in Christian communities, the explanation of God as "a bearded man in the sky" is likely the result of... well... bad theology. i believe it evolved from people trying to explain God to "the uneducated masses", which would explain why it is so baked into Protestant denominations, but practically absent in Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
I don't blame the atheists too much because they genuinely think that's what theists believe.
Maybe preachers should start preaching philosophy first :P
I think the issue is trying to find God through philosophy. Philosophy will only take you as far as an “unknown God”. For us to know much about God it must be because God has revealed it. It’s up to each of us to decide if God has actually revealed himself (as for example many religions contend)
@discreteideas is this in relation to God revealing Himself to us through Christ? i still think there is a case to be made that, this world being His creation, we can find many things about God by studying it, a bit like the theory of Natural theology
@rainight I think we can learn certain limited things from philosophy. But ultimately philosophy will only lead us as far as erecting an altar to an “Unknown God”. If you believe in revelation then it is only through this that we can come to know God. Ironically this is what philosophers would predict: why should humans be able to grasp an infinite God who does not reveal himself?
@vihmu absolutely. God revealed himself through Christ. For philosophers a God who is crucified is absurd. I think I can be quite confident in saying that philosophy alone would never lead you to the cross, which for Christians is the ultimate revelation of who God is
in Christian communities, the explanation of God as "a bearded man in the sky" is likely the result of... well... bad theology. i believe it evolved from people trying to explain God to "the uneducated masses", which would explain why it is so baked into Protestant denominations, but practically absent in Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
what's infuriating to all of this is when fedora atheists use that as an *actual* argument in debates...
I don't blame the atheists too much because they genuinely think that's what theists believe. Maybe preachers should start preaching philosophy first :P
I think the issue is trying to find God through philosophy. Philosophy will only take you as far as an “unknown God”. For us to know much about God it must be because God has revealed it. It’s up to each of us to decide if God has actually revealed himself (as for example many religions contend)
@discreteideas Can't you find God through both? It's not like they're mutually exclusive
@discreteideas is this in relation to God revealing Himself to us through Christ? i still think there is a case to be made that, this world being His creation, we can find many things about God by studying it, a bit like the theory of Natural theology
@rainight I think we can learn certain limited things from philosophy. But ultimately philosophy will only lead us as far as erecting an altar to an “Unknown God”. If you believe in revelation then it is only through this that we can come to know God. Ironically this is what philosophers would predict: why should humans be able to grasp an infinite God who does not reveal himself?
@vihmu absolutely. God revealed himself through Christ. For philosophers a God who is crucified is absurd. I think I can be quite confident in saying that philosophy alone would never lead you to the cross, which for Christians is the ultimate revelation of who God is
@discreteideas i see, that does make sense
This discussion reminded me of 1 Corinthians 1:17-25