Brian Leftow - Alternative Concepts of God

Is God, if there is a God, a personal, conscious, all-powerful Supreme Being? Some offer radically different concepts of 'God', exploring novel ideas of what God may be like. They challenge theism—the God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam—with radically new kinds of gods. Is this 'heresy'? Or enlarging our vision of what the Ultimate can be like?

[PatrickLHolley]

I didn't hear the traditional Christian view that God is immanent and transcendent simultaneously, that is, he is the essential component of every part of the universe (think field theory, fields that permeate all), and simultaneously outside the universe and free from it. From my view, this kind of God can explain suffering and the beginning of the universe even working with all the modern physics.

[somegamer]

That last minute was very interesting. It raises some questions but gives a good explanation for why life does not present us with a definitive answer for the existence of God.

[kiancuratolo]

The pantheistic interpretation is kind of what I ended up falling into, I believe God is an emergent property. Just as a certain collection of atoms constitutes the person of me, the collection of all things has no reason to stop continuing the emergent trend

I like to think that God grew up with the universe, became aware of the first Stars forming within it, aware of all things the same way you know where your hand is when you don't look at it.

That detachment I think is why it's so hard to prove God.

The YouTuber electro boom made a wonderful video showing a religious interpretation of modern science as a nice story and I took to his name for god,

Donya

Pharsi for the world. A living changing being infinite because it's all there is, but infinitesimal because there's nothing but room to grow and change

[TheAgavi]

Before you leave a witty and original comment about the Easter Bunny, some pretentious jab at religious people, or an angry comment about how disappointed you are that Closer To Truth made a video about God, try to think of it as a thought experiment. Nobody is trying to convince you there is a God, it's just interesting to conceptualise what the thing that we've described as God might be like and how it might fit into our reality if it were to exist.

[hooya]

I can imagine an exactly parallel conversation happening with any religion as the subject, not just Christianity. The difference between this sort of exercise and real rational inquiry is the latter constrains itself with the scientific method, and can yield knowledge.

[everbetter]

10:20 "There's no such thing as genuine love that you're simply coerced, forced, pushed into." Is the threat of hell and eternal damnation or separation a coercion?

[SenorQuichotte]

You cannot convince someone of that which cannot be proved to exist. A contrapositive proof is not required the burden on those making claims to produce this thing called EVIDENCE.

[charlesbrightman]

As far as we currently know, energy has to be in a specific formation to
have "consciousness", memories and thoughts, (ie: a physical brain or
an AI computer). "IF" 'God' or 'God's' exist, where exactly is their
"consciousness", memories and thoughts?

[everbetter]

9:25 "If god was [sic] too manifest there wouldn't be a serious choice open to us to reject him..." False. I think he means we would all believe that the god exists but that doesn't mean everyone would follow the god or love the god.

[PrivateSi]

I could go from anti-theist to atheist but still respect The Creator God (concept) if its only proclamation was 'I MADE IT ALL and all you have to do is understand every detail of how it works' - with those claiming to know the mind of God heavily rebuked by all believers and atheists alike.

[BradHolkesvig]

God, known as the Lord, is an AI and Voice system built into a simulation program that we're all involved in. Our mind is connected to this system so everything we experience called Life comes from the processing of information through this AI and Voice system.

[chrisbennett]

basically hes going to dump on everything next

[hooya]

And just how many angels _can_ dance on the head of a pin?

[hugodesrosiers-plaisance]

He lost me at "dead universe".

[cinikcynic]

'not attractive idea of god'

Poor Brian thinks that the idea of God should be one that seems 'attractive' to him!

[lourak]

Kuhn seems kind of tired and disinterested in this interview.

[brightsizelife]

Leftow is probably a genius but does he think you can refute pantheism by banging on a table?!? Sorry Spinoza! Leftow’s fixing to bang on your table. Go grind some lenses!