What would you do if you were granted God like powers for a month?

Suppose that there is a god. And, just like in "Bruce Almighty", god gave you his powers for a month and you were able to do anything that god could do. What would you do with these powers?

Here are the rules:

1)You could not affect another persons free will (i.e you could not control other people directly).

2)You were not omniscient unless you wanted to be. I.E. you would not know the answer to a question unless you asked. For example, you would have to ask specifically, "What is inside a black hole" or "What does Lindsay, the hot office temp, think about me"

3)God would not interfere during your reign, nor would he change things back afterwards.

So what would you do?

within minutes.

with all other religious extremist.

I would only screw things up worse than they are.

...Would be on top of my list for sure!!

J/K anyway, I dont know what I would do.

that was freely available to everyone, as plentiful as air itself.

create a weed that cures every disease.

triple the human lifespan.

double the average iq.

make everyone in the public trust suddenly experience pain proportionate to the lie they just told.

but would you do anything about over-population. If you could cure all diseases and expand life-spans, there are going to be a hell of a lot more people. How would you deal with those problems?

and help someone invent FTL travel.

I was not so worried about overpopulation, as a human being twice as smart as Dubya would always consider contraception as a part of their sexual life.

dont invent ftl travel but just give a planet to each nation to live on.

go the mormon gods route and give everyone their own planet...except do it BEFORE they die! And women get a planet too...and they can fill up with virgin meat puppets...or whatever you prefer!

According to some, that's already been done.
:smoke:

"I was a Liberal, I taught my followers to be Liberal, you people are not following my teachings. Shape up, or you might have to spend eternity with Pat Robertson in Hell."

specifically...
I'd go after that kid from 4th grade who didn't pick me for the dodgeball team

I'd probably start off by increasing my own intelligence
by a factor of a million at least. I'd then replicate
my personality into a massively parallel neural network
that would automatically handle the prayer requests.

I think I'd modify mankind to immediately know, see,
feel and understand how each act affected other living
things. Meat eating might be difficult - and yes, I
like hamburger and fried chicken as much as anyone.

A leader could go to war - but they'd feel the fear,
the pain, and all the rest when they did so. They would
experience it from both sides. I think they would not act
lightly.

Second, I'd cause people to realize that they are more
than their physical bodies - I'd give them the deep
realization that there is more to existence than stacking
up money, or toys, or producing children.

Were I to accomplish that, I think I'd have done a
pretty reasonable job.

1)Ask the question, "Which people, if left alive after my great cleansing, would respect the Earth, teach their children proper respect for the Earth, and would not cause massive suffering in the future"

2) I would then destroy anyone who did not fit that criteria. The Earth would then only have people who are "good and care about the planet, and would know how to raise their children so they would propogate those beliefs" I would then elevate said peoples intellegence and make them rational. I would change the genome so people would not be as aggressive (though this would not violate the free will rule, because I would only ensure the next generation was less aggresive through genetics, not direct changes).

3) I would rid the Earth of all technology save the sorts of technology that help people. All cities would be leveled, and replaced with the nature that was there before. All animals that did not become naturally extinct (were killed by humans) would then be revived. I would make sure the people I left alive would have the knoweledge to create techonology that was clean and efficient, and give them enough food in nature so they did not have to farm or destroy mass amounts of land.

4) I would use my current power to eliminate god. I would ask myself, "How could I get rid of god". If there was anyway to do it, god would be gone and I would assume his position. If I could not eliminate him, I would find another way to stay with the power given to me. If I could not do that, I would give my mortal self great powers that god could not take away

5) I would continue learning what I had to learn, and find other planets where life may have appeared. I would find out, for example, if god did create anything or whether he was a product of the universe as well. If, once I learned everything, and got bored, I would put the universe on automatic pilot and kill myself or turn myself mortal.

you would be a truly terrible god.

But being terrible is part and parcel of being god, right?

Here's hoping you are never entrusted with any power or authority over anyone.

