No, am not religious.
I often write about religion and that means sometimes am going to write about god[s]. I know you this what you don’t know is every so often a believer tells me the god I have written isn’t their god. They will tell you that even them don’t believe the god you have described. I’m an igtheist when it comes to the discussion about gods. Today we are not talking about me, but will respond to Giles Fraser who in a Guardian article says he doesn’t believe in the god Stephen Fry described.
Fraser tells us many people think of god as synonymous with power. I don’t know about you, but it would be plain to anyone with an iota of common sense that a being that to create the vastness that is the universe needed only to say let there be and it was, is a being with immense power.
But Fraser wants to change all that. He writes
This is why the Jesus story is, for me, the most theologically revolutionary story that there can be. Because it imagines God and power separated. God as a baby. God poor. God helpless on a cross. God with a mocking and ironic crown of thorns. In these scenes it is Caesar who has the power.
That maybe, but this god was born of a virgin, makes water into wine, feeds thousands on a loaf of bread, calms the sea and resurrects from the dead. If this is not a show of power, I don’t know what is. Let us not forget this god could have chosen to forgive humanity without suicide by centurion. It doesn’t move us to imagine god instead of using his power to forgive power, chose to die to save us from himself. Only unimaginative people think this is the greatest story ever told.
Fraser wants us to imagine god as love only. He writes
Furthermore, this powerless thing subverts Fry’s accusation of God’s iniquity. For if we are imagining a God whose only power, indeed whose only existence, is love itself – and yes, this means we will have to think metaphorically about a lot of the Bible – then God cannot stand accused as the cause of humanity’s suffering.
and who cares about a suffering god. Who wants such a god? How many believers worship a suffering god, a god who is hungry, a good who is homeless, a good who is powerless? By a show of hands please, am counting. And when we start to think metaphorically about the bible, does this apply to the book or just sections of it. Fraser doesn’t tell us where to stop with metaphors.
We must ask Fraser why he thinks his definition of god as a suffering god is the one every other believer worships. There are those who believe in a vengeful and powerful god, are they mistaken?
Fraser wants us to believe that the god Fry was answering is the celestial teapot made famous by philosopher Bertrand Russell. It doesn’t need hard work to find the god of the bible being capricious, mean minded, tribal and many other negative qualities.
Fraser tells us god is
is the story of human dreams and fears. God is the shape we try to make of our lives. God is the name of the respect we owe the planet. God is the poetry of our lives. Of course this is real.
and me wonders who goes to church to pray to the shape of samosas, respect and so on. This is as nebulous as a god can be. And it is for this reason theists keep saying that isn’t my god you are talking about. They have redefined it to mean anything they want it to mean. On the first day, man created god and he has since been working to define it coherently.
Interesting thoughts, my Nairobi brother. If this supposed deity is truly unconcerned about power, why are his devoted followers so obsessed with it? Why does this omnipotent being arbitrarily distribute disasters and suffering as “just” punishments for suspected transgressions? If this rumored deity is indeed about love, why are his followers so consumed by hatred and judgment on others who disagree with their beliefs. If this deity isn’t able to compel the believers to adhere to doctrine, how is one able to believe the belief system is valid?
Good job, my friend! Have a fantastic weekend! Much love and naked hugs! 🙂
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I hope some believer will pass by and answer us.
You too have a fantastic weekend with the blessings of the sanctified one
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Your blessings are much appreciated, Holiness. You are indeed All-Powerful, the temperatures here this weekend are predicted to be almost balmy! 😉
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Keep your spirits high.
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It is easy to dismiss power when you’re omnipotent. And it is easy to call manipulation love when you’re afraid.
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Very well said
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Very well said
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I’m surprised this Fry interview has generated so much chatter. It’s good, great even, but I’m still left a little baffled as to why when there is so much more better material in circulation that really, really, really pokes the theists’ perceptions in the eye.
I do though love the way Fraser has ignored the suffering of animals.
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I’m going to guess that it is a result of Fry’s celebrity, especially his recent marriage to a young man and his openness about his mental health problems. Some theists are quick to point to him as a sinner, nothing more and everyone else has to tell them that isn’t the point.
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Sure, but he’s done many, many public debates where he demolishes Christianity as only he can. Still, it’s good that theists are being pressed into the Problem of Evil debate. I’m waiting for one to parrot William Lane Craig’s newest apologetic, that animals don’t actually know they’re suffering. No shit, that is what he is peddling now: animals don’t know they’re suffering, so god is great!
