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This website is being renovated throughout 2008. Pages and the content of pages will continue to change until the end of the year and there may be some inconsistencies and missing links. Please do not quote from or link to specific pages (apart from the home page) without contacting the webmaster first. This section examines the meanings of words used in discussing god, faith and religion on this site and elsewhere. Words and definitions here are updated intermittently. Definitions of
agnostic An agnostic does not know whether God exists. atheism Recognition that the universe we live in is subject to unchangeable laws of physics and that nothing exists which is superior to those laws. An atheist is a person who accepts those facts. An alternative definition of atheism is lack of belief in the existence of God or gods. belief / believers On Gwbaa, belief refers to acceptance of the idea that there is a god or gods. Believers are people who hold that belief. CE (Common Era) The secular dating system that replaces AD (Anno Domini = "in the Year of the Lord"). 1 CE = AD1; 2008 CE = AD 2008. BCE (Before Common Era) is equivalent to BC (Before Christ). conspiracy theory The idea that those in official authority or with hidden power are conspiring to hide a vast, nefarious plan from the rest of the world. Conspiracy theories include: • aliens from other worlds regularly visit earth • the US government carried out the 9 / 11 terrorist attacks • Queen Elizabeth and other world leaders are really lizards from another planet Conspiracy theories provide evidence to support their case, although that evidence falls apart under close examination (see All the evidence). Conspiracy theories also fail the Occam's Razor test - they contradict basic common sense and create more problems than they solve. While most people who examine conspiracy theories quickly see that they are false, a minority hold onto these ideas tenaciously. Such irrationality verges on paranoia and / or reflects a psychological need to feel special ("I am one of a small select band which knows The Truth"). Creationism The belief that the universe was created by God as described in the Bible. Creationism rejects the extensive evidence underlying evolution. (Some Muslims also accept Creationism, although they may reject some parts of the Bible.) Intelligent Design is a variant of Creationism Q: Is Creationism science? A: No, because it does not meet the criteria that define science. See here. For a further critique of creationism, read here. Deism The idea that the universe was created by a god who has no other involvement in it. The Deist God does not perform miracles, does not intervene in human affairs, does not expect worship and does not judge humanity after death. Although many American Christians claim that their country was founded as a Christian state, many, if not most, of the Founding Fathers, were Deists. deity An abstract term for God. doctrine An official teaching of a religion. For example, Roman Catholic doctrine includes the assertion that the Jesus' mother lived her life free of sin. Protestant doctrine on Mary is limited to stating that she was a virgin when she conceived the son of God. Similar to dogma - see below dogma A belief or code of beliefs or collection of doctrines that defines a religion. The Roman Catholic church sees dogma as infallible (never wrong) and unchangeable, while doctrine may change over time. evolution The process by which life has developed over billennia from single-celled organisms into the complex life-forms we see today. Although some elements of evolution are not clearly understood, the general principle - that heritable mutation within supportive environments leads to more complex biological systems - is accepted by all serious scientists. For a beginner's guide to evolution, click here. faith On Gwbaa "faith" only refers to an individual's belief in the existence of (a) god(s); someone who believes in God or gods has faith. Others use "faith" as a synonym for religion but that definition is avoided here. god A conscious being that is not constrained by the physical laws of the universe. On Gwbaa "God" (with a capital) refers to the idea that there is only one such being (monotheism) while god(s), without a capital, refers to belief systems with more than one such being (polytheism). Is God immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing? That depends on your faith. To investigate God further, click here Intelligent Design A variation of Creationism that asserts that some phenomena in nature cannot be the result of evolution and can only be explained by a hypothetical designer. Intelligent Design does not explicitly refer to God or the Bible. ID's only argument is that some phenomena, such as the human eye or bacterium flagellum, are irreducibly complex - they could not have evolved and can only have been created "ready-made" by a designer. However, scientists have proved that all examples put forward by ID are not irreducibly complex but could have - and almost certainly did - evolve. In other words, an intelligent designer is not required to explain the origin of species. For some reason, proponents of ID are reluctant to accept that proof... knowable (Relating to God) can be experienced. A knowable god can be experienced directly. Most Christians believe that God is knowable. An unknowable god cannot be experienced directly. Some Christians, most Jews and most Muslims believe that God is unknowable. Hindus believe that Brahman, the ultimate manifestation of God is unknowable but lesser gods, who manifest some aspects of Brahman, are knowable. The question arises: if God is unknowable, how do we know he exists? For more discussion on that, read here. meaning Purpose or intention. Both purpose and intention imply the existence of conscious being that determines them. Thus the phrase "the meaning of life" suggests both a. life has a purpose, and b. something conscious - God, ourselves, something else - created that