how can atheists use the word "god"?

It's easy. They can type it, like this: god

Or they can say it, like this: Voiced palatal stop, semi-open round vowel, voiced velar stop.

 

how can white people say ******?
or straight people say fag?
or or or...


it's a word.

 

I read two pages of this thread.

I feel dumber for it. Goddamnit

 

i think you're confusing "meaning" with value.

the word god has a different value for an atheist than it does for a theist, but the meaning of the term, when used in dialogue between the two, is understood by both.

all words have different values for different people, but the meaning is somewhat more universal. so long as we understand that we use the same basic definition, we can have a debate.

this is how we....like.....use words and stuff.....to talk...or write...

fairly simple stuff, man.

 

The same way theists do, as a blessing, or a curse.

 

Saying god does not exist is not saying theism does not exist. It obviously exists as a concept and therefore, it can be talked about as such. There are plenty of things I don't believe are true, and when discussing them I am assuming that people accept that I am referring to the concept as it is presented and understood.

We are, surprisingly enough, allowed to talk freely about and refer to subjects we do not believe are valid, because the impact of these beliefs can and often do have a direct effect on our lives, and the lives of others.

It seems the OP is trying to use semantics but even that isn't making too much sense.

 

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sarcasm this might clear some of that up for you, OP. Are you religious? If you are then please take note. "God" should be capitalized, for it is a title... or is it a name? wait.. now I'm confused. Oh god.

 

Meaning is not universal.. which is why such words need to be defined.. to have a sensible debate.

God is a word that means many different things to many different people..

Depending on the extent of their reading.. and experience..

The idea that God is a supernatural being.. that is embraced by both atheists and theists.. is the most ridiculous concept.. and has nothing to do with what the Bible teaches. It arose from the error of reading the Bible as a literal account..

When the poet proclaims.. “My love is like a red red rose”.. it would be rather foolish to understand this literally..

For example.. Christian.. “I believe.. with out a doubt in my mind.. that your love looks exactly like a red flower.?

Atheist.. “Show me proof that your love looks like a flower.. if you can’t show me proof then I won’t believe you.”

In both examples the real meaning is lost.. and its all down to not seeing further than a literal understanding.

In the Bible.. the word God.. and the word Devil.. function as symbols.. not nouns..

Symbols.. like E=mc2.. represent either simple or complex ideas..

Not only do we use symbols in physics.. and chemistry.. etc.. we also use symbols to represent the processes going on in our psyche.. i.e - Good and Evil.

We also use symbols to represent concepts of identity.. Like the concept that we ourselves are God.. The god-man concept shared by both Jesus and Nietzsche.. was introduced in the Psalms.. but can be traced even further back.. to the Sphinx symbolism.

It’s also a useful concept when we want to think in terms of Wholeness.. rather than the parts...

“The source and limit and the constitution of ALL things is God. " - Hermes - Corpus Hemeticum


We can use it.. when we have an experience of something greater than ourselves.. either by prolonged meditation.. or due to high doses of magic mushrooms..

I remember taking 500 magic mushrooms in a single night once.. (in stages).. and.. without a doubt.. the most profound experience I have ever had. Such experiences are rare though..

Religion.. like physics.. uses symbols to represent its perceptions..

----

"It is only through the psyche that we can distinguish whether God and the unconscious are two different entities. Both are border line concepts for the transcendental contents. But empirically it can be established, with sufficient degree of probability, that there is in the unconscious an archetype of wholeness which manifests itself spontaneously in dreams, etc, and a tendency, independent of the conscious will, to relate to other archetypes to this center.

Consequently, it does not seem improbable that the archetype produces a symbolism which has always been characterized and expressed the Deity....

The God-image does not coincide with the unconscious as such, but with a special content of it, namely the archetype of the Self. It is this archetype from which we can no longer distinguish the God-image empirically."

Carl Jung - Psychology and Religion: West and East

Note: God-image. . it is from the psychological point of view, a symbol of the Self, of psychic wholeness.

-

 

You mean, like "E=MC^2" ?

 

This question doesn't seem to ask of the entire content of this post and does not contain enough specificity to determine exactly which element of his meaning you are inquiring about.

 

Very true..

When dealing with aspies people need to be clear..

--

“We think in generalities, but we live in detail.”

Alfred North Whitehead

 

I was responding to the part where he said "E=MC2", which is an incorrect equation.

 

Incorrect because? Is it the 2 which should be written as an exponential superscript to indicate "squared"? I suspect this is just a matter of the poster coping with technical problems with his fonts and sizes.

 

It COULD be a matter of poster ignorance. Just sayin.

 

but the real question is how can a religious person use the word atheist?

 

Why not just quietly believe in all of 'em.
That way,when you arrive at the Pearlies,if one/some/all exist,job jobbed.
If non of them exist-no harm done.
Better safe than sorry,eh?

 

But the real question is, how can women use the word "penis?"

 

The same way we use the word "unicorn".

 

You mean like orally?

 

what if every time someone said 'no way jose!!'

a little spanish man somewhere disappears with a puff of smoke?