Atheists can't hold office in the USA?

Yes, you sort of pick your favorite 'sub-god' - Shiva, Vishnu, etc. and go from there. Oh, that would have to be fun. I don't believe I've every met a fundamentalist christian who even knew what a deist was.JB

Oh, of course it is -- since no other gods exist it's absolutely reserved. I'm sure it must get the same treatment in the Muslim fundamentalist world. I certainly have no position on any debate in this thread beyond my own comments - I truly haven't read the thread, but I DO know that to most fundamentalist Christians, "God" is reserved *solely* for reference to YHWH for what they consider to be inarguable logical reasons.That's 'Murica baby.JBEdited by ThinAirDesigns, : No reason given.

Damn straight.JB

While I likely agree with you on the actual letters "YHWH", I was understanding those letters to represent "Yahweh" who IS widely known and referred to in the fundamentalist communities where I was raised. They most definitely use the word "god" to refer to Yahweh specifically.JB

Better defined questions result in better defined answers. Simple as that. Well said.JB

And with this I also agree. This is why my common response to the question "Do you believe in god?" is "Define your god -- only after that can I rationally assert a position."JB

IMHO, the primary (only?) purpose of language is to accurately update your knowledge to include my position.If I know that you are aware of a word definition that fits my position close enough to satisfy my, I might choose to just use your definition even if it's not my preferred one (because it works, mate!). That doesn't need mean that I must use the exact same word in my next conversation with an entirely different person.Call the space at the rear of a car the "boot" in the US and confusion ensues. Call it a "trunk" in the UK and the same. I just can't figure out what seems to be the problem with allowing for both regional and even individual definitions as long as the particular definition is understood between the parties.JB

"The kindness of the human spirit - the natural desire of humans to do good for one another.", to name just one.Now, I don't find that definition meets MY definition of a god, but it meets theirs and so I can happily answer the question based on their definition. I believe in the kindness of the human spirit and thus I believe in what THEY call god.There are other definitions that involve nature that I could also answer in the affirmative ("Natural beauty is god - it warms me and makes be feel whole.") . Once again, not god to me but to them.I actually know people who give versions of the above.JB

And using their definition that's not a problem now is it? No it wasn't, but that likely gets into definitions as well and you've shown that only your definitions matter to you. Fair enough.Bottom line is this: You apparently feel that the only honest/rational answer is one which forces the questioner to live by your own chosen definitions of words. I don't find that true, useful or productive. As long as they can articulate to me what their definition actually is, I'm usually quite capable of answering their question using their definition. And by holding to the notion that your definitions are the only definitions validly in use, you can maintain that position indefinitely.JB

And this is where you fail to realize and accept that there are MANY dictionary definitions of the word "god". That's demonstrably your problem, not mine.Example:God Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

quote:

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God

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: the perfect and all-powerful spirit or being that is worshipped especially by Christians, Jews, and Muslims as the one who created and rules the universe

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: a spirit or being that has great power, strength, knowledge, etc., and that can affect nature and the lives of people

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: one of various spirits or beings worshipped in some religions

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: a person and especially a man who is greatly loved or admired

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Just the facts. My highlighted definition fits perfectly well with "the kindness of the human spirit" that my friend would use. Oh, absolutely not. Christians of my family would consider those friends of mine demon possessed and those friends would consider my family misguided and abusive. Well, I've established that your assumption leading to this question is false, but as a separate answer to your question: The fundamentalists of my family and friends (and a great swath of the US), wouldn't generally think to use the word "Christ" in place of the word "God". In fact many would even object to it. In their world when one refers to God, one is referring to the Father (of the trinity). Christ is the Son. (No, don't ask me to make sense of their beliefs).JB

It has everything to do with this if you've decided that this this spirit of kindness in humans is "god". Yes, a standard definition of god that can be matched to that spirit. And that's where you'd be wrong because you have NO idea how they might mean if they were to ask me if I believe in Christ. I have a friend believes in Christ but doesn't believe in God. I have a friend who openly idents as a "Christian Satanist" (and not as a joke).You have a VERY small world view of what people might mean when they use the words "Christ" and "God." I personally have found it more productive to not assume I know what a persons choices might be among the myriad of life philosophies and rather ASK them what it is they mean by the labels they apply. If I'm in Trenton, Georgia, I might be able to take a damn good stab at what a questioner might mean by "Christ" ... not so much in Boulder, Colorado or Santa Cruz, California. (and I've spent long periods of time in all three)Your results may vary (whether you admit it or not). I assume you are re-asking your original question from a few posts ago - this one:

quote:

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These people that use these apple pie and motherhood phrases I assume are actually god fearing Christians? Do they never ask you if you believe in Christ?

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The answer is no, they are not Christian and also no, I can't recall any of my friends who claim some version of 'nature' or 'spirit of kindness' as their god asking me if I believed in Christ.I'm done Tangle. Thanks for the exchange. I find your world view on this particular topic to be quite narrow and ignorant, but I'm ignorant on many other topics where you would likely shine so that's no big deal at all. I promise that I agree with much more of what you have written during my time on this thread than I disagree with.Cheers.
JB