Sidestepping the age-old debate of whether a god exists or not, I would like to ask: If you are atheist, would you ***prefer ***that a god exist or not?
(Not going to elaborate about what such a god might be like - could be up to your own description or imagination, although I would prefer that this not turn into a “well I would want him to be a genie who grants me wishes” type of thread)
Broadly speaking, I would like there to be something that validates our existences and life experiences so that all we’ve done and learned in our lives serves some greater (and hopefully beneficial) purpose.
Does this require a god or gods? I dunno.
I like Sundays off.
Definitely not.
Don’t feel that my (or anything else’s) existence requires “validation.”
And I much prefer a world/universe that is consistent with rational explanations, rather than the whims of a deity.
I guess if I wanted to be silly, I could come up with some sort of deity that I WOULD like - maybe like one that would grant everyone’s wishes.
But I didn’t understand your poll to ask about such fairy tale exercises.
If there is an omnipotent god, it would mean all the evil in the world happens on purpose, and I don’t know if I could go on in a world like that.
Non-religious/agnostic rather than atheist. I answered that I wish there was a god because that’s the closest to what I’m thinking. I don’t care one way or the other if there is a celestial dude. I would prefer that there were an afterlife. Like the final scene of This is the End.
I haven’t found a god described thus far that was somebody I would want to hang with, let alone an enternity, so no.
As to a god of my own invention, sure, why not.
I’m an agnatheist, which should be close enough. If there is a god then it’s a fucked up god who made a mess out this planet so I’d rather this was all accidental and not intentional.
Well, yes, as according to many belief systems that brings along with it an afterlife, and I would like there to be an afterlife. If there is a god but no afterlife , or I’d go to The Bad Place, well, I’d prefer that wasn’t the case.
I would “prefer” that people be content to live with the reality that we have and not make stuff up and then kill other people over it.
I would “prefer” that people stop demonizing atheists by singling them out as a monolithic bloc and then asking them stupid questions.
If there were to be imaginary entities I would “prefer” unicorns.
Thanks for asking.
prefer not, assuming the religious environment stayed the same as it is.
meaning, if God did exist but still left us with some books of dubious pedigree to try to figure out what the hell he actually expects us to do, then no thanks. things would be just as bad or worse as they are today, what with things like three major religions who all supposedly worship the same god yet hate each other…
If there’s an all-powerful, all-knowing being, that means that this all-powerful and all-knowing being is content with standing by and doing nothing about all the child abuse, child rape, child torture, and other absolutely mind-tearing stuff going on in this world. That’s a truly horrifying thought, and its confirmation would render life, and the struggle for good things and against bad things, pretty meaningless, IMO. So I hope there’s no such god.
I cannot speculate as to whether or not I prefer the existence of a god when the properties of this god are unknown/unstated.
I would certainly prefer that, if a god exists, it conforms to the laws of nature and our shared reality, and is as open to scientific study and inquiry as any other part of nature.
Before I vote, I wanna know – what kind of deity?
Transcendent Creator of Reality,
or Personal God,
or Vengeful Old Testament God,
or lusty yet mercurial Graeco-Roman pantheon?
Are we getting King Stork or King Log?
Definitely harder for you to chew on these sorts of issues, I would expect.
I’m not sure how to answer the OP. I’m rather comfortable with my view of the universe, why would I want to do away with that? So, I mean, “No. I don’t wish there were a god”, but also my opinion on this and essentially everything else is less than immaterial.
Making some rather broad assumptions about what you mean by “god”, I voted no.
Specifically I presumed that you meant for this god to be existing concurrently with the reality we currently exist in, which means that the Problem Of Evil is fully in effect. This means, necessarily, that the god is either low-power, ignorant, or an asshole (or alternatively disinterested/apathetic/insane). If we’re talking about a being that somewhat resembles the Christian god, then we’re talking about the asshole/insane type. Which is not an appealing thought.
If I had to choose a god to exist alongside, I’d pick the low-powered type, rather than the one who doesn’t care about me or considers me a plaything for their amusement. If I could design the god to my specifications, I’m thinking “I dream of Jeannie” would be a good starting point.
Kind of hard to side-step the “what kind of god” issue in a question like this. It depends on whether or not this “god” will benefit us or not, wouldn’t you think?
A college friend of mine would always tell people that he was majoring in Theological Engineering… Almost nobody blinked. Those who did would hear him say, “building the Gods of tomorrow, Today!”
If you could design a God, what attributes would you want that God to possess?
For myself, I wouldn’t mind a God that could provide reasonable wisdom or other guidance. I wouldn’t want an interventionist God, but I see the comfort that the fantasy offers to desperate people. I wouldn’t mind if their comfort was something more than illusion.
If a god could exist, I prefer to design him as I see fit, not as others do. If that option is ever available, I will proceed accordingly. Meanwhile, this is a stupid question.
And that is the part that keeps us believers up nights sometimes.