Reformulation 8/18/2022
For me, the word “God” is a variable, as in mathematics or computer science, that represents an unknown – the unknown prime mover. That unknown might be a single thing, or a set of things. The set might be small or very large.
As to the nature of that unknown, that is a theological question. Is God like what is described in the Bible? Does God have consciousness? Does God have intent? Does God care about me personally? Does God actively intervene in a creative, as opposed to mechanistic, way in the events of the world? When I have a mystical experience -- conscious contact, per step 11 -- is that a contact with an external God, or just an artifact of my neurology?
These theological questions, and their answers, do not form part of my definition of “God." I do not feel compelled to adopt the definitions of self appointed experts. I do not see how the terms “exist" or “don’t exist" relate to my definition as formulated.
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A MATHEMATICAL DEFINITION OF GOD
This definition will require the reader to understand: What is a variable? What is a mathematical definition? What is a set? Also, I will use the symbol “≡” to mean “is defined as.” If you did not do much math, particularly no college math, you probably won’t understand the following discussion.
For each person there is a list of questions, unanswerable questions, God-defining questions. For each person, this list will be different. Some examples of these questions follow.
X1≡ Why are we here?
X2≡ Why is there gravity?
X3≡ Why is it wrong to kill another person in cold blood?
•
•
•
•
and so forth. In this list, each question is assigned a variable which represents the answer to the question.
I then define God as follows:
GOD ≡ {X1, X2, X3, …}
I believe that under this definition no one can say that GOD does not exist, nor that GOD is more than one thing.
There may be other questions, e.g.
© Does GOD have consciousness?
© Is GOD a being? (To which one might reply, “What is a being[1]?”)
© Does GOD care about us?
© Does GOD have gender?
© Does it make sense to define subsets of GOD relating to particular sub-characteristics, e.g. Shiva, Venus, etc.?
These are interesting questions, which merit much discussion; however, I do not propose any answers to those questions. I only put forth this basic definition, so that we may stop arguing about whether GOD exists and rather discuss what we think GOD is like, which I find much more interesting.
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reformulation 250707 -- similar to 2022
Thus the word "God" is a variable, like the letter X in algebra. It represents an unknown: an unknown prime mover, an unknown basic nature of the universe, an unknown source of moral law; an unknown cause of that sense of presence that I feel.
I personally believe that we do not have the ability to understand God. Different people have different perceptions -- but no perception, no description is complete. I see with reference to this the traditional Jewish belief that the name of God is unpronounceable, not only forbidden, but also impossible. The Tao Te Ching says that the Tao which can be named is not the true Tao.
I've read that research on the differences between atheists and believers. Atheists have been found to be neurologically different from believers. I suppose that they must not have that impression of the presence of the divine that I feel.
[1] It is interesting that in one Supreme Court case, the Court defined religion as belief in a Supreme Being, but that really begs the question. What does one mean by a “being?”
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