I must admit that since your hateful and murderous fundamentalist deity has done such a bang up job of protecting the planet and the animals and people in it, it would be impossible for any other god to compete.

I've been mostly lurking, but I'm curious about this. I see non-believers talking, angrily, about fundies, the fundie god, etc. I can't figure out who you're talking to. I see liberal believers here. Even the ones I've seen attacked have spoken against homophobia and the like.

So, if you're angry with fundamentalists, why don't you take your anger to a fundamentalist site?

I'm not trying to start a flamewar. I really just don't understand this.

I was responding to one.

Ask him where I'm going when I die.


And, fyi, this is a political forum, anger is what we do.

Using your logic, all pissed off liberals should leave here and post on free republic.



And just to clarify, I wasn't describing a liberal christian's god, just the deity of Captain Tolerance there.

and atheist circle jerks (and for the lurker, there's another one that we get into fights with a lot), "Captain Tolerance" will keep me laughing the rest of the night. Thank you.

:)

on the circle jerk. "Captain Tolerance" is a very apt nickname for some of the folks around here...not to mention effing hilarious.

He has poured His blessings upon us with abundance. The rest is up to us. We are free to choose what to do with them.

By the way, what is a "fundamentalist deity"?

You quoted......<<He has poured His blessings upon us with abundance. The rest is up to us. We are free to choose what to do with them.>>

What are these blessings??? Incurable diseases?....not a human invention.
Tornadoes?.............not a human invention.
Hurricanes.............not a human invention.
Floods.................not a human invention.

These events kill or hurt many INNOCENT folks, folks that probably could contribute to society. Many, probably had a deep faith in God. Also, these events cannot be controlled by humans.

The excuse many Christians will say...."Your reward is in heaven".

That is YOUR interpretation of the Bible. Not all Christians, or anyone else interprets the same as you, or me for that matter.
Not many starving, diseased, innocent children would agree with your quote. Take a trip to your local Children's Hospital and count their blessings.

Ever seen a child, barely living and the mother dead, due to delivery complications, and the mother wouldn't abort, due to religious reasons?

Tell me more about his blessings.

Who's being blessed? Is it the family going to church on Sunday morning, driving BY the homeless???

You are definately a glass-half-empty chap, aren't you? If you can't recognize the bountiful blessings God has poured down upon you, there is not much I can do to help.

You complain about incurable diseases. Who says they are incurable? Lots of diseases that were previously thought to be incurable are now easily curable. God has given us the raw materials and the intelligence to cure diseases.

You complain about the weather. Sheesh! Let me ask you this: If you rail against God on days when there are hurricanes and tornadoes, do you give Him praise on days when the weather is fair? Do you even bother to notice? Do you marvel at the genius of the aquacycle? Or do you take it all for granted? Hurricanes are caused by water, air and heat. Which one of these would you like to do without? I'm guessing none, because all three are necessary for you to go on living. Might I suggest that each of them should be considered a "blessing"?

How about family, friends, a ripe peach, music, fresh air, green grass, the scent of the ocean, the majesty of the mountains, the ability to reason, the moral laws written on your heart? Are these not blessings from God for which you are grateful?

I guess one must "hide their head" from the real world and it's problems, by clinging to an "invisible little friend". Alcoholics and drug addicts tend to escape reality also.

Facing "reality" fixes problems in this world....fantasy is a self-indulgent escape.

have been cured by coming to Christ? (hint: it's more than you can count)

How many have been cured by becoming atheist? (hint: it's shaped like a goose egg)

another need...that's still not facing reality. Maybe these types are "obsessive compulsive disorder" people. Other than that....Atheism can't cure addictions, only the affected can help themselves.

I can sincerely say that I've never needed a drink nor needed or used illegal drugs. I've never felt the need to get high, drunk, stoned, etc. I've been broke, homeless, car-less and just plain destitute. I overcame...by starting to believe in myself. I am now happy and complete.

