if there wasn't one. My feeling is that we all need something to believe in and guidance to follow. My faith in the deities helps me to stay focused and conduct myself in a manner befitting one of their children and this brings many blessings. So what if there is no God or gods or goddesses? I'm more concerned with what I am doing now, and I'm really not concerned with where I'll be when my body is gone. If there is a spiritual place, I know I'll be there and if not, then I guess it's into the void.

[Sora]

So the world has schizophrenia and the concept of god is our big delusion? The way I see it, the world as I know it could be in my head. You all could exist only as my dream. But this is all I know, and I’m not willing to waste it just because I think I may wake up sometime soon. I’ll live this as if it is the real thing (if there is a real thing) and won’t dwell on the fact that it might not be.

The same is true for my theory of deity. True, all god/dess’ may exist only as my hallucination, or, rather, the world’s collective hallucination, but it is all I know. What I turn to deity for is reached even if that deity is non-existent or, say, only in my mind. It is real and true enough to satisfy me, and since it’s not likely that I’m going to ‘wake up’ any time soon, I’m happy with my delusion.

[Eeluna]

Spirituality is hard-wired into our brains. Of course there are people who deny or ignore this, but it's true nevertheless. Societies, cultures, tribes or even just a single person will invent their own idea of Deity. It's happened ever since humans were able to think, and we're not gonna stop no matter how *logical* the alternative. For this to be such a wide-spread phenomena, there must be something to it. So in my opinion Deity exists. Even if that existence is entirely within ourselves, it fulfills something that nothing else can ever fulfill, therefore it is of priceless worth
and is as real as anything can ever be that is not of physical form. Is love real? I would answer with a resounding YES! Is Deity real? The answer again is a resounding YES!!!

[PureClassicTorture]

For most of my life, albeit short, I wandered around without really knowing deity. I went to church, and I listened to what they said, but I didn't believe. But somehow, for some reason, I kept on going. I kept searching, and believing that there was something out there. And as cheesy as this is, I believe that Goddess found me. I found her in the most mundane way possible, but she was there, waiting for me. I know that she is real, because I can feel her in my life. I've gone through depression, and deep loneliness, and I wonder why she didn't reveal herself then, but I know she exists, because I continue to believe. I watch my friends flounder spiritually, but I know that I am steady becaus I have faith in something. I've only known Goddess a short time, but I know that in soem form, she will be in my life always.

[adament]

*sigh*

i wish i had ya'll faith....

adament

[PureClassicTorture]

That's why we're here! To restore your faith. :)

[Mnemosyne]

Yes, it's all about faith. I don't try to think negatively that there aren't any higher spiritual beings. For some reason, when I am feeling down, I sometimes wonder whether if there are any deities. At these hard times, I think that if there are any deities, they would not make me suffer. However, I realize that these hard times end up making me stronger. Perhaps there are gods and goddesses there to give us support through these difficult times and remind us that happy times will shortly follow. These deities give us strength and hope.

[Haedis]

Well whats wrong with not believing in deities at all? If you arent comfortable with the belief then find one that you DO subscribe to. Maybe someday you'll be more confident in believing in God/dess but I dont see any harm in the possibility that you wont. If you feel that theres something missing from your life and you arent getting what you need out of your present view on the Divine then I'd encourage searching for other options or even inventing your OWN options.

(just my two cents :) )

[PureClassicTorture]

There's nothing wrong with not beleiveing in Deities. We all have to chose our own path, and if it doesn't have deities, that's our own choice. You believe only what you see as true.

[Mnemosyne]

Originally posted by PureClassicTorture
There's nothing wrong with not beleiveing in Deities. We all have to chose our own path, and if it doesn't have deities, that's our own choice. You believe only what you see as true.

True, we all have our own paths, so we are all unique. What I believe in is not necessarily what you may believe. If you want a god or goddess to be a part of your life, you have to faith. The god or goddess is more likely to play a part in your life if you want him or her to do so.

[Gwion]

The question, to me, is so hypothetical as to be beyond my ken. But consider this: "Time" is merely the measurement of the relative motion of two objects. If matter did not exist in space, there would be no time.

"Aye-yam surfering from eye-there amen tellill ness aura form of sanity inconceivable to normal minds." ~Aldous Huxley