I wish to make a promise—especially to myself—that this will be the last I have to say about the god debate, as I have come to the conclusion that there is little point in dwelling on this topic any further. There are many, many, far more important things that I can be doing with my time, and I have already wasted too much time dwelling on this subject. In the future, when the topic comes up, I plan to simply direct people back to this post.
This disillusioned frog has far more pressing matters to attend to.
Without further ado, here lies my final argument against the belief in any god:
Take a moment and ask yourself, "does my god exist as something greater than reality, or below it?" If above reality, read on below. If below or equal to reality, skip down to 2.
1. If your god exists above reality, then it shouldn't be constrained by any of the rules or limitations of reality whatsoever. In fact, it should have no limitations whatsoever. -This god could be all powerful.
If this sounds accurate, then I have a few more questions:
Is your god unchanging? If yes:
-Doesn't this count as a limitation? -Is it not able to do things merely because it would never have done those things before? -Who or what set this rule, or did it decide to set this rule for itself?
-Can it still change, but doesn't? Or is it powerless to change this rule?
Does your god have a character? If yes:
-Doesn't its character limit its actions?
-Is it not subject to its own whims and desires? -Who or what designed this character for it, or did it somehow design its own character for itself?
-Wouldn't designing itself be a form of change and conflict with its unchanging nature (if you answered "yes" above)?
-Is it powerless to overcome this limitation?
Is your god unable to coexist with sin? If yes:
-Are you starting to see where I'm going with this?
If you answered "yes" to any of the above, then you have placed limitations upon what your god is and what it can do. In fact, if your deity has any defining quality or trait, that puts limitations on it. That means your god cannot possibly be "all-powerful." It is confined to a rules system. It exists under some form of plane of reality. Whether you like it or not, your god belongs in the second category. Go ahead and read 2, below. This is a more accurate representation of your god.
2. If your god exists below or equal to a plane of reality, then it must be subject to the rules of that reality or at least by the same rules by which that reality is governed.
-It can be deduced that it didn't set those rules into motion, or otherwise, it did and has since subjected itself to those rules for some reason, and is now powerless to alter them, whether by its own will or by some physical limitation.
-This god cannot possibly be all-powerful, as it is powerless to change the rules that govern it, and is even governed by another "higher power" (even if that higher power is merely the laws it is subject to and not a conscious deity).
-Why even call this a "god?"
Now, here's the real kicker. Being limited beings, we cannot possibly imagine a god that exists entirely above reality. The moment we try, we invent something new within the confines of our mind. A truly limitless god cannot possibly be imagined within our limited confines. The more you attempt to think of it and try to define it, the more you limit it.
Ironically, a fully limitless deity can only exist fully outside of the confines of our minds, so the only way a limited being—such as ourselves—could even grasp an accurate understanding of an "all-powerful" god...
In conclusion, by claiming that you can know anything about a god, you are admitting to me that either your god is a lesser-deity, or else you have invented a fake god. Neither is worth any more of my time.
This disillusioned frog has far more pressing matters to attend to.Take a moment and ask yourself, "does my god exist as something greater than reality, or below it?" If above reality, read on below. If below or equal to reality, skip down to 2.
1. If your god exists above reality, then it shouldn't be constrained by any of the rules or limitations of reality whatsoever. In fact, it should have no limitations whatsoever. -This god could be all powerful.
If this sounds accurate, then I have a few more questions:
Is your god unchanging? If yes:
-Doesn't this count as a limitation? -Is it not able to do things merely because it would never have done those things before? -Who or what set this rule, or did it decide to set this rule for itself?
-Can it still change, but doesn't? Or is it powerless to change this rule?
Does your god have a character? If yes:
-Doesn't its character limit its actions?
-Is it not subject to its own whims and desires? -Who or what designed this character for it, or did it somehow design its own character for itself?
-Wouldn't designing itself be a form of change and conflict with its unchanging nature (if you answered "yes" above)?
-Is it powerless to overcome this limitation?
Is your god unable to coexist with sin? If yes:
-Are you starting to see where I'm going with this?
If you answered "yes" to any of the above, then you have placed limitations upon what your god is and what it can do. In fact, if your deity has any defining quality or trait, that puts limitations on it. That means your god cannot possibly be "all-powerful." It is confined to a rules system. It exists under some form of plane of reality. Whether you like it or not, your god belongs in the second category. Go ahead and read 2, below. This is a more accurate representation of your god.
2. If your god exists below or equal to a plane of reality, then it must be subject to the rules of that reality or at least by the same rules by which that reality is governed.
-It can be deduced that it didn't set those rules into motion, or otherwise, it did and has since subjected itself to those rules for some reason, and is now powerless to alter them, whether by its own will or by some physical limitation.
-This god cannot possibly be all-powerful, as it is powerless to change the rules that govern it, and is even governed by another "higher power" (even if that higher power is merely the laws it is subject to and not a conscious deity).
-Why even call this a "god?"
Now, here's the real kicker. Being limited beings, we cannot possibly imagine a god that exists entirely above reality. The moment we try, we invent something new within the confines of our mind. A truly limitless god cannot possibly be imagined within our limited confines. The more you attempt to think of it and try to define it, the more you limit it.
Ironically, a fully limitless deity can only exist fully outside of the confines of our minds, so the only way a limited being—such as ourselves—could even grasp an accurate understanding of an "all-powerful" god...
...would be to stop thinking about that god entirely.
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