# What is a "god"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 8, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153 "2013-04-08T14:16:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/81 "2013-04-09T22:38:36Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > So far, we have no clue to even start to try to understand a god. Historically? Lower-case “g” gods are quite comprehensible in many cases. And limited in power. > [@](#): > > So a god at least has to be totally baffling to us, to affect phenomenon we believe cannot be affected, and display a level of understanding and power far beyond even our wildest dreams Given our current technology one of Bank’s _Culture_ GSV space-ships might achieve this. 🙂 Back in the old days it was perfectly acceptable to have a war god – who could not doubt beat anyone in combat – be unable to escape from a net created by the forge god; a net he was trapped in while cuckolding said forge god with the goddess of love. Or have a god slain by a spear make of mistletoe. Or have a goddess get pissed at a mortal for arrogantly comparing their beauty or weaving skills with that of an immortal and in a fit of pique transmogrifying the mortal into a monster. The inevitable end result however of “my god’s bigger / better / stronger” than your god claims is that God (now with capital G) is supposedly unique and super-pan-omni-max. And baffling because of the problem of evil and so on. 🙂 (And yet still apparently cares who sleeps with whom). :rolleyes: I see this as little more than god “munchkin-ism”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/82 "2013-04-10T00:09:45Z")
Rock-Paper-Scissors. My ‘God’ wins. > [@](#): > > I see this as little more than god “munchkin-ism”. 😃 Yep. ETA: Munchkins… nom… nom… ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/83 "2013-04-10T11:54:47Z")
What is love? Baby, don’t hurt me. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/84 "2013-04-12T05:08:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Actually, the question is about _any_ “god”, not just the “GOD” of Jews and/or Christians. I would think that almost all superhero characters would qualify as being gods. Heck, near-immortality alone would probably work. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/85 "2013-04-12T10:39:47Z")
> [@JLRogers](#): > > What is love? > > Baby, don’t hurt me. What’s love got to do with it? ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/86 "2013-04-12T12:11:49Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > What’s love got to do with it? What’s “god” but a second hand emotion… ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/87 "2013-04-12T14:40:42Z")
God would be the greatest of all beings whether they be gods or not. Jesus was asked by His disciples “who among us is the greatest.” Jesus replied: “He that serves all of you, He would be the greatest.” So God, in order to be the greatest must be the servant of all mankind. He would create us, sustain us, protect us, and yet give us free will to make our own decisions. It would not be a religious god that serves only the Christians or some other religion, that god would not be the greatest. Nor any god that served only a certain minority of humanity. God must serve all of mankind and all that lives. Look for that God and you will find the Greatest. ---
**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:** [April 12, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/88 "2013-04-12T14:48:36Z")
> [@lekatt](#): > > God would be the greatest of all beings whether they be gods or not. > > Jesus was asked by His disciples “who among us is the greatest.” Jesus replied: “He that serves all of you, He would be the greatest.” > > So God, in order to be the greatest must be the servant of all mankind. He would create us, sustain us, protect us, and yet give us free will to make our own decisions. > > It would not be a religious god that serves only the Christians or some other religion, that god would not be the greatest. Nor any god that served only a certain minority of humanity. > > God must serve all of mankind and all that lives. Look for that God and you will find the Greatest. What about _other_ gods, though? What qualifies an entity to be a (small “g”)god? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/89 "2013-04-12T14:51:31Z")
I am a god because if someone asks you if you’re a god, you say yes. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/90 "2013-04-12T16:38:18Z")
> [@](#): > > God would be the greatest of all beings whether they be gods or not. Would that be ‘the greatest being within its own light-cone?’ In a relativistic universe, any being can only affect, or be affected by, a certain limited region of the universe, a region which is defined by the speed of light. If the Supreme Being is the Supreme being within its own c-horizon, there may be even greater beings outside that region, but they can never affect anyone or anything within it , assuming that nothing can exceed the speed of light. There is no good reason to expect that our local god or God can affect things beyond its own c-horizon, except wishful or magical thinking. ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/91 "2013-04-12T16:39:49Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What about _other_ gods, though? What qualifies an entity to be a (small “g”)god? Could be anything a group of people want it to be. Second place gods don’t count. Who cares? ---