purpose. Meaning is a human concept that only applies to human actions. Natural phenomena - the sea, plants, insects, animals etc - have no meaning. For more discussion of "The Meaning of Life", click here. moral / morality Defining right / good and wrong / bad / evil and acting in accordance with what is right / good. Morality is a human concept that only applies to human actions. Natural phenomena - the sea, plants, insects, animals etc - have no morality. For more discussion of morality, including the idea that our moral values come from God, see Defining morality natural laws Natural laws, also known as physical laws, are scientific laws such as "water boils at 100 degrees celsius at sea level", "e=mc2", "water is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atoms" etc. Natural laws are constants in the universe which have been deduced from repeated observation and experimentation and occur in every circumstance in which the predetermined conditions have been met. Natural laws exist without human observation. Our understanding of natural laws changes as our ability to observe and interpret different phenomena improves. Disagreements between scientists and others over certain natural laws, such as the conditions which led to the origin of the universe, do not mean that those laws are flawed or some phenomena in the universe did or do not obey natural law; they only mean that our understanding of those natural laws is still uncertain. premises Preconditions / suppositions / propositions for a debate. The premises are the basic information which everyone discussing the issue agrees. rationales & reasons Rationales are false reasons. John, an alcoholic, tells himself that he is going into a bar because it is raining. John's rationale for going into the bar is because it is raining. John's reason for going into the bar is because he needs a drink. When you have decided what the answer is and look for arguments to support that answer, you are rationalizing. Most believers decide that God exists and then look for arguments to prove that they are right. They are rationalizing. When you do not know the answer, but you follow the facts and logic and see where they lead you, you are reasoning. Most atheists start off with an open mind about God (many actually believe in him), but are led by facts and logic to conclude that he does not exist. They are reasoning. People frequently use rationales and rationalization to hide truths from ourselves and from others. Often we are not aware that we are rationalizing. Children are not taught the difference between rationalization and reasoning - which explains why many adults have difficulty understanding the difference between the two. religion On Gwbaa, "a religion" (with article) refers to a shared belief in God as described by specific scriptures and celebrated in group ceremonies. Roman Catholicism is a religion; Islam is a religion; Buddhism is a religion; etc Most religions involve some or all of the following elements: • belief in the existence of one or more supernatural beings • stories with miraculous elements • rituals, prayers and sacrifices • a moral code • experience of the supernatural • a sense of community The relative importance given to each of these elements varies from religion to religion and from individual to individual. On Gwbaa "religion" (no article) refers to all religions and all belief in God or gods. science Science is not knowledge; it is a system of acquiring knowledge. The components of the system are: a. observation of a phenomenon b. creation of a hypothesis - an explanation for the phenomenon which predicts the same result in every identical circumstance c. testing of the hypothesis if the hypothesis fails (the result is not as predicted in every identical circumstance) create a new hypothesis d. if the hypothesis makes accurate predictions accept the hypothesis as fact. For example, observe rainfall. Create a hypothesis to explain it - rain is caused by a supernatural being. Test the hypothesis - does prayer to the supernatural being invariably lead to rainfall? If the hypothesis fails (no, prayer does not invariably lead to rainfall), try another hypothesis - rain is caused by a buildup of moisture in clouds. Test that hypothesis - measure air pressure, humidity, windspeed etc. If the hypothesis makes accurate predictions, accept it as fact - rain is caused by a buildup of moisture in clouds. For the relationship between facts, knowledge and science, read here. scripture On Gwbaa "scripture(s)" refers to writing which people believe represent the word or will of God. They include the Bible and Koran. why "why" has two different meanings: (i) what caused the action? (cause and effect) (ii) what is / was the intended result of the action? (intention) The answer to (i) begins "because"; the answer to (ii) begins "to". Compare the two answers to the question "Why did she go the store?" (i) because her mother told her to. (ii) to buy candy. Now consider the question "why does it rain?" and two possible answers: (i) because moisture builds up in the clouds. (ii) to water the plants. The first answer makes sense, because it is a cause and effect. The second answer is false, because it suggest intention and intention implies a consciousness. The clouds, water and rain are not conscious. Rain does not fall because it wants to water plants. The fact that plants grow is incidental to the falling of rain. Beware of "why" questions when discussing nature and God. They can be misleading; by suggesting intention and consciousness where there is none, they can needlessly suggest the existence of God. 
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If God existed, he would... admire the beauty of a universe that he did not create recognize that eternity is meaningless deny both heaven and hell disown all men and women who speak in his name denounce the harm caused by religious "morality" help the human race to thrive without him If God existed, he would be an atheist.
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