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Dear Yuyutsu,

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You wrote :

« Description?? I would be stupid indeed to attempt to describe God when the human mind cannot even begin to imagine Him(/Her/It) »
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Well, I’m afraid that is exactly what you did, Yuyutsu - perhaps unwittingly - when you declared in your previous post :

« God Himself/Herself has no shape or form or gender … »

I don’t know where you got that information from. You did not quote your source. But it is definitely a description of some sort.

If you consider that it is impossible to describe “God”, then I think it would be better to simply say that you do not know anything about him/her : who he is, how he is, where he is, why he is, or even if he is … same thing for her, if he is a she – though you indicated in your previous post - somewhat confusedly - that « God Himself/Herself has no … gender » !

Now (in your latest post), you state that « the human mind cannot even begin to imagine Him(/Her/It) » !

How right you are, Yuyutsu. I couldn’t agree with you more !

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We can't be sure of the gender of posters here but have their posts as evidence that someone is active . Apart from appearance some info can be drawn including the electrical grid resembling Spirit used by the maker of information .

Dear Banjo,

>>Indications are that it is simply turning away from religion and placing its faith in its own capacity to face-up to reality and forge a safe and pleasant future for its future generations, with confidence.<<

You make me nostalgic, because this is exactly what I learned at school in Stalinist Czechoslovakia some seventy years ago. Perhaps related to this is the fact that some of the most vociferous defenders of "our Christian heritage" against islamisation can be found among Czechs and East Germans, who have the highest proportion of atheists in Europe. They namely know the difference between Christian religion (that they can live with) and a post-Enlightenment civilisation begot by Christianity (that they want to defend), but they do not see a similar distinction in Islam.

Anyhow neither you nor I will live to see how Western Europe will look in a century or so, i.e. which one of us was right in our prophecies.

Dear Banjo,

I think we discussed this already:

While no positive description of God is possible, one can still state what God is not.

Regarding where I got the "information", I infer it because it would simply constitute a logical contradiction if we attempted to attribute God with any qualities, including gender, shape, form, or even existence.

While it is possible to know God, it is impossible to know ABOUT God, since knowledge can only be obtained about objects, which God is not.

Now you agree with me that the human mind cannot even begin to imagine God. Great - but that is not to say that it is not worth the effort to try anyway. If you try, then instead you get gods and goddesses (with a small 'g', yes we already concluded that they are figments of your imagination) and worshipping them can still be a worthwhile and powerful technique because they serve as a focal point to direct your love and devotion to God toward and to turn your attention away from the temptations of the world.

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Dear George,

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You wrote :

« You make me nostalgic, because this is exactly what I learned at school in Stalinist Czechoslovakia some seventy years ago. Perhaps related to this is the fact that some of the most vociferous defenders of "our Christian heritage" against islamisation can be found among Czechs and East Germans, who have the highest proportion of atheists in Europe. They namely know the difference between Christian religion (that they can live with) and a post-Enlightenment civilisation begot by Christianity (that they want to defend), but they do not see a similar distinction in Islam »
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Yes, I can understand that and appreciate what you are saying. You will recall that I responded to your previous remark : “… if a culture sees its own religious roots as merely figments of imagination …”, by commenting as follows :

« Those in the West who see “God” (rather than their “religious roots”) as a figment of the imagination, are turning away from religious practice altogether »

The distinction between non-belief in the concept of “God” and the reality of one’s “religious roots” is paramount. Religion is a fundamental element of the culture of most, if not all, of humanity – including the most fervent atheists. Religion and what humanity considers to be “natural law” (the law of nature), have largely contributed to our social mores and laws.

We can reject the concept of “God”, but the only way to completely reject religion is to refuse to respect the rules of society (with the risk of ending-up in jail) – either that, or extract ourselves from society and live the life of a hermit, in total seclusion.

Life in society, in itself, is a form of religious practice. Society has assimilated religion and all law-abiding and respectable citizens live by it. Those who do not, live in a parallel world, outside of mainstream society – at their risk and peril.

In fact, life in society is, for some people (including some ardent church-goers), the only really true religious practice !

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(Continued …)

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(Continued …)

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As for the Czechs and East Germans, defenders of "our Christian heritage", who you indicate are against Islamisation, I see that, according to Wikipedia :

« Religious conversion has little impact on Muslim population, since the number of people who convert to or leave Islam are roughly equal ». Here is the link :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_religion

If this is, indeed, the case then, like El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, in the 17th century, it would seem they are fighting windmills – unless, of course, like the rest of the civilised world, they are not fighting Islamisation, but radical (or should I say “political”) Islam which, I think we all agree, would be perfectly justified.

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