The biggest problem I have with claims about god, is the vagueness of the word god. It seems nearly everyone has their own idea what this word means. So unless I'm told what it is someone is claiming, how can I give them a sensible reply about whether I believe them? I consider the word so meaningless that it requires a specific definition at the beginning of any discussion. Another important factor that people overlook is whether what they describe is even possible. Just because you can put something into words, it doesn't mean you are talking about is actually something that could exist in reality. 

 

Below are the trends I have noticed in people's definitions of god. Note that the definition can overlap between the categories, being combined in almost any way. Whether the result is coherent is up to the person to justify!

 

Trivial definitions

 

Some people define god in what I call a trivial way. They label something that clearly does exist as "god". For example, they may say that the sun is god. They may say that humans are gods. Or they might label the universe, or "everything" as god. For all of these cases, the use of the word god is meaningless in my opinion. You are applying an extremely vague and suggestive word to something we already understand and have a better name for. And of course, if they claim that a "god" like this exists, then I would accept this claim. I would be a theist in regard to this type of trivial "god". The most popular of these trivial definitions seems to be pantheism, that the universe is god, or god is in everything, or god is everything. I have no idea what the point of this is, it seems like a way of slipping in something seemingly mysterious that you want to be true, a god, into something for which you don't have to provide any further proof of. However, I think it's fairly harmless.

 

Creator definitions

 

Now I move on to the most common type of definition of "god". God is seen as some sort of entity that created our universe, or our reality. Personally, I would just stop there. I would refer to this potential entity as "The Creator". But most people add extra descriptions to it. These are usually such notions as all powerful )omnipotent) and all knowing (omniscient) . Sometimes all "good" too (omnibenevolent). I don't know why people think that just because something may have created our reality, it also has to have unlimited power. Where does this idea come from? Because it can do one task, it can do anything? Sure, creating a reality may seem impressive to us, but in whatever reality the creator inhabits, it may be a run-of-the-mill action. Once these extra powers have been added to The Creator, then it is normally promoted to being called a god. This then leads on to various possibilities:

 

• A god that created our reality, but does not or cannot interact with it after its creation. People who believe in such a god are called deists, a subcategory of theists.

• A generic god that interacts with our reality.

• A specific god that correlates to a holy book such as The Bible or The Quran. Normally such a god is considered to also interact with reality. 

 

Bizarre definitions

 

Almost always, the definition someone puts forward for god will be a trivial or a creator god. Very occasionally, someone may surprise you with some sort of bizarre definition. This can be almost anything, and very often is wrapped in such confusing and vague language that you have no idea what it is you are being asked to consider.