That point is very important. People in who live in countries that have historically imposed or accepted pretty well universal belief in one of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) often talk as if there is only one well-known entity called <insert deity name here> whom one either believes in or does not believe in.
[...]
[...] A person may feel sure about their received tradition such as the Bible and believe God on that basis. If this path is followed then being sure which description is right would be necessary to believe in God.
[...] Certainly there are religious traditions more widely divergent in understanding than these two . Perhaps they would not all feel comfortable saying God exists but I think there would still be some common ground in back of there divergent views.
Our exchange illustrates an important point: The use of the term 'God' (where capitalisation of the word and the omission of any article suggests we are talking about some single and well-known personal entity like 'Trump' or 'Putin') comes close to committing the logical fallacy known as 'begging the question', i.e. assuming the conclusion in the argument intended to prove the conclusion. But there are, and have been, many people in the world who would react to hearing people talking about 'God' by saying 'what's that?''.
Speaking for myself, I have to say that I find that it is quite hard to get a satisfactory answer to that rather obvious question from people who strongly affirm the position that 'God' exists.
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
Mayan Elephant:
Not only have I denounced the Big Lie, I have denounced the Big lie big lie.
Veritas, rhetorical questions are questions asked to make a point. Are you trying to say that it makes as much sense to believe in the spaghetti monster as it does to believe in God?
Why should you believe in a particular God, of a particular description crafted by other people?
Well, Canpakes, I'm a Latter-day Saint, so the only qualifications I make about the concept of one god in general (who is in control of everything, and therefore I use the capital 'G'), are that said God is good, loves us, and is willing to answer questions we ask Her/Him about Herself/Himself. What are the reasons for not believing in such a deity?
I used to believe in god, but he stopped performing up to his usual standards when he went to the Raiders. That's when Jerry Rice turned mortal.
Some Schmo, at least Jerry Rice is real. When I think of God, sometimes I think of Leto Atreides II, who alas, is fictional. The human race sure needs him, though.
