Sunday, January 15, 2006
Deus Ex Machina.
God out of the machine.
A man-made god.
Technically, deus ex machina is a dramatic device in the theatre. Rising out of the ground like a god. It's a mechanism that is almost cliched.
But it makes you think doesn't it?
Did God make Man, or did Man make God?
What is God? What does it mean?
Is God a being at all?
Judaism, Christianity and Islam have a vision of a loving Father, the mighty Creator and omniscent, omnipotent figure.
But is it so simple?
If anything at all were that powerful, why do the things it did? Why create flawed humans? Why create flawed life?
One might argue that Satan corrupted mankind by tempting the first humans to take the forbidden fruit of knowledge.
But then, think of this. Why couldn't mankind handle knowledge? God himself obviously knows about Good and Evil, but yet he is still good...well, depends on how you define that but that's what the orthodox explanation is.
Evidently, mankind was flawed. Well, one can argue that we were made from dust and that's why we couldn't be perfect. But why use dust then?
Trust God. Put your faith in him. Don't question His decisions; and definitely don't try to understand them, since it might split your brain in half.
That's what they all say, isn't it?
Look at this. God is capable of jealousy. God is capable of anger. He is capable of love. And he can forgive.
Funny how humans resemble Him. Well, we were supposed to be made in his image, so that isn't much of a surprise.
But by having all these emotions, isn't God as flawed as the rest of us?
Before you people start looking for firewood and lighting the torches, hear me out.
Emotions are a strange thing. Humans are capable of great things when spurred on by emotions. We can achieve things beyond our normal potential when we are given enough incentive to do so, like love or even hatred.
However, emotions can also cripple a person. We are left unable to deal with certain issues when crushed by grief or consumed by fury.
Well, God is perfect right? He knows how to control emotions....really?
*can hear ppl crying out BLASPHEMY!!!!*
Personally, I don't think of God as a being.
No, I'm not denying the existence of God. I just don't think he exists the way we think he does.
Humans are egoistic. Up until about 400-500 years ago, humans still thought that they were the center of the universe. Naturally we would think that if there were a God, He would naturally have made us like Him. It would only be right.
But isn't God the Lord of the Universe and of all Life? Just because (we think) we are the only sentient creatures on this dirt ball known as Earth, it doesn't make us that special. Life is life, IQ and self-awareness or not.
Yes yes, the Bible says quite clearly that man were made in the image of God. But hello, who wrote that?
I know the Bible is the Word of God, but it does have to be filtered through humans hands, doesn't it? Yes, they might have been divinely inspired, so to speak, but Mankind's egoism has been around for ages. I wouldn't be surprised if the writer chose to interpret certain things differently.
It's happening even now. Translators interpret the original text differently based on their experiences and biases. Everyone is biased to a certain degree. Even if we all know the same language, the way we read the meanings of certain phrases or sentences may differ.
How does one translate the language of the heart as given to you by God into the flawed language made by equally flawed humans? Language is definitely not enough. It simply is too limited, because in part human imagination is limited by our lack of mental perfection.
So what is God?
I believe in God as an awareness, not as something with an actual physical form. Of course, if God is as powerful as everybody says He is, He obviously can take physical form if He wants to. And to avoid freaking His creations out, I think He would take a form that wouldn't shock them to death at first sight. Basically, as human, if he so wishes.
How to put it? I don't believe in God as the way the major religions of the world views Him. What kind, loving father? God, for lack of a better term to describe this higher entity, has its own agenda. Who knows why we are created? I certainly don't, for I'm as human as the rest of you...
Personally she's not really sure about that anymore. Isn't that true my dear?
Oh shut up you.
Don't worry about that, just my own personal pain-in-the-ass talking.
Ebb and flow. Light and Dark. Good and Evil. Life and Death.
For one thing, there is almost always another in return. What was that physics thingy again?
For every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Why thank you. Yes, that's it.
So why did I mention it?
