Let's say, for the sake of this thread, that there are no deities; no God, no Allah, no Shiva. They don't exist, never have. With this understanding I ask would this affect the practice of those religions?
Let me phrase this from a Christian viewpoint, the one I'm most familiar with. God doesn't exist, Jesus was a good man, the bible is a book of laws used for political gain; the religion is wrong. Now, how much would this affect Christians?
In other words is the belief that there is a God as powerful as if there really was a God?
It depends, would it be like a passive thing where no body finds out, or would someone definitively dis-rove the existence of a god? Either way, religion would exist, just if someone disproved god it would exist on a smaller scale(all major religions that is).
answering the question a little more seriously (no offense, Nurvana), belief starts with something. It could be as little as a waterdrop, to something as huge as the sun. God is a person, and in my belief, did something to change the outcome of belief, a lot more than what a waterdrop would do. So yes, I believe that the belief would be different if there was no God.
That question can be answered psychologically. People love to hear that they are accepted. They want to be accepted and want to know that later on in their life, they are going to a better place. They want to feel that they matter to somebody and they like being reminded of it.
So, if somehow a god was proven to not be real, it wouldn't matter as those faithful to the god would still believe in him and relay his teachings. They felt kindness and bliss with him and would wish to spread the word.
So, if somehow a god was proven to not be real, it wouldn't matter as those faithful to the god would still believe in him and relay his teachings. They felt kindness and bliss with him and would wish to spread the word.
Finally the answer I was looking for, confirmation that my rational is actually somewhat logical. So I appreciate it.
So yes, I believe that the belief would be different if there was no God.
i see, i thin alot of the lesser minded beings, that rely on the thoguth to guide them, would probably flip out, maybe even go into a state of the exact opposite, raping, killing looting, drugs , sex rock and roll. me, i think there is beleif, and there is just common courtesy, i don't need a bible to tell me if raping a chick is bad, i know it is. it would be pretty funny tho, if someone came up with undeniable proof that god was just a good man, lol.
i see, i thin alot of the lesser minded beings, that rely on the thoguth to guide them, would probably flip out, maybe even go into a state of the exact opposite, raping, killing looting, drugs , sex rock and roll. me, i think there is beleif, and there is just common courtesy, i don't need a bible to tell me if raping a chick is bad, i know it is. it would be pretty funny tho, if someone came up with undeniable proof that god was just a good man, lol.
Let's say, for the sake of this thread, that there are no deities; no God, no Allah, no Shiva. They don't exist, never have. With this understanding I ask would this affect the practice of those religions?
Considering this is the world I see us actually livining in I think what we see now is the answer to this question.
And to answer your question, no, because any kind of supernatural involvement (pretty much a requirement for a god to be there) is not an option when it's just people believing.
Not quite, generally it's seen that God works through coincidences.
Except for jesus being good and not schizophrenic, this pretty much sums up what I think.