**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:** [April 12, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/92 "2013-04-12T16:41:51Z")
> [@lekatt](#): > > Could be anything a group of people want it to be. Second place gods don’t count. Who cares? I don’t suppose you read the OP? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/93 "2013-04-12T17:19:50Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I don’t think it’s at all useful to define god in terms of attributes of something, such that if that something has those attributes, that something is a god—godliness has never been defined that way, after all. Rather, a god is something that is worshiped, believed in, revered, etc. by humans. Godliness is a relation between something and human beings, not an inherent characteristic, in the same sense that aesthetic appeal is: there is no specific set of characteristics such that if something meets those characteristics, that something is beautiful. ‘What is a god?’, in many ways, is a question like ‘what is art?’ or ‘what is good?’; a question that, if answerable at all, can’t be answered by appealing to inherent properties. There is no art in a vacuum, and nothing’s good in and of itself. Similarly, there’s no god without worship or faith: it’s what makes some particular being a god. God is ultimately a human concept (whether or not some particular being itself is), and depends on humanity to be actualized. Thus, a god is whatever stands in the appropriate relation to (some subset of) humanity. This makes the teen-pop-sensation-of-the-moment a literal god. ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/94 "2013-04-12T18:40:30Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I don’t suppose you read the OP? Yes, I did read it. No one cares who came in second place. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/95 "2013-04-12T18:42:59Z")
> [@lekatt](#): > > Yes, I did read it. No one cares who came in second place. If you don’t care about the debate then take your babbling elsewhere. ---
**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:** [April 12, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/96 "2013-04-12T18:49:50Z")
> [@lekatt](#): > > Yes, I did read it. No one cares who came in second place. I’m sorry, but this isn’t the “Who’s got the biggest [del]penis[/del]God” thread. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/97 "2013-04-12T18:58:31Z")
> [@lekatt](#): > > Yes, I did read it. No one cares who came in second place. May a demigod smite you and your house. ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/98 "2013-04-12T20:42:32Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m sorry, but this isn’t the “Who’s got the biggest [del]penis[/del]God” thread. Ahoy, you are an atheist and don’t believe in even one God, what does a couple hundred matter? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/99 "2013-04-12T21:30:41Z")
I personally think of god as the embodiment of all the pro-social emotions that conscious organisms feel. If the universe is a closed system, our thoughts and emotions do not disappear into nothing, they go somewhere so I think of it as god the embodiment of all the pro-social thoughts and emotions that are felt by organic creatures (love, forgiveness, compassion, mercy, empathy, trust). I assume if that is true, that is why god always wants us to have these emotions. Not just for our benefit, but to make itself stronger because it feeds on concepts like compassion and forgiveness. Now is that what I’d ‘want’ god to be? no. I’d prefer god be a powerful entity of infinite compassion and wisdom who can affect the outcome of organic life. But a basic reality check shows that is not the case. ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/100 "2013-04-13T01:21:46Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I personally think of god as the embodiment of all the pro-social emotions that conscious organisms feel. If the universe is a closed system, our thoughts and emotions do not disappear into nothing, they go somewhere so I think of it as god the embodiment of all the pro-social thoughts and emotions that are felt by organic creatures (love, forgiveness, compassion, mercy, empathy, trust). I assume if that is true, that is why god always wants us to have these emotions. Not just for our benefit, but to make itself stronger because it feeds on concepts like compassion and forgiveness. > > Now is that what I’d ‘want’ god to be? no. I’d prefer god be a powerful entity of infinite compassion and wisdom who can affect the outcome of organic life. But a basic reality check shows that is not the case. I think you have found God in your intellect now look for Him in your emotions, in your reality. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153.md?page=6)