God is good. The devil is evil. That's how it goes, yes?
But what if I said, that's just FREAKING NATURAL, YOU DUMMY!!!
*gets pelted by rotten eggs*
Thanks.
What would Light be without Darkness? In the absence of Light, Darkness would rule supreme, yes? But if you never knew what Light was in the first place, then how would you recognise Darkness as dark?
Same goes for Good and Evil. Heck, for a simpler analogy, let's use temperature.
Imagine this. You live in a place where the temperature is constantly at 40 degrees Celsius for all your life. You have never known anything different. So to you, 40 degrees Celsius is "normal" temperature. It's not too much, nor too little. You can't even conceive of any other temperature since that's all you know.
Yes that's an impossible scenario in real life, but it was just an analogy to get the point across.
So what's to say that God is good? What is good anyway? What does it mean?
If we save the lives of a 100 people by sacrificing one person, is that good?
Yes, for the greater good. Net benefit. What is one life compared to a 100?
But the very term of "greater good", and "net benefit" suggests some form of addition and subtraction. Evidently, the sacrifice is not good, but saving more lives is even better right? So it cancels the whole thing out.
But be honest now. We might want it to work that way, but we know it doesn't. Just because everyone agrees that sacrificing one to save a hundred is a greater good doesn't make the sacrifice a "good" thing.
It's still bad, but it had to be done. Familiar line isn't it?
As I recall, YOU used it often enough.
What my annoying alter-ego said. I'm not a saint. I'm human. I'm flawed. We try and try, but we make mistakes.
No I'm not making excuses for myself. I have done many things that didn't conform to conventional morality. I have done the most idiotic things. And I paid the price. Isn't that the way it works? Self-recrimination doesn't help, nor does blame-shifting.
I am human. We are all human.
God is perfect. We are not.
So why don't we just leave him alone and try making ourselves a little less flawed?
Always the optimist...hey wait, that's NOT normal! Who the heck are you?!
That's for me to know and for you to found out.
]
God out of the machine.
A man-made god.
Technically, deus ex machina is a dramatic device in the theatre. Rising out of the ground like a god. It's a mechanism that is almost cliched.
But it makes you think doesn't it?
Did God make Man, or did Man make God?
What is God? What does it mean?
Is God a being at all?
Judaism, Christianity and Islam have a vision of a loving Father, the mighty Creator and omniscent, omnipotent figure.
But is it so simple?
If anything at all were that powerful, why do the things it did? Why create flawed humans? Why create flawed life?
One might argue that Satan corrupted mankind by tempting the first humans to take the forbidden fruit of knowledge.
But then, think of this. Why couldn't mankind handle knowledge? God himself obviously knows about Good and Evil, but yet he is still good...well, depends on how you define that but that's what the orthodox explanation is.
Evidently, mankind was flawed. Well, one can argue that we were made from dust and that's why we couldn't be perfect. But why use dust then?
Trust God. Put your faith in him. Don't question His decisions; and definitely don't try to understand them, since it might split your brain in half.
That's what they all say, isn't it?
Look at this. God is capable of jealousy. God is capable of anger. He is capable of love. And he can forgive.
Funny how humans resemble Him. Well, we were supposed to be made in his image, so that isn't much of a surprise.
But by having all these emotions, isn't God as flawed as the rest of us?
Before you people start looking for firewood and lighting the torches, hear me out.
Emotions are a strange thing. Humans are capable of great things when spurred on by emotions. We can achieve things beyond our normal potential when we are given enough incentive to do so, like love or even hatred.
However, emotions can also cripple a person. We are left unable to deal with certain issues when crushed by grief or consumed by fury.
Well, God is perfect right? He knows how to control emotions....really?
*can hear ppl crying out BLASPHEMY!!!!*
Personally, I don't think of God as a being.
No, I'm not denying the existence of God. I just don't think he exists the way we think he does.