The message I'm trying to get across to you is...."life is for the taking".
IMO...no higher power gave me anything. I took life "by the balls" and dropped all excuses for my actions. I started helping homeless people find jobs, homes, and human resources. I do know firsthand, how apathetic some big churches are to the needy.

I believe in myself, I blame ME, when I'm wrong....I praise ME, when I do good.

That's quite an accomplishment. That is wonderful that you have put your life back together.

Many people, however, are unable to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. For them to start on the road to recovery, it is necessary to acknowledge that they cannot do it alone. It is in fact one of the 12 steps in AA, as I understand it.

As for your last paragraph, I hesitate to use the word "self-centered," because I don't mean it as an insult, and that term has insulting connotations, but it seems that you are very, shall we say, "self-focused." If that works for you, great, but to me it is a mistaken notion of reality.

until that person loves themself. I know this may sound self-centered, it works for me.
This includes body and mind. I strongly urge balance in every thing we do. When one believes in a deity more than themselves, it's "outta whack". In my life...balance is everything.

Sell it to some poor soul, right?

would it make you feel better if instead of destroying bad people, I tortured them for the rest of existence? Does my mercy give you a bad taste in your mouth? Would that be more comfortable for you? Hmm...thats a thought..maybe some sort of "lake of fire" would work.

Or maybe, if I just sat and twiddled my thumb while people raped the Earth and each other. Or instead of helping the good people who made an effort to save the planet but who didn't believe in me, I would torture those people too. Huh...who to start with....

Edit: I just thought...man, instead of selectiviely destroying people, I should start a huge flood. Then give good people boats...why snap my finger and let my will be done, when I can come up with some Dr. Evil-ish way of doing things that draws out the pain and suffering!

It's a different twist to read your and BMUS posts........quite pro-active instead of reactive.:)

For a start, anyway. :evilgrin:

I would get rid of greenhouse gases, stabilize the planet so that global warming was solved,
I would give mankind the technology to live on the planet and protect the world I built so that
the seas would be clean, the artic would be restored, and the many animals and plants that
depend on a diverse planet would survive. I would help mankind develop the technology to feed
the world in a gentle way. I would give wisdom to the good rulers of the world so they would
have the ability to stabilize the world situation. I would go to Africa and make it once again
an Eden for the people there. I would go to Iraq and restore and heal everyone who has been lost in this horrible war, I would send the soldiers home and heal every broken US soldier.
I would give the good people of the US the wisdom to change things for the better and punish
the wrong doers. I would cure all cancers and HIV.

Heaven is supposed to be a place where we have free will and yet no one comes to harm, right?

Destroy the universe, and bring everyone (including Satan) to heaven. Being an infinitely powerful god, I could figure out how to make it so heaven would never fill up and never become boring.

That's what I'd do.

I have decided to give you my god like powers. You are wiser than I am. Your answer has considerably less genocide than mine!

:)

"you would not know the answer to a question unless you asked"

"What should I do?"
Then I use my God-like wisdom.

Or maybe somebody else has to ask - Is that why you're posting this?

I'd find women willing to have sex with me, and I'd have sex with them. I'd grant myself infinite energy and no tiredness, and I'd have sex for a full month, nonstop.

You'd have to tell me what a dog is and how I'd know if I had dog like powers.

From the answers so far it seems something like rubbing a bottle and getting three wishes - just like in the fairy tales. If that's the case I would first grant myself an infinite number of wishes that would all be fulfilled the way I want them to be fulfilled.


Eileen

My concept of God is different from the one you are using in your opening post, I believe, because I feel there is no seperation between God and each individual-and that includes humans, animals, plants, rocks, cells, molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles. What makes it hard to realize God is always there, a part of everything, are the veils of perception through which we view reality. I do not claim to even begin to understand how God works; I do have a glimmer of how God feels-or how it feels to be God-either way-and when you are in such a state, you simply are.

So what sort of god like powers do we have, exactly. Since you have studied mysticism far longer than I, you must have some sort of power or ability that I do not have. What are these god like powers?

