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From: John "Dry-Roasted Army Worm" Williams[SMTP:prefect@tricon.net]
<snip>
It'll take some more work, but I think a common definition of "God" that
can hit the definitions of practically all major religions and older
mythologies is:
1) A being with greater power than humans.
2) A being with non-trivial influence over nature.
3) A being that influences human activity through his/her actions.
4) A being who has either personally, or through his or her lineage,
created the universe or imposed order upon it.
Some religions and formulations of God will value some of these elements
more than others, but I think I've managed to hit the major points.
<Snip>
Hey! Anyone else! Additions, changes? :-)
You can define "God", or any other word, any way you like. Just spell out
(as you did above) what you intend it to mean, so we can all tune in with
you to the best of our ability. Be ready for possible misinterpretations
anyway, though: is a boot something that goes on your foot, or part of
your car?<VBG!>
<Snip!>
I'm just a little impatient with the apparent mutability of the
definition
of "athiest" when you use it and the addition of the phrase "real" when I
can demonstrate evidence that there are people who lay claim to the same
name who believe differently than you. I think you got a point off of me
already on this one, when I suggested that people who already held my
position would agree with me? Aren't you begging, just a little bit?
Of course David is frustrated; the two of you have just spent a
considerable amount of time establishing that you weren't talking about
the same thing. ALL definitions are mutable, in that even simple words
don't mean the same thing to two different people, even such simple words
as "Boot" (see above).
<Snip!>
I'll take that as "no, but shut up anyway."
Having spent some time arguing with David McF. myself, I can attest he is
not hostile, nor condescending, nor dismissive. He can get frustrated,
just like the rest of us, when it takes a long time to cover the same
territory again and again. In the archives, you will find lengthy
discussions over certain words like "altruism" and "empathy", where
various memebers spend considerable time disagreeing before they discover
the definitions aren't agreed on yet.
Your definition of "God" above is fine; it will serve the purpose of
discussion you intended, I suspect. Be prepared to run into those persons
later who will not have read that particular message and who will require
you to repeat yourself (or refer back to yourself) later.
It is good to see you arrive at mutually agreeable territory, at last; I
commend you for the discipline and determination it took you to get
there.
Cheers!
james
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John Williams ICQ Address: 1213689 prefect@tricon.net
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Various Artists: Raising the Tide of Mediocrity for Two Years
http://www.3wave.com/~prefect/