# Atheists: If there had to be a god, what would you want it to be like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 5, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280 "2020-10-05T18:37:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/81 "2020-11-18T15:24:27Z")
Well, if I was required to have a deity, it would be nice to have one which would elevate all religious leaders unto heaven and keep them there. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/82 "2020-11-18T19:04:03Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Or, make the rules unbreakable. If thievery is prohibited, it is just impossible to do. > > Like in RPGs. If you are in a non-PVP zone, you can’t attack others. It’s not that you get in trouble for doing so, it’s just something that cannot happen. It sounds like you just want a god that acts like a leader who actually wants the positive outcomes they claim to want. A leader will, when they are aware of a problem, deal with it, stepping in and preventing the problem from happening or continuing. Is this an abrogation of free will? Of course - that’s what good leaders do. They tell people the rules and what’s appropriate, but if the people they are leading don’t comply they don’t sit back and let the infractions happen. If a leader is _not_ stepping in when they see a problem, it demonstrates that they actually don’t think the behavior is problematic at all - no matter what they might claim to the contrary. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/83 "2020-11-18T19:28:02Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > It sounds like you just want a god that acts like a leader who actually wants the positive outcomes they claim to want. In as so much as I want a god at all, but yeah. “Mysterious ways” is just a cop out for either bad or absent leadership. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/84 "2020-11-18T23:12:31Z")
If there has to be a god, I’d want him to be an atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/85 "2020-11-18T23:56:50Z")
“If there had to be a god, what would you want it to be like?” _ **Obvious** _. None of this “you just gotta have faith” business, especially if eternal damnation is on the line. A real god should be as easy to perceive as, say, gravity. It should be _impossible_ to deny the existence of an actual deity. ---
**Author:** ![castanea108](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/castanea108/32/5536_2.png) [@castanea108](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/castanea108)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/86 "2020-12-05T16:09:29Z")
I would be very happy with God the Perfect Parent, who always does what is best for us even if we don’t understand it (i.e. bad things happening to good people). Unfortunately I don’t believe in that one (not based on evidence, just what I was told by my Ethical Humanist parents). From my observation of the universe as it currently exists, I believe that there is a problem that humanity needs to solve, and who set it is completely unimportant. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/87 "2020-12-05T17:47:27Z")
> [@castanea108](#): > > From my observation of the universe as it currently exists, I believe that there is a problem that humanity needs to solve Bit of a hijack, but I’m curious: what is the problem as you perceive it? (I can think of a batch of them, but sorting out one seems difficult, and you might not even be thinking of any of the ones I’m thinking of.) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/88 "2020-12-05T18:05:45Z")
I don’t want a god with an agenda. Just one who put all the bits into a ball and got the ball rolling. After that, hands off, see where it goes. And definitely NO INTERFERING WITH SPORTS! I’m tired of losing money on sports bets because the other team prayed harder before the game. Honestly I don’t gamble…just saying… ---
**Author:** ![FriendlyCurmudgeon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friendlycurmudgeon/32/5786_2.png) [@FriendlyCurmudgeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendlyCurmudgeon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/89 "2020-12-06T01:42:58Z")
# [Atheists: If there had to be a god, what would you want it to be like?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280) Out of my way, , , , . ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/90 "2020-12-06T02:05:22Z")
For me a god I could respect would have to remake reality into a new reality that is contradictory such that every sentient creature would A) have their own universe to do what they want with (including creating their own nature/perception) B) have free will if they want it yet C) could not hut another living being. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/91 "2020-12-06T06:07:42Z")
So, you want a god that will put you into a virtual reality without you knowing it? A virtual reality where you think you are god. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/92 "2020-12-06T10:53:47Z")
Except it would not be virtual. Knowing it would be nice, let’s make that optional. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/93 "2020-12-06T13:45:25Z")
> [@by-tor](#): > > For me a god I could respect would have to remake reality into a new reality that is contradictory such that every sentient creature would A) have their own universe You’d be entirely alone there. I’m fairly far out on the introvert line, but alone entirely, forever, would be way too much even for me. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/94 "2020-12-06T18:50:14Z")
That’s why I inferred the need for a virtual reality. Also satisfies the condition of not being able to (actually) hurt another being that should, if an actual being, also have free will and also be master of its own reality. It only works to my mind if the reality is virtual, limited to one actual being with full control, yet incapable of doing actual harm, even if willed. You would be your own God’s pet in such a situation. A rat with full control over its own maze, even to the point of fancying itself a god. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/95 "2020-12-07T11:20:41Z")
I did say that it was contradictory. I am sure an omnipotent god can handle a few paradoxes. If you have full control of the reality of your own being and perception then loneliness does not have to be an issue. There need not be any human/biological/social limits, wants, needs or directives at all. For me personally, I picture a self made heaven that gets better and better, continually. But even that conception is an anthropocentric one. Hopefully you would grow beyond pleasure and pain. Who knows what is possible in such a reality? I certainly don’t, as I am bound by this reality in every which way. Would you ultimately be existing at the whim of a god? Yes, but that is true in almost all god scenarios, except maybe the absent god one and even then, you exist based on its criteria that it set up before it vacated. At least in this scenario you are as free as it can let you be, without hurting another living being. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/96 "2020-12-07T20:43:10Z")
> [@by-tor](#): > > I did say that it was contradictory. I am sure an omnipotent god can handle a few paradoxes. No they can’t. What is, is. What isn’t, isn’t. You can’t both have the ability to torture real people and the inability to torture real people at the same time. > [@by-tor](#): > > If you have full control of the reality of your own being and perception then loneliness does not have to be an issue. There need not be any human/biological/social limits, wants, needs or directives at all. > > For me personally, I picture a self made heaven that gets better and better, continually. But even that conception is an anthropocentric one. Hopefully you would grow beyond pleasure and pain. Who knows what is possible in such a reality? I certainly don’t, as I am bound by this reality in every which way. > > Would you ultimately be existing at the whim of a god? Yes, but that is true in almost all god scenarios, except maybe the absent god one and even then, you exist based on its criteria that it set up before it vacated. At least in this scenario you are as free as it can let you be, without hurting another living being. I’m firmly convinced that the only way to have a heaven that gets better and better, continually is for nothing to actually be changing except in your head. Essentially you’d have your happiness maxed continually via artificial, direct means. …Which means that the best heaven (and, arguably, the only good heaven at all) is one where everybody is lying around in a drugged stupor, forever. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/97 "2020-12-07T21:26:05Z")
> [@by-tor](#): > > There need not be any human/biological/social limits, wants, needs or directives at all. That wouldn’t be me, then. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/98 "2020-12-09T19:28:29Z")
Careful! If you keep going down that path, next thing you know this thread will be about why the most common Christian notions of god and the afterlife cannot possibly exist. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280/99 "2020-12-09T19:38:31Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > But would it really be that simple? Don’t you think someone would come forward saying “Nuh-uh, that wasn’t god!” or, “Nuh-uh, he was just testing our faith. Of course he wants us to still follow the Bible. In fact, this event was prophesied in _Daniel_ , so that PROVES I’m right!” That bit in Daniel also echoes a lot of what Jesus does in the New Testament but that didn’t stop people from following Christianity. Which I suppose proves your point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-if-there-had-to-be-a-god-what-would-you-want-it-to-be-like/922280.md?page=4)