[Gary Wassner]

"What? Is man merely a mistake of God's? Or God merely a mistake of man's?"

Or neither?

What's your opinion here?

[Rob B]

I think there is a higher intelligence somwhere. However, I think God is in large part, an invention of civilized man.

[Archren]

SSSHHHHHHH!!!! The trolls will hear you! :eek: :D

[Gary Wassner]

Yeah, all those trolls and orcs are godless, and if they find out how you feel, they will be all over you!

Aren't you, though, just exchanging the words 'higher intelligence' for god?

[Priestvyrce]

I think that there is some all-encompassing life force, but not sure if you could call it sentient in the sense as we believe. I mean, why would a being of such high intelligence and all, care if we prayed to him or worshipped him?

[Gary Wassner]

That's the big question! In a universe that is infinite in dimension, what makes us so special?

But that higher force that everyone mentions all the time: What do we mean? Names are just names. Call it whatever you choose. But what do we really mean?

[Priestvyrce]

Maybe "God" is just away to feel connected to something so huge that we make these stories to comfort ourselves. I know, when I think about the vastness of the universe, it is scary.

Here I am, this speck of nothing in a vastness of specks. How do I matter to the whole scheme of things that is the universe? So the invention of "God" seems to be this answer to why and how things work in your(my) life. I just don't buy it. This whole "soul" thing? Why does God want it? Why does the "Devil"?

I don't think that am really responding to your question, but I'm not sure, if I care, if there is a "Higher Being", "God", "Allah" or what have you. I have a hard enough time understanding ME! I think that once I've got that down(HA!), then maybe I'll worry about if there is a God and what my place in the scheme of things are.

[Gary Wassner]

I know what you mean. That's why I write though. It helps me to reason these things out, even though reason doesn't really take me anywhere near this issue.

But even when we make simple choices in life, we need to base those choices on some structure of belief. We take so much for granted, so much that forms the foundations of our decisions each and every day.

If all our choices in life were based simply upon consequences, then we would never have concepts such as sacrifice, and we would never have crime. So what drives us?

Perhaps god is not a 'mistake' at all, but a necessary component in the decision making process, call it what you will.

[Rob B]

I don't think I'm switching the terms.

To me the definition of God is the supreme being, all knowing, all seeing in the biblical sense.

By Higher Intelligence I mean in the scientific sense a race of beings far beyond our conception that may look down upon us as we look down upon bunnies, ants and amoeba.

[Gary Wassner]

So this higher intelligence is only partially knowing and partially seeing?