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Worshipping wrong Gods

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
Dear Forum Members

I'm new to this forum and I would like to share something with you that has preoccupied my mind for some time now:

Premise 1: There is a God.


Premise 2: There is an afterlife, the quality of which will depend largely on how I worship this particular God during my lifetime.


Premise 3: Worshipping other Gods than the one and only real God will negatively affect my afterlife.


Premise 4: There are/have been thousands of religions wordwide worshipping thousands of different Gods in different ways.


Conclusion: If, as a believer, I accept Premises 1-4, my chances of worshipping the one and only real God are very small and this may severely compromise the quality of my afterlife.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there a way out of this conundrum for believers? Or is there a flaw in the argument?

Best regards

Ian

How about worship no God then you won't be in error of worshiping the wrong God at least. Then just be a good decent person in life and accept whatever judgement based on that merit.
 

74x12

Well-Known Member
Dear Forum Members

I'm new to this forum and I would like to share something with you that has preoccupied my mind for some time now:

Premise 1: There is a God.


Premise 2: There is an afterlife, the quality of which will depend largely on how I worship this particular God during my lifetime.


Premise 3: Worshipping other Gods than the one and only real God will negatively affect my afterlife.


Premise 4: There are/have been thousands of religions wordwide worshipping thousands of different Gods in different ways.


Conclusion: If, as a believer, I accept Premises 1-4, my chances of worshipping the one and only real God are very small and this may severely compromise the quality of my afterlife.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there a way out of this conundrum for believers? Or is there a flaw in the argument?

Best regards

Ian
In my view; the way out is to get to know God; instead of just worshiping God as some "unknown, maybe" entity.

As a Christian when I get to know God; I begin to learn by experience to trust God. That increased trust will enable me to stop doubting if He is real or not.
 

HonestJoe

Well-Known Member
Conclusion: If, as a believer, I accept Premises 1-4, my chances of worshipping the one and only real God are very small and this may severely compromise the quality of my afterlife.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there a way out of this conundrum for believers? Or is there a flaw in the argument?
If you definitively accept those premises alone then yes, you would indeed have the problem you describe. It's the main reason Pascals Wager is flawed.

I think most believers who follow this line of thinking also hold the premise that they know the god they worship is the right god by some means (pure faith, trust in a definitive scripture, perceived direct contact with the god etc.). That theoretically resolves the issue.

Of course, all of the premises are unsupported (other than the one about the existence of many religions and god concepts, and even that has simplification and assumptions) so it's something of a moot point. If you're going to assume unsupported premises, you might as well go straight to; Premise 0 : I'm right! :cool:
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
Dear Forum Members

I'm new to this forum and I would like to share something with you that has preoccupied my mind for some time now:

Premise 1: There is a God.


Premise 2: There is an afterlife, the quality of which will depend largely on how I worship this particular God during my lifetime.


Premise 3: Worshipping other Gods than the one and only real God will negatively affect my afterlife.


Premise 4: There are/have been thousands of religions wordwide worshipping thousands of different Gods in different ways.


Conclusion: If, as a believer, I accept Premises 1-4, my chances of worshipping the one and only real God are very small and this may severely compromise the quality of my afterlife.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there a way out of this conundrum for believers? Or is there a flaw in the argument?

Best regards

Ian
First of all, welcome here to RF.

Now, to the above, which "god(s)" is/are false and which "god(s)" is/are true, plus how can one tell the difference and know for certain which is which?
 

izzy88

Active Member
Dear Forum Members

I'm new to this forum and I would like to share something with you that has preoccupied my mind for some time now:

Premise 1: There is a God.


Premise 2: There is an afterlife, the quality of which will depend