The "god shaped hole"

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Both the God of the Old Testament (The Flood of Noah) and the God of the New Testament (The Last Judgment of Jesus - Heaven vs Heck) have little room for followers who wander from absolute, blind obedience to the God from the Garden of Paradise of Adam and Eve. The theological logic of the Bible is pretty close to: No questions allowed - obey the God of the Bible or else expect to be cruelly tortured or drown to death.

Carrot (Heaven) vs Stick (Heck)

Reward (Heaven) vs Punishment (Heck)

The Palace (of Gold)(Heaven) vs The Dungeon (Torture Chamber - Heck)

The God of the Old Testament is a jealous God and the God of the New Testament is a ruthless God who will spit lukewarm believers or non-believers out of his mouth like chewing gum into a frying pan.

Words

The Flood
The Last Judgment

A God of Love
A God of Jealousy
A God of Ruthlessness
A God of Hate

A two-faced God who says love me and if you don't, go to heck (literally).

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What does the Bible really say?

http://www.bibles.net/
http://www.sacred-texts.com/

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Is the God of the Bible actually as emotional and irrational as any God or Goddess associated with the Egyptian religion or the Gods/Goddesses of Greece and Rome?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology

http://www.greekmythology.com/

http://www.egyptianmyths.net/

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Can modern day writers invent new myths (which make money)?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_o ... lm_trilogy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter

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The Holy Land - Florida

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Land_Experience

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http://www.beliefnet.com/

Last edited by pgd on 10 Aug 2010, 11:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

You have shared your own experience with how you have filled whatever that is, but I would guess very few people ever actually do anything like that consciously.



In my own case, I tried the beer and found it wanting before finally catching on as to the actual shape of that hole.

What is the shape of God?

ruveyn

I doubt anyone believes "God" has a shape. He just seems to "fit" whatever used to seem "empty" inside.

Phallic, no doubt.

Well-played. *applause*

I wouldn't say that there is a deeply rooted compulsion for human beings to worship, as it were. But listening to your elders who sound authoritative and taking their opinions as a given is a fairly effective survival tactic for social animals like ourselves. The problem is that the opinion has changed from "don't eat this berry, it is poisonous" to "eat this bread, because it is representative of the body of a man who was the mortal son of an inconceivably complex entity who is watching you and reading your thoughts all the time and made the whole universe, and you're going to go to a horrible place forever when you die if you don't".

Eat Pray Live topic

Hole-y, Hole-y, Hole-y, The Hole-y Ghost.

I think there is a "higher power" shaped hole in most humans, but it is vague and different in all cultures. Thus Buddhists are happy to imagine a kind of source and in some countries people are worshipful of dictators. I think some people don't have it though and want to answer to noone or or maybe even want to be the god figure.

Just look at what has helped us pierce the heavens: a phallic shaped craft. The lighthouses that protect our shores are phallic shaped. Even holy mushrooms are phallic in shape.

Don't forget this thing.

That which people call the "god shaped hole" is a very simple concept.

At some level of the human brain the difference between "cause" and "reason" breaks down.
The property of human intelligence that atheists call the self, and that theists call the soul, best functions when it operates under the assumption that we possess the ability to "intend" to do what we do.

Because it is a core assumption that is far far deeper than any conscious thought could ever reach it is a part of our paradigm, our world view. It is this belief that all things we do are "intended" that makes us extrapolate outwards and assume that all things are "intended." As such we look for the "raison d'etat" our reason for living, why we are here, the ultimate answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything (42)

The so called god shaped hole is the desire that is built into us to find meaning in everything.
By determining cause and effect relationships we have been able to evolve further than other species, and we are therefore genetically predisposed to try to find meaning. Memetically however we are predisposed to accept the first meaning that we come across that "fits well enough to live day to day." "God" fits well enough for some people for that purpose. Thus to them the hole is the shape of an empty and false concept. To those it is not sufficient for, that hole is a different shape, it is the shape of the realization that there not only IS NOT a purpose to anything, but there CANNOT be a purpose to anything. Purpose requires definition, and once something has been defined it is just semantics.

Or this one:

I don't agree about this god shaped hole, at least not for my case. Maybe my special interests could be cited, but they are qualitatively different.

The CN tower is bigger than the washington monument. Canada wins.

Yeah but the CN tower doesn't hold mystical relevance like the Washington obelisk does.

Relevant symbolism topic

The CN Tower is very mystical, Ska. It attracts many high climbers who wish to be closer to the Infinite.