Any theist believes God exists, just as any atheist believes God does not exist. Both individuals share a concept; otherwise they are talking past one another. Every human concept is a human creation, and since words are used to express concepts, every word in any human language is a human creation. What follows from all this is a resounding affirmation that “Yes, human beings invented the concept of God.” Human beings also invented the concept of a tree, but of course they did not invent trees. So, human beings invented the concept of God, but they did not invent God any more than they invented trees. Some concepts lack a reference in reality, and this is established by considering the evidence. Whether the concept of God lacks such a reference is controversial. Even some serious theologians believe the human concept of God is inadequate to the reality they believe in.
Kenneth
Essays by Month
-
Recent Essays
- Polygamy versus Polyandry
- The Essences of Prayer
- Questioning Salvation
- A Minority View
- Most Assuredly a Curse
- All Are Okay
- It Depends
- Policies Should Evolve
- Reincarnation
- Too Much Money
- Both Are Vital
- Godless Items
- My Heresies
- A Gift
- The Defenseless Theist
- Nothing is Unforgivable
- Contemporary Prophets
- Enhance Social Involvement
- Learn From It!
- A Truly Nasty Person
- A Bird in the Hand …
- A Dark Vision
- Life’s Intrinsic Values
- Imminent Death
- The Argument From Design
- The Young Jesus
- Self-Knowledge
- No More War
- No Single Role
- God’s Pick
- A Mistaken Assumption
- Two Queries
- Fear Not Death
- The Cult of the Market
- Variable Religious Responsibility
- Inappropriate Gratitude
- A Thirst For Religious Knowledge
- Try Something New
- Secular Meditation
- Consider the Evidence
- The Sources of Life Satisfaction
- Prayer & Meditation
- God Talk
- Some Religions Promotes Wealth
- Harry Confronts Evil
- A Phony Choice
- A False Dichotomy
- Joyful Engagement
- No Love & No Hate
- No Taxes = No Politics
- “God will provide”
- The Occult Reported
- Multiple Possible Causes
- It Depends …
- God Is Both
- Lost Serenity
- The Religious Poor
- Violent Sects
- Secular Virtues?
- Unmarried Sex
- Blessed Silence
- False Religions
- Language Askew
- A Dubious Generality
- A Faulty Assumption
- Holy Foods
- Secular Trends
- Absolutely Not!
- Religious Flux
- Rules Rule
- Tough Choices
- Justified Fear
- Tears of Joy?
- Yes & No
- Conditions on Friendship?
- The Stillness of Meditation
- Parsing Piety
- Hell Yes
- Spiritual Alzheimers
- A Vexed Issue
- Deist or Theist
- It Is Neither
- An Open Question
- Parental Influence
- Mercy: No Cure All
- Confusions About Neutrality
- The Eye of the Needle
- The Relativity of Kindness
- Distinct Divinities
- Why We Err
- An Agnostic’s Position
- A Ban Achieves Little
- Approaching Death
- Pro Education about Religion
- An Open Question
- Avoid the Doctrinaire
- Conflicting Beliefs
- Goodbye, Joe
- Hell Denied
- Time’s Puzzle
- Veiled Liberty
- Literal Texts
- My Unhappiness
- Sin Requires a Deity
- Spiritual Irritants
- Religion Not a Panacea
- Who Knows?
- A Middling Sin
- Divine Law in Flux
- Views of Jesus
- No Necessary Standards
- Universal Liberty
- Complicated Desires
- Denying Evil
- Assuredly Imperfect
- Divine Dress Codes
- Naked Is Good
- Spiritual Alzheimers
- The Perplexity of Death
- Religion Won’t Matter
- Elusive Truth
- Parsing Pornography
- A Religious Dilemma
- No Programmed Belief
- A Scary Prospect
- Intellectual Sloth
- Religion In Flux
- The Puzzle of Miracles
- Water Rites
- Names & Their Power
- Is God Listening?
- Don’t do it!
- It Depends
- Parental Challenges
- Time’s Perplexities
- Religion, Gender & Surveys
- Unfree Speech
- Religious Fanaticism
- “Dukkha” & the Grim Reaper
- A Philosopher’s Resolution
- The Blame for Ebola
- Critiques of the Curia
- A Cultural Lag
- Unethical Bankers?
- A God Beyond Belief
- Not God’s Doing
- Evil Is Real
- A Vexing Question
- An Uncaring God
- Dropouts
While we may have empty concepts, the ones which have a reference in reality cannot be called so, but can be called fulfilled concepts. Either a concept is empty or else it is fulfilled. Since it is the case that only those concepts with a reference in reality can be called fulfilled, then mustn’t it be that a concept of God is empty in the same way that a concept of Pegasus is empty since no fulfilling reference in reality exists? Furthermore, should literature which attests to the existence of God not be accepted as a sufficient condition of a reference in reality because literature attesting to the existence of Pegasus also exists?
Hello Dr. Lucey I’m in your Philosophy 323 class and I’m a theist. Reading this prompt I found it interesting that you made the comparison of the concept of God to the concept of a tree. This comparison makes it easy to understand and grasp the idea of God, because the concept of God can be overwhelming and vague, by essentially “dumbing it down” leaves room for non-philosphers like me, to debate and argue about the concept of God. When I’m amongst Atheist individuals it’s hard to explain why I’m a theist and by using this comprising I believe it’ll make for a stronger argument. I’ve felt the presence if God before, and I remember the first time I experienced His presence when I was at church camp when I was around the age of 10. I was in a prayer group and started speaking in tongs. At that point my reality was shattered by the overwhelming and powerful presence of Him. I don’t really think too deeply about the concept of God, rather I just believe that He is there and He is a concept of my reality.