# Notional meaning of "God"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notional-meaning-of-god/601974>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [November 5, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notional-meaning-of-god/601974 "2011-11-05T18:03:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![PATRICK2106](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@PATRICK2106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PATRICK2106)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notional-meaning-of-god/601974/1 "2011-11-05T18:03:22Z")

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God is a word we use as a placeholder or name for an ultimate intellectual schema. That is also Thomas Aquinas’ effort in distilling “proof” for God’s existence. The question is not really one of God’s existence or non-existence, but of how to understand the dichotomy of knower and known, or subject-object separation. Both Zen and Advaita take this effort a long way, but ultimately it is beyond intellect analysis or synthesis.

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notional-meaning-of-god/601974/2 "2011-11-05T19:00:17Z")

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> [@PATRICK2106](#):
>
> God is a word we use as a placeholder or name for an ultimate intellectual schema. That is also Thomas Aquinas’ effort in distilling “proof” for God’s existence. The question is not really one of God’s existence or non-existence, but of how to understand the dichotomy of knower and known, or subject-object separation. Both Zen and Advaita take this effort a long way, but ultimately it is beyond intellect analysis or synthesis.

No, I’m pretty sure the people asking whether or not there is a “God” know what question it is they intend to ask.

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**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notional-meaning-of-god/601974/3 "2011-11-05T19:02:43Z")

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Defining God, as Cecil did in that article ([link](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3021/is-there-a-god)), essentially make it so if you believe in God, you’re right no matter what “the answer” turns out to be.

God is and always has been defined as a sentient being.

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**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notional-meaning-of-god/601974/4 "2011-11-05T19:08:18Z")

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If you define God as my left shoe, I suppose God exists. But my shoe cannot knock up a virgin, no matter how hard you shove it into her wah-wah-diddy.

If God is the _unthinking universal creation physics event_, Christianity is still utterly wrong.

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**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notional-meaning-of-god/601974/5 "2011-11-05T20:34:09Z")

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MODERATOR COMMENTS: Please note that there is a longer discussion on this topic, here: [Is There a God? - Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630218)

I’m going to close this thread, and suggest you post (or re-post) in the other thread.