Humans are egoistic. Up until about 400-500 years ago, humans still thought that they were the center of the universe. Naturally we would think that if there were a God, He would naturally have made us like Him. It would only be right.
But isn't God the Lord of the Universe and of all Life? Just because (we think) we are the only sentient creatures on this dirt ball known as Earth, it doesn't make us that special. Life is life, IQ and self-awareness or not.
Yes yes, the Bible says quite clearly that man were made in the image of God. But hello, who wrote that?
I know the Bible is the Word of God, but it does have to be filtered through humans hands, doesn't it? Yes, they might have been divinely inspired, so to speak, but Mankind's egoism has been around for ages. I wouldn't be surprised if the writer chose to interpret certain things differently.
It's happening even now. Translators interpret the original text differently based on their experiences and biases. Everyone is biased to a certain degree. Even if we all know the same language, the way we read the meanings of certain phrases or sentences may differ.
How does one translate the language of the heart as given to you by God into the flawed language made by equally flawed humans? Language is definitely not enough. It simply is too limited, because in part human imagination is limited by our lack of mental perfection.
So what is God?
I believe in God as an awareness, not as something with an actual physical form. Of course, if God is as powerful as everybody says He is, He obviously can take physical form if He wants to. And to avoid freaking His creations out, I think He would take a form that wouldn't shock them to death at first sight. Basically, as human, if he so wishes.
How to put it? I don't believe in God as the way the major religions of the world views Him. What kind, loving father? God, for lack of a better term to describe this higher entity, has its own agenda. Who knows why we are created? I certainly don't, for I'm as human as the rest of you...
Personally she's not really sure about that anymore. Isn't that true my dear?
Oh shut up you.
Don't worry about that, just my own personal pain-in-the-ass talking.
Ebb and flow. Light and Dark. Good and Evil. Life and Death.
For one thing, there is almost always another in return. What was that physics thingy again?
For every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Why thank you. Yes, that's it.
So why did I mention it?
God is good. The devil is evil. That's how it goes, yes?
But what if I said, that's just FREAKING NATURAL, YOU DUMMY!!!
*gets pelted by rotten eggs*
Thanks.
What would Light be without Darkness? In the absence of Light, Darkness would rule supreme, yes? But if you never knew what Light was in the first place, then how would you recognise Darkness as dark?
Same goes for Good and Evil. Heck, for a simpler analogy, let's use temperature.
Imagine this. You live in a place where the temperature is constantly at 40 degrees Celsius for all your life. You have never known anything different. So to you, 40 degrees Celsius is "normal" temperature. It's not too much, nor too little. You can't even conceive of any other temperature since that's all you know.
Yes that's an impossible scenario in real life, but it was just an analogy to get the point across.
So what's to say that God is good? What is good anyway? What does it mean?
If we save the lives of a 100 people by sacrificing one person, is that good?
Yes, for the greater good. Net benefit. What is one life compared to a 100?
But the very term of "greater good", and "net benefit" suggests some form of addition and subtraction. Evidently, the sacrifice is not good, but saving more lives is even better right? So it cancels the whole thing out.
But be honest now. We might want it to work that way, but we know it doesn't. Just because everyone agrees that sacrificing one to save a hundred is a greater good doesn't make the sacrifice a "good" thing.
It's still bad, but it had to be done. Familiar line isn't it?
As I recall, YOU used it often enough.
What my annoying alter-ego said. I'm not a saint. I'm human. I'm flawed. We try and try, but we make mistakes.
No I'm not making excuses for myself. I have done many things that didn't conform to conventional morality. I have done the most idiotic things. And I paid the price. Isn't that the way it works? Self-recrimination doesn't help, nor does blame-shifting.
I am human. We are all human.
God is perfect. We are not.
So why don't we just leave him alone and try making ourselves a little less flawed?
Always the optimist...hey wait, that's NOT normal! Who the heck are you?!
That's for me to know and for you to found out.
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