Ladies and gentlement, this is a discussion about God, We will not be debating the existence of such a being, that thread can be found here Rather, for argument's sake, we will assume the existence of some supreme being, some divine force- and launch into a philosophical discussion on what the nature of this divinity may be. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on who or what God is. There have been many theories on this divine being, and on its nature and existence, and I will present just a few of them here. For now, I'll simply focus on a few, and give you all the opportunity to either discuss these or present your own. I will not be providing evidence for or against any of the theories- that will be for all of you to do. The Force of Creation One theory takes the stance that God, rather than being a tangible, self-aware being, is simply a great force of creation- it is what embodies life, existence. It is what gives us a drive to life, to survive. It simply is. Human beings occasionally come into direct contact with this incredible force of existence, and in such cases their preimposed expectations might make them see exactly what they desire- A Hindu might see Siva or Brahma. A Muslim will bow down before Allah. A Christian might see God or Jesus, and a Buddhist could experience enlightenment, in the same way that a Greek might see Zeus. Our expectations of who our creator is and of what God is shape what we experience when we come into contact with Creation- a raw, primal energy that births life. By the same vein, another opposing force exists- Destruction. Neither of the two are good or evil by their nature, but as Destruction is frightening to us, we often see it as evil- encounters with demons, with the devil and the like are direct results of our contact with this force. It exists because we will It to. Perhaps one of the more popular theories about divinity, this purports that debating the existence of God is, in a sense, meaningless- God exists because so many people believe so strongly in his existence- they make God real by their beliefs. If no one believed in God, then God as we know it would cease to be real. This theory can serve to explain the existence of many ancient religions- their gods and the like were real to them because they believed so strongly that the gods were real. It could also explain why atheists are seemingly unaffected by 'divine experience'- they disbelieve completely in a god. The 'Creator Race' This theory holds that, rather than being created by some god or some divine being, we were created by an alien race. The technology of this race was such that, although they are not divine in any way, shapem, or form, they appeared as gods and goddesses to us- they possessed, in our eyes, unfathomable power. There should be a rather obvious issue with this theory- if they created us, who created them? The Ascension, or "Circular Time" theory One of the more complex theories of divinity, what I like to term the "Ascension" theory establishes that time, in and of itself, is circular. At the end of existance as we know it, one or more creatures will 'ascend' beyond all boundaries- we will literally move outside of the constraints of the fabric of time, to another, higher plane of existence. In this, we shall move back to time's beginning and proceed to 'create' the universe. An interesting theory, no? God Exists: Ah, what discussion of divinity would be complete without the religious standpoint- God exists as a concrete entity. There's really not much else to this one. ================ There you go. I think I've provided suitable food for thought. Discuss any of the preceding theories as you see fit, or provide us with a few of your own ideas on the divine.