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That’s true. I’m partial to the Intelligence Squared debate he did with Hitchens.
As for Craig, I mean, really? Really? Has he ever had a pet? Has he ever taken the time to watch videos of Koko? Has he ever met a dog??
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Oh, he claims to be an “Animal lover” and that is why this is such GREAT NEWS! Seriously, the lengths some apologists will go to to maintain a belief that cannot be maintained in any rational manner is astonishing.
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Would it be so bad to put us out of our misery by banning Craig from ever speaking publicly about anything ever again? Really, would that be so bad?
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how will he get his paycheck? He gets paid to spread nonsense
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McDonald’s is hiring. He can work there. Just please, shut this idiot up! It’s abusive to hear him. My brain melts and my left hand kinda twitches and shit when I hear him. Certainly I have rights to not be exposed to such a toxin as WLC? Hell, if smoking has been banned in public places due to health reasons, surely WLC can be banned too. Listening to that idiot is like inhaling the second hand smoke from a thousand cigars.
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Hahaha. Maybe a petition to ban him for health reasons would be in order. But am sure his troupe of followers will cry persecution
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True. Well, then, maybe we should just launch a full out persecution of the old boy. You know, stick his dumb ass in a stockade somewhere and toss rotten fruit at him. Trick is finding a place where it’s legal to do such a thing, then trick him into going there to do it to him.
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maybe send him to an IS controlled zone to preach about Jeebus. I think we will get a permanent solution to the problem
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I think its past time. I’ve been looking into his “Animals don’t suffer” diatribe for a couple of days now he’s lying sneakiness has been on full display. Here’s a follow-up on the rebuttal put together by skydivephil.
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Thanks for the video. Craig is simply, and irrevocably, an A-hole. Period. It causes me pain to hear his voice and read his words.
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That dude is an utter idiot! Animals don’t know there suffering?! Really William? It’s more accurate to say apologists don’t know when their talking with a mouth full of shit because all of them do it and certainly do not seem to notice. Lordy be, but that guy’s an ass!
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He is a real ass, that I agree with you
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He has been saying that a long time now.
I think I read it somewhere 2yrs ago where he argued animals don’t suffer
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Here’s one great speech
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Hahaha. Overlapping replies make for fun moments. That is a great speech. 😀
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Thanks for sharing
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if celebrity status is going to make theists wake up, let us have them celebrities annoying them weekly. At least I will have enough fodder for blogs 😛
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It seems only the comedically inclined celebrity atheists are willing to put it all out on the line. I wonder why that is.
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Hard to tell. Maybe you and I should become celebrities and annoy believers once every so often 😀
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Animals exist to be used by man. I don’t think for Fraser they suffer.
One wonders why such a short chatter can pique theists that much. Everyone even ignoramuses are behind their keyboards telling Fry he knows zilch
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“Fraser wants us to imagine god as love only.” If this is true, then he’s created a god different than the one[s] in the bible. God as love alone is not the Judao-Christian god. Perhaps he hasn’t read his bible. Nice discussion, Mak. And, I agree, christians read the bible and make it mean whatever they want it to.
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Fraser will tell you, I believe, that if you find the god portrayed as violent, it has to do with how you are reading the bible. For the believer nothing is never as it is, it is as they want it to be
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Right. I forgot that. $Amen$
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“On the first day, man created god and he has since been working to define it coherently.” – In His own image?
Sounds like Mr. Fraser is describing god light.
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Oh yes, in his own image. Look at the Greeks and look at their gods? There were excellent men and there were mediocre men and such were their gods
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” and yes, this means we will have to think metaphorically about a lot of the Bible ”
except that bit about Jesus Christ being real. ooooh, that is the TRUTH.
Fraser is one more Sophisticated Theologian who makes his god vaguer and vaguer too ignore the fact that he’s worshipping nothing more than a bronze age god just like Zeus or Odin.
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and where god created the universe and man fell, those are truth. The rest are metaphors. You gotta love these people
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I read that same article. Gets so tiring.
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and annoying to say the least
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The same pathetic attempt to make Christianity palatable, by stripping it of its core, which is the threat of eternal damnation for the unrepentant. It is cosmetic version of the real hell and brimstone, preying on the emotionally unstable, the guilty and the weak. You see Judaism doesn’t understand love as Christianity has reshaped it, but as an act of submissive obedience to the Law. Most of the non Pauline letters keep it the same. But Judaism was meant for free men, while Christianity was meant to keep the conquered masses and slaves under control, which could be achieved only by a compensatory system. That’s “love”…
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And another bad thing about christians is they couldn’t make a decent matzo ball soup if their life depended on it.
