Would a god have to be omnimax (omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and omnibenevolent) in order to qualify as a god at all?
If it lacks any one of those qualities, how could it be a god?
And since the problem of evil, namely unnecessary evil (you can substitute evil for suffering) does exist, is the agnostic position on god still reasonable?
I guess it depends on the mind set of the follower of that god, I think of them as brainwashed, by family, so called friends, and religious leaders, most are taught that religion is the only truth.
I try not to qualify things as good or evil, I prefer that's F'd up to refer to evil, people have different views of good and F'd up behavior, and that is started by our families, and the way we are raised, good and bad behavior are taught.
Well said...
For me, what makes a god is damage to one's critical thinking. When life becomes so overwhelming that they retreat into a fantasy world of myths, their alternate reality is the surrender of our humanity.
Playing what if God exist is like imagining how fast could I run with 4 legs.
There will be suffering on this world due to floods, famine, disease, murder. There is a 'mystical' side to human behavior; Germans risked their own lives to protect Jews from the Nazi government (going against the instinct of self-preservation). Another example would be a family member or love interest putting themselves in the line of fire of someone with an semi-automatic weapon. This is where we are as a self-aware species. I see no conflict with the humanist, free thinking, agnostic position.
Jimi Hendrix is God!! omg....do I miss that guy, what a genius!!!
If at all a god is really existing, then it makes a God.
I can't imagine a (God), with these qualities of character needing to be worshipped, demanding subsurvience, having jealously like an adolescent, and vengeful. Could go on all day.
I'll take a stab at this. No god does not have to be omnimax. I see the entire universe as one living thing completely connected and interacting as one thing. Each person, planet, solar system is more like a cell in the human body of the universe. God is the entire universe. People are just one part of god, the part that allows a god type thing to know itself. Kinda like the brain allows the person to know it has feet. Just a thought.
Actually I think defining a god is a lot harder than a set of qualities, but also could an event in itself be considered a god?
As long as you can indoctrinate a person into believing and doing things irrelevant of reality, then a god can exist. Gods are purely indoctrination.
The problem is there is no true definition of the term God. Being omnimax is a relatively new concept attributed to gods mainly in the past couple thousand years. Before that the gods of ancient civilizations could be good or evil or all knowing or clueless on certain things or strong or wise. However none usually encompassed everything.
Looking at ancient versions of God's and combined with the more modern versions I'd say the best definition for a god(s) is: An entity considered to have supernatural abilities and worshiped as a deity.
There may be a better definition then mine, and I could detail my definition a bit but for now I think that will suffice enough for the purpose of the question.
The human brain. The need to give an answer to why something happens, without searching for an answer.