*disclaimer..because of the accusation of "mockings", I add that I am not mocking, but really asking you these questions out of curiosity*

on edit: I can actually lower my heart beat/blood pressure slightly with concentration. Probably not as good as a monk, but my aunt a nurse told me I should be a surgeon.

Can you also stop pain in your body with thought and concentration? That is another step along the way for many. Can you heal others? I know many who can and who are following a mystical path that is not Sufism, but a form of universal Christianity. Can you increase gas mileage, influence the weather, keep a car going when the part that is making it go is actually worn out? Minor things, perhaps, but things that can be done. Can you materialize your heart's desire? That one is easiest if one's desire is to be in Unity with That.

I bring forth these as examples of what can be done. It has to do with being in a certain state, a certain level of concentration. It also has to do with the power of thought of others-healing, for example, cannot be done on one whose mind is made up that they cannot be healed.

if you could prove or even document those claims (except for the blood pressure one - we know that meditation can reduce stress, which in turn lowers blood pressure), you would instantly convert millions of skeptics. (Not to mention win the Randi prize of a million dollars to do with as you see fit.)

I would be particularly interested in seeing how one can increase one's gas mileage (keeping in mind that changing one's driving habits to include less quick starts & stops, and not speeding, are not mystical methods but simple physics), or drive a broken car. Do you have evidence of these claims?

especially for Randi, because the very skeptism that is produced will block the effects. I'm not kidding. The power of mind is such that an outcome can be blocked. If you check out the "placebo effect" with many medicines, you can see where the power of mind works-I believe there is documentation on this effect, which sometimes shows that the actual medication has only a 15% better effect than placebo (I will be hearing a lecture on this in June where I can actually get sources to cite).

I rarely talk of the phenomenae that I have personally observed because inevitably I'm asked to "prove" it. The problem with this sort of thing is that it is usually not done in a laboratory situation where any "proof"-like when my husband and I got caught in a hailstorm and didn't want our car busted to smithereens, we wanted the weather to change-it wasn't laboratory conditions. Even if I have before/after photos of our vehicle, or my friend has before/after doctor's reports, skeptics inevitably find a "reason" why it happened that fits their own concept of reality and discounts anything else.

But what you describe sounds absurd. One lone skeptical mind has the power to disrupt any energy force that might otherwise bring about miraculous results? Does that mean skepticism is more powerful than the gods? And what about the situations where believers prayed and hoped fervently, with no skepticism around, and yet the desired result still wasn't achieved? As an example, I am thinking of the small plane crash a few years ago of a missionary couple in South America.

I'm just kind of uncomfortable with the situation you're setting up (and I know you're not specifically saying this, but it's clearly a consequence) - that if your prayers fail, there is a skeptic to blame, and they must be eliminated from the equation.

By the way, I hope your lecture is from a scientist or health provider and not an "alternative" source that seeks only to exploit placebo for their own gain.

you merely asked for examples, and I gave them. It doesn't make them more or less valid-these sorts of things are personal, anyway.

OR are these just things you have been taught?

coming to terms with reality.
I've been there.

(lower my bp, etc.)

I learned how when I was bothered with panic attacks. I have a few biofeedback tricks and I practically self-hypnotize myself. Now I do it for fun when I'm in doctor's waiting offices, etc. The mind has more control over the body than many realize.

Yes, but whether that control is due to mystical/supernatural forces, or just plain physiology is the question.

I don't think there is anything supernatural about it. And a lot of it can be learned. We know very little, really, about how it works. The Chinese have a better grip on it in their medicine paradigm, I think.

of boils for all people who voted for any republican would be good for a start. That would be a minimum punishment for them.

fertility thus eliminating the problems of people having more children then they can handle or more than our planet can possibly support.

The first.............eh, not so much.

I'm just not into the whole plague scene.

I know you can do better than that.

I'd do a lot of travelling, and none of it would be to DisneyWorld. :)

in Earth's gravity be an issue? It would have to be 500 billion pancake people.