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Mazel tov!;-)
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L’chaim!
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I’ll drink to that!
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I think christianity offers a good manual for making men slaves
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It’s been designed as such by the 3rd century’s clergy in exchange for emperor Constantine’s (not Keanu R.) favours, aka state religion status and virtually unlimited power.
This is why from a clearly messianic Jewish sect, it’s been adapted into a neo-pagan, anti-Semitic imperial religion.
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You would think the educated and the sophisticates among them would be busy pointing such things out. They are all busy selling snake oil to the ignorant masses. How pathetic
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The edusophisticated are either raised as children to believe, and therefore are conditioned to a certain degree, and/or end up trapped by rhe same cicle of guilt relief which is key to the propagation of this religion. The absolute majority have no idea about being enslaved by one of the oldest mass control systems. Most graduates like myself, know that there are major credibility issues, but out of an unconscious fear chose to live a double life, trying to grasp what they consider still good in it and emphasize it like your example. Many of my former colleagues still hang on a last thread, namely “since there’s at least a chance of all being somewhat true, is it worth risking eternity on the wrong side?”
And for them, not even the daily proofs of injustice, suffering, etc is enough to make them take their doubts into consideration.
How gratifying and self-fulfilling is to offer prayers to the loving god on behalf of those millions of suffering innocents, ignoring all sane proofs that if such a good would exist, Hitler and Mengele put together wouldn’t be enough to match such a horrific criminal…
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Thanks Rom. Indoctrination of babes keeps even educated adults believing crazy. You have said this so well and eloquently.
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“The absolute majority have no idea about being enslaved by one of the oldest mass control systems.”
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Sagan hit the mark with that statement
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Hi Arch, you’ve got no idea how painfully true this becomes as a sequel to “been there, done that”…
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I’m sure that’s true.
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These people are farking idiots of the nth degree.
This video is going bonkers among Christians – check out the number of blogs on it. Stephen Fry was being ironic of course and simply pandering to the stupid interviewer. It made good TV and I am sure the producer was happy BUT as soon as Fry attempted to answer the question he left himself wide open to farking idiots like this Frasier bloke … He should have cut straight to the quick and said ”This will never happen as I don’t believe in god. Yours or anyone else’s. It s a stupid question.”
Sadly this doesn’t make good television though, does it!
Good post Mak.
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You are right this isn’t good for TV.
Most of the blogs dedicated to responding to that 2 minutes clip by theists are so bad you think it was typed by a child. They make no sense
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I agree. I am surprised Stephen Fry doesn’t start using the phrase ‘Dickhead” when idiots like that ask such asinine questions.
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I think you’ve nailed it nicely here Mak. Not that any theists would agree with you …
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Theists don’t like to agree. They always tell me that ain’t my god you wrote about but they never get to tell me what their god looks like
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Your conclusion is spot on Noel. Great post and, as usual, very entertaining follow up! I love you guys! Don’t ever shut up.
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These guys, and I don’t mean theists, are a great bunch of guys. I would love to have beer with any of them any day.
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🍻
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I’m good for a round 🙂
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I’ll spring for the last round of the evening – just roll me over on the floor and dig the change out of my pocket —
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🙂
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God is first of all about power. This is what makes him different than any other biological organism. He has extraordinary power that lifts him above and makes him special. Are there any examples of deities that have no power but are worshipped anyway?
I’d say the story of Christ is still about power. It’s not a power that makes you defeat your enemy, but one that leaves you invincible. Christ came back from the dead, after all. The crucifixion wasn’t enough (I’m not an expert though. Correct me if I’m wrong).
Fraser’s comments are generally incoherent. If anything, he doesn’t describe God exactly but just ‘all good things’. It reads like cute poetry, but that’s it.
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Fraser wants to define god in such a way that even him he wouldn’t recognise it if someone were to tell him that was a god.
Welcome brain in the jar do you have fingers or you are a disembodied being :-P?
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I’m a simulation within a simulation within a simulation. I’m a brain in a jar that’s made to think he’s a brain in a jar that’s made to think he’s a blogger.
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Thanks for clearing that up and welcome to the spot
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