Atheists' practical interpretation of religious terms
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 975
Hi, this is for atheists. What are your interpretations, if any different from mines, for what theists mean in practical terms when they say stuff like 'God', 'God's mercy', 'make it your aim that Christ live in you', 'Christ is the fountain of life', 'may God guide you' and all other things like these. (feel free to give other examples)
If anything I'll just contribute with my own views. I think this may be common sense but IMO the term God is an abstraction of all of nature in a 'what-happens-had-to-happen' way which can be very helpful to promote acceptance of 'disasters' and bad things in general.. 'God's mercy' would basically mean that Nature/the Universe/whatever, as your creator, doesn't judge your for your actions because it simply doesn't care/it doesnt make any difference.
and for Jesus I think its obvious that it means Love and the benefits of living in a loving and caring way
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 19,742
I think the concepts of God, spirits, demons, etc, have been used as metaphors for virtually everything at some time or another.
I think God and Jesus mean different things to different people in different situations, so context is everything in how I interpret these phrases.
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 6,488
Why do you think it's necessary to have a set interpretation for phrases applicable to all theists in all situations?