I'd hollow out the center for underground parking, waste recycling, and power/telecommunications lines.
If I were God, you wouldn't hear of any more fatal collisions with telephone poles. ;)

HELL is down there! Where would Satan hang out? It's hard to fit in with a crowd when you have Judas Iscariot dangling from your mouth.

Certainly not silly magic tricks like in Bruce Almighty. Without being able to affect free will, there is no power other than controlling the weather, perhaps, or the existence of the planet, or universe as a whole. So, what can a god do, really? Does a god merely "let" things happen i.e., "Dear God, please let me get a..." or, does a god "not let" things happen i.e., "Dear God, don't let my... die?" Does a god simply punish human traits like gayness by washing away cities with hurricanes, or by letting peoples' sons and daughters die in senseless wars? Does a god reward people for doing good deeds, following all the rules by "letting" them get rich, or famous? Or, does a god simply comfort those who are lost, or who have lost, with a hand on a shoulder and a voice in the head, giving humans that, "You are not alone" feeling?

I don't know how to answer your question because the god I know can do nothing but "be" there, where-ever that is. Everywhere, I guess, and nowhere. I think if I did have "god-like" powers, I suppose I would do exactly what is being done, although I probably wouldn't be able to watch!

I always try to remember there is no light without the dark and no joy without the pain. It's a very difficult task living, but what else have we got to do?

world a better place continually forever.

NOTE: This includes giving them the intelligence to work out for them damn selves what 'better' 'good' and so on actually mean. (mean mean)

I would bring about world peace. Then I would get my own apartment.

T-Grannie

Why not actually make yourself a miss universe contestant while your at it!

all the ballots throughout Fla in 2000 were hand-counted. In other words, make sure that we don't have the dipshit prez we have now.

Why not just erase the neo-cons from the equation completely, then make special "God Voting Machines" that allowed 100% accuracy....better than hand counting anyways!

Stealing the election and all... Can't do that.

Probably in a ring or some such. Something easy to slip on and off. I'd put enough power away that I could fly at speeds approaching light speed and survive in outer space for thousands of years, and then I'd blow this popsicle stand as fast as I could and look for greener pastures.

As long as we're talking fantasy, why not think big? :D

But first, I'd make a rock so heavy that even God couldn't lift it.

Their goal: Keep things running. Don't do overt miracles, don't play favorites, work gently towards betterment, but don't suffer the idiots.

That would leave me free to handle the heavy work. Every petty tyrant, in whatever way you wish to take that term, will be brought low in a very personal, ironically fitting manner, with a written note from me saying that it was all done intentionally, and will be done again, harder, unless they straighten the hell up.

Kind, harmless people will discover true love exists. They'll get no note from me, as love is its own reward.

And people who create TV series that continuously promise "answers" but never deliver will be flayed alive. (Writers of X-Files and Lost take note.)

If I had God's power's for a month I would take President Bush and do a Christmas Carol type intervention. I'd infect him with AIDS and take him to africa to live for a bit so he could not only see the pain, but feel it. Then I'd take him to Mexico and make him him live the reasons why so many people want to come into our country. Then I'd take him to Columbia and let him deal with a government made up of drug lords. Then for the kicker I'd bring him to good old Iraq so he can see what our war really is doing over there. Not the smiling, happy soldiers that will all be dead within of a week of his departure that he usually gets. Maybe then he'd finally get it, but I still wouldn't hold my breath...

If people know that God exists, then there is no longer the need for faith or religion. Religion causes much division and violence in the world.

That, and turn back time to November 4, 2000 and give Al Gore a wide margin of victory.

The generally good group would be immediately relieved of all suffering.

The generally evil group would have to go through a series of scenarios designed to finally break them free of their evilness. Each additional scenario would come with more pain until the person hits rock bottom. Then when they finally pass a test that shows they are no longer evil, they will be relieved of their suffering, conditionally. Those who cannot and will not convert to good will be thrown on an Island with other evildoers and they will just kill each other off.

Nobody would be filthy rich, everyone would have just enough so that we don't see the type of evil that results from the "love" of money.