D.O.G.

On the Other Hand...

Poplar trees are popular with my pop (Larry)

Assist or resist

Merlin in Berlin

Slavic saliva

Purple purpose

Feathered serpent God (Quetzalcoatl): a snake eats an angel?

Macaronesia ain’t Micronesia

Mack’s macaroons in Cameroon with Cameron

Deity: ID yet?

Pause and peruse

Reed college and Reading, PA

Amory MS, Lovelock TX, and Roma Italy

BMW: the beauty, mystery, and wonder

    Of bats, mist, and wolves

Impatient in-patients

Deity Identity (deity int) (and dentition!)

The back and forth, with ChatGPT:

Me:

a. I’m an atheist.  But I enjoy making god real by playing the role.

b. I play the role of God.  I believe in myself.

c. Is it grandiosity if I really am grand?  Is it unrealistic if I really am good?  Only God is good.  So therefore I’m god, merely by being not-bad.  No?

d. There’s deity yoga.  And no-self.   It’s just a role.  To play. 

e. So is no one god, in your estimation?  Who are atheists submitting to?

f. If Jesus was divine, why can’t I be divine as well?

g. Should I respect the beliefs of others, even if I know them to be false?

h. Aren’t judges judgmental?  Should it be illegal?  Should judges be prosecuted?

i. Judging without bias is not possible.

j. A good judge is fair and impartial, rendering informed and reasoned judgements based on law and evidence, not bias.  I’m not claiming to be omniscient, omnipotent, or eternal.   But I am claiming to be good.  The bible says only God is good. This is not irrational, arrogant, or deluded.  

It: (sort of, I rearranged and added some)

People have different philosophies and belief-systems, on (the nature of) God and the divine, and find  value, joy and fulfillment, comfort and purpose, in religions and spirituality, in all their variety of beliefs, practices, and traditions.   Being God is a delusion of grandeur, not grounded in evidence or rational thinking, arrogant, and in fact disrespectful and offensive.  God is a higher power that created and governs the universe, usually credited with attributes like omnipotence, omniscience, and eternal existence (not usually associated with humans).   We should all be willing to listen and learn, with humility and respect, seeking self-improvement and spiritual growth, because no one is perfect, and there is always room for improvement.  Different people have different ideas of what is “good” and there may be valid differences of opinion on these matters.  Religion is often about submission and surrender of one’s will to a higher authority or higher purpose.  

Woof!

Well, maybe I'm not an atheist.   I believe in telepathy, like dreams, that can hear and answer prayers.   Then there's corporate higher powers, in which people get by with a little help from their friends (whether powers and thrones and dominions and principalities and guardian angels) (or invisible friends) (or family and friends) (or people in your church, like priests and sangha, or whatever) (or lawyers and doctors).  Only the best!  A team of superheroes: Godco!

Maybe I'm on someone's God-team.   You are one.   God is One.  You can't completely outsource; sometimes the devil makes an appearance.  Everyone must rely on their own individual conscience as a filter.  And dogs are pretty godly, too!  Dog exists!  Finally, God is a process: virtue and perfection take time.  Everyone has a learning curve.  Maybe it really is all good (in the fullness of time).   But the existence of evil, multiple religions, and the lack of empirical evidence are 3 very good reasons to maintain unbelief.   Then again, maybe God wants multiple religions, as different facets of an infinite personality.  All-1.   A joke: something stinks, God only nose.   All religions are true religions.  Even the false ones.  Hail Satan!  Heil Hitler!  JK Rowling says, just kidding.  Hail Santa!  It's good to believe your True Nature is virtuous.  Not that your outer self is a shell hiding an evil core.   The inner reptilian, or whatever.