Atheists (I know, I'm calling you out, but this is legitimately posed to you and about your... whatever you wanna call atheism), I was wondering whether you have arrived to your position based on an opposition to the common description of God, which is often based on a false/misleading understanding - as well as religion (not to deliberately juxtapose the two), or are rejecting the existence of God - even as a philosophical concept - completely.

To elaborate, allow me to more fully elaborate on the being of "God."

Firstly, I must begin by presenting you with the fundamental premise behind both philosophy and science: reason is capable of understanding the universe (without this understanding, science and philosophy would have no basis for providing an understanding of the universe). This explanation as to why the universe can be understood by reason is twofold. One, the universe behaves in a pattern, and two, the mind has been developed its entire life in that pattern, such that it is essentially a microcosm of the universe (an echo or miniaturized version of the universe).

Now, if we consider the human mind, it is, in its basic part, a pattern, composed of the interactions between thoughts, ideas, and memories. If you had two minds, who, for their entire life, shared the same thoughts, ideas, and experiences (as in absolutely identical - in every way), the two minds would just be duplicates of each other, and you'd have two versions of the same mind. Now, this pattern exists in reality (which is to say it requires nothing but its own existence to exist), however, it can only be presented in the physical world through actualization (the synaptic firings of your brain and the chemical reactions therein). Now, because the mind is a microcosm of the universe, the universe functions in the same way, just on a much larger scale; people, planets, forces, and everything acts together to express a pattern which exists in reality but must be actualized. Therefore, the universe can be considered to be a mind of its own, even though it is not in any way experiencing consciousness as we understand it (much like a computer or an animal; both which have minds we cannot comprehend). Because our minds are part of this mind of the universe (our minds actualize part of it), we exist within the universe, and, therefore, the universe's mind is greater than our own, as it is more than we are.

As well, however, there is something larger than the universe: that which created it. In order for the universe to exist, it must pull its existence from something, and, therefore, the amalgam of existence - the source of all being - would contain the universe within itself. With the being of the universe, therefore, it would contain the mind of the universe, and, would, therefore, have a mind. As well, since this mind is that which all reason attempts to understand, it would follow that the mind has reason. As well, the universe obeys certain laws (both physical and philosophical), and these laws are never broken (because that's what "law" means). Therefore, it can be said to have a will as well: the will to carry on the pattern... to exist. Now, because personhood is composed of will and reason, this mind can be seen as being a person.

This person - the one who created everything and possesses the mind of the universe (order) - would, of course, be God by definition.

So my question is do you disagree with the philosophy just expressed, or with religions who add their own flavors and interpretations of that philosophy (or both, of course)?

Shawn: Actually, God is existence itself. God doesn't so much exist as he is existence. He didn't need a creator because he's just pure existence. I will agree that reason, since it only applies to universe, cannot extend into full comprehension as to how or why this is possible, though, as the universe existed (causally - not temporally) after God, and, since our reason can only perfectly extend up to the universe, God, being outside the universe (in a sense), is not bound by reason, and, therefore, doesn't have to make sense.

In fact, Tertullian, a theologian, taught that, if you're beliefs (about Catholicism, of course) make perfect sense, you're a heretic. A slightly ironic, but the meaning behind it is clear; God is not bound by reason, being greater than the universe.

I can see the main issue here is the redefinition of the word "mind"

It is not a mind in the human sense, most definitely. As far as you conceive a mind to be, as far as you consider how you think, it is in no way a mental thing. However, let's work backwards here, and consider what the human mind is. If it weren't for the fact that you are reading this as a mind, the concept of a mind would be totally insignificant. Electrons move from one point to another. Big whoop. Lightening has more effect on the universe. However, something about how these electrons move, the interactions between themselves and your brain matter cause your mind to be actualized. The pattern of their interactions exists independent of the brain, just as the Fibonacci sequence exists even if no one writes it down. This is all the mind is; a specific pattern of interactions. Now, like I said, the human mind is a microcosm of the universe (this is the only way the human mind can comprehend the uni