An analogy for god

[Moosader]

A while back, I felt a bit obligated to try to come up with a way to conceptualize how a god would exist, if they were to.
I don't know how many people are computer science types, but I came up with this pretty basic idea:

I am a programmer and I create software.  However, I am not software, and I exist outside the realm of software.  I can create my own concept of time in a software game or simulation that I am independent of.  I create everything from scratch (well, everything I didn't inherit from a library someone else wrote), and my creations do not evolve outside of the way I have set for them.

I thought it was a pretty good analogy for describing how a god could exist.  I still consider myself Atheist, though, as I feel like the idea of an "all-powerful human" creator seems silly. (When I hear "God" I always think of a human, or other conscious "living being")

[Jolly Sapper]

mmmm.. how very matrixy!

[wazzz]

I totally understand u i'm studying Computer Science seconded year -in fact i wanna attend System Analysis even though i'm a party animal  not nerdy type (btw why all who works in our field are so lame and nerdy    
I totally understand u the power u have but if think that u are saying hey guys this leads to the exists of god is true i don't but that's how i saw it  

[LARA]

I like the programming analogy, too.  When you program you create a realm of sorts that follows the rules set by you. So you are the ruler of your program, and if you create a game or program that allows players to enter by means of an avatar, then they have to play by your rules.   But what if there is no single programmer, and it's an open source project instead, where all can write, edit or delete code, create avatars and then play them?  To me this is an analogy of how our universe works, where the material represents the programming language in which each player has ultimate decisive freedom.  We create the game we are in while we are in it and each player has an equal ability to affect the outcome simply by being in the game.  Players might group together to form teams, but ultimately, they are all free agents.  It's a fun analogy.

Now if you're a gamer, there are a few things to remember.  A gamer God is not someone who created the game, but the one who wins the game.  Though they could be operated by the same person, the programmer can only exist outside of the game. So assuming God is equal to the creator is incorrect.  You can always play against the Gods of the game, but that doesn't make you the creator of it.  In fact some game creators might be really, really poor at playing their own games, they can just come up with good structures, and the best games are usually a team effort between programmers, coders, graphic artists, animators and business executives; and people may or may not be a combination of these talents.

Playing a game in which the creator of the game plays and sets the rules so it can always be God isn't a game people will play for long.  Maybe the ultimate creator is the one who sets the stage for ultimate freedom so the players can create the games themselves.

No matter what the game at some point you have to make a decision about the structure of your game.  Is it circular?   Is it linear?  Is it a microtubule treadmilling through time, breaking down at one end and reforming at the other in a new order each time?  Is it a fractal with a gorgeous, looping structure?   Is it breakfast toast?  Is it peanut butter?  Okay, I better stop now before I get even sillier.  

But who created the game the creator exists in?  

Ultimately the choice is yours, but if you assume a creator and you destroy all the dimensions of gameplay, collapsing each game inside it's containing game, you will ultimately come to one solitary solipsistic conclusion.  You are just playing with your own head.

Play on, friend.