Are we living in a Godless world?

[blazeofglory]

God indeed stands for kindheartedness and yet we have plenty of flaws in God’s work. God’s workmanship is really contentious. We all love God with a purpose that we get cared for in return. Of course it is a give and take affair. We give prayers and we take lots of blessings in trade. This is a transaction and unless you give you cannot profit at all. Why God the Giver does not bestow unconditionally. Why it is written in some of the sacred texts those who pray secures space in the kingdom of God and those who do not suffer deprivations.

This is not an advocacy directed at the theists nor this supports atheism at all. This is simply an opinion of a liberal or intellectual as today we believe in the freedom of expression.

I raise this question with the intent that there are like-minded people or also there are who oppose this idea. This is a platform for discussion and we can do it so that we can kind of satisfy our intellectual need.

[Buh4Bee]

I think this is a great conversation. Thanks for starting the thread.

From the standpoint of one with religion, I would say many do live in a Godless world, because they are separated from God. Many may have faith, but turn their back on God, hence life proceeds free of God. Some would say this is living in hell, although I don't personally believe this. This perspective is where my opinion is strongest.

For those that do not embrace or accept God, I also say they live in a Godless world. This does not mean that these lives do not follow a moral path. God is not reference point as a governing force. What is wrong with this lifestyle? I'd say nothing.

Then there is the ultimate question, such as is God dead. Does he, as a supernatural being, not exist? This is what an atheist would say perhaps. "No, God does not exist and the sun still comes up everyday and good still occurs. Imagine that."

I have lived my life from the stand point of an atheist and I have lived, as I do now, as a Christian. For me, I'd prefer to have God there, rather than not.

[LMK]

"Are we living in a Godless world?"

If one has a belief in God and a relationship in which one lives a God centric life; then no, that individual is not living in a Godless world, nor might the individual agree that the world is Godless.

However, if one does not believe in God or if one does not live a God-filled life then that person might well be living a life that is separated from God and is therefore living in a Godless world and might agree that the world is Godless.

It is all depending upon one's belief AND (yes very much AND) life choices.

~L

[weltanschauung]

nope, i am he as you are he as you are me and we are all here.
arent we? http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/39.gif

[MarkBastable]

I certainly try to.

[mono]

Friedrich Nietzsche questioned the same in The Antichrist, amid many other questions, whether we live in a not necessarily an atheist world, but a godless one. If not, Nietzsche asks, does one worship for God's sake or one's own sake? Like you mentioned, blazeofglory, some (not all) exchange prayers and blessings like inserting one's debit card into an ATM to get cash; one dials in the secret code for a need, cash or blessings. To several, God represents a faultless, absolute good, a divine form containing all virtue, an all-seeing, all-knowing Being - thereby, Nietzsche asks in The Antichrist, does only one who requires goodness in his/her life, a hopeless individual, the weak, the sickly, "turn to God"? We hear of the "last rights" getting recited to the deathly ill, individuals in distress "finding God," an external divine Being giving someone strength in a time of need, but does this virtuous thing appear to the rich, the healthy, or the stable with as much impact? Wealth (even if "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle"), health, and organization does not make an individual unvirtuous nor godless, though it seems to me that pronouncing Grace over a home-cooked, healthy dinner on prized china has ended up more as a ritual than a religious act, but, in the way of the martyr, must one sacrifice these things to "find" God?
I do not necessarily think we live in an entirely godless world, but I do not know well what a godful world would look like; Nietzsche seems to think it would appear like a world full of the hopeless and unmotivated. These "needing" individuals commit acts in the name of a holy Being daily, sometimes even more frequently than that, but even a macaw can recite Psalms with enough teaching, yet it does not have to mean a lot to the bird.

[LMK]

A person need not believe in God or participate in any religion to do 'the right thing' when it is called for.

I believe we are all responsible for each other, and for our environment. I learned early on (from scouts) that we should strive to leave no footprint.

There are things we can do that are positive and constructive towards ourselves, each other and our living space and be as agnostic or atheistic as we might want to be.

It is a hope, though at times a delusion, that those who are believers and followers of religion live this kind of positive and constructive lifestyle.

We might use the words Godless or heathen to make our point, but theism is not the important thing, your life's choices are the important things. Your belief and faith and religion, should you have those, hopefully help you to make decisions that respect the dignity of the human person (every human person), rights of workers, care for the environment, and so on.

More pennies worth,
~L

[Manchegan]

I believe that god is dying. Not that "he" was necessarily ever real, but that a widespread, fervent belief had made him real. He had a profound effect upon the world for centuries (and obviously still does today), simply because of the faith of his people and their actions in his name.

Statistically, America is becoming less devout. Religion is still strong, but atheism is growing. Science discredits god daily, and I think we are advancing to the point where we will soon realize that we are god. We control life, death, and the elements.

The real problem, is how to develope a working moral code that encompasses all of society, without a supernatural being to enforce it. Relativist morality doesn't get the job done, even though it makes more sense in a world without a rule maker.

[weltanschauung]

I believe that god is dying. Not that "he" was necessarily ever real, but that a widespread, fervent belief had made him real. He had a profound effect upon the world for centuries (and obviously still does today), simply because of the faith of his people and their actions in his name.

Statistically, America is becoming less devout. Religion is still strong, but atheism is growing. Science discredits god daily, and I think we are advancing to the point where we will soon realize that we are god. We control life, death, and the elements.

The real problem, is how to develope a working moral code that encompasses all of society, without a supernatural being to enforce it. Relativist morality doesn't get the job done, even though it makes more sense in a world without a rule maker.

http://www.beeldend.be/passivepleasures.doc

[mono]

I believe that god is dying. Not that "he" was necessarily ever real, but that a widespread, fervent belief had made him real. He had a profound effect upon the world for centuries (and obviously still does today), simply because of the faith of his people and their actions in his name.

Statistically, America is becoming less devout. Religion is still strong, but atheism is growing. Science discredits god daily, and I think we are advancing to the point where we will soon realize that we are god. We control life, death, and the elements.
Indeed, much of what Nietzsche described in The Antichrist - well said.
I recall reading in USA Today, a mere one or two years ago, that out of randomly selected adult Americans 1/11 stated that s/he had no faith, whether atheist or agnostic, as opposed to 3/50 Americans over the age of 65, and 1/4 out of Americans aged 18-22 - an interesting thought that, in a somewhat twisted way, supports Nietzsche's ideas of those with declining finances, health, and organization "seeking" God more than anyone else, as sad as I feel to say it; some type of unhappiness, some unfulfilled need, seemingly impels one to seek out an all-forgiving Being. To the other extreme, I think Erik Erikson could claim a lot to explain the 18-22 ages declaring so much unbelief, the latter stage of identity vs. role confusion.
Personally, I refuse to divulge such a personal matter as religious-spiritual beliefs onto a public literary forum, but I find this research intriguing and an odd coincidence, not to mention the credibility. Have we, the Americans, killed this ideal Figure amid the generations, or does it seem an age-related trend to believe in and worship God? Interesting thoughts.

There are things we can do that are positive and constructive towards ourselves, each other and our living space and be as agnostic or atheistic as we might want to be.

It is a hope, though at times a delusion, that those who are believers and followers of religion live this kind of positive and constructive lifestyle.
Wisely said. Michel de Montaigne, among many other thinkers, not necessarily of his time, wrote of multiple paths leading to the same one end - the ideal lifestyle, perhaps, leading to contentment? Reverence, reverence. :)