What do you think God is?

[J-Mann]

... if you think there is a God at all, that is.

Growing up in the Midwest (and around those who embrace a literal interpretation of the Bible), God was imagined as some old -- though not infirm -- father figure who ruled in a sky kingdom from a throne. He was human in appearance, masculine in gender and demeanor and wizardly in how he interacted with the human world.

Over time, I started to develop a different view of God (I often told my mother that I'd prefer to think that God was much more of a scientist and much less of a magician than her religion taught her).

That's continued to evolve over time. I'm not religious any more, and even saying I'm "faithful" or "spiritual" would be a stretch. However, I still believe I'm a small part of something much, much bigger.

I'm a believer in the multiverse, in that every possible timeline or permutation of our current universe (far bigger than just Earth) has happened, is happening and will happen, infinitely and eternally. We just happen to live in a single instance of this universe and are experiencing time (which flows in two directions) in only one direction, one quantum frame at a time. But every possible and impossible me exists, as well:

 - I'm the President of the United States
 - I'm a convicted felon spending the rest of my life in prison
 - I'm currently winning a gold medal in the 2024 Olympics
 - I'm hunting the stars of every Bravo show for sport
 - I'm an overweight, unemployed 32-year old from Oklahoma
 - I'm celebrating my 125th birthday
 - I'm already dead ... a trillion times over for a billion different reasons

And I believe there is a wider multiverse -- an infinite number of permutations of "the beginning" that alter our basic laws of physics, from infinitesimally small to wildly different. That layer of the multiverse stretches on infinitely, as well. In some, humanity can exist. In others, it can't. In some, "angels" may be a normal / present species. In others, "demons." Can they access our layer of the multiverse? Who knows ...

So, my belief in something larger is that "God," as it exists, is the embodiment of everything. The smallest quark and the largest galactic supercluster. He ... she ... it is everything, experiencing everything and able to "do" everything.

So, when a Christian says, "Through God, all things are possible," my (admittedly different) belief supports that.

[J-Mann]

What do you think God is?

A joke! *euphoria intensifies*

If I'm being honest, though, I don't believe there is a sentient Supreme Being, and if there is, He/She/It/They have nothing to do with human affairs.

This is a fairly common view amongst non-religious folks, though I disagree with it. In my view of God, that omnipresence permeates absolutely everything, including every single bit of humanity and its interactions. I think God IS humanity. It IS everything and every possibility, therefore meaning that, in the grand scale of an omniverse, all prayers are answered. That's different, however, from divine intervention. It's simply probability masking itself as divine intervention.

[J-Mann]

What do you think God is?

A joke! *euphoria intensifies*

If I'm being honest, though, I don't believe there is a sentient Supreme Being, and if there is, He/She/It/They have nothing to do with human affairs.

This is a fairly common view amongst non-religious folks, though I disagree with it. In my view of God, that omnipresence permeates absolutely everything, including every single bit of humanity and its interactions. I think God IS humanity. It IS everything and every possibility, therefore meaning that, in the grand scale of an omniverse, all prayers are answered. That's different, however, from divine intervention. It's simply probability masking itself as divine intervention.

Hey J-Mann. I'm glad to see one of our best (and underrated!) posters is still active.

That's an incredible way to view existence, and no I'm not "searching"... but out of curiosity, what would you call this philosophy/religion/what have you?

I don't really call it anything. It's just how my mind has carried physics -- known, quantum and theoretical -- forward to an ultimate conclusion. God would be every piece of existence in our universe and every other, and through those infinite existences, it is experiencing everything.

Are you a poster from the "old days" back to join us?

[J-Mann]

Are you a poster from the "old days" back to join us?

I used to post as "Rob." Long story short, the moderators are aware of my situation and hopefully it will be resolved soon.

Thank you for the explanation.

I think I remember .. that's been nearly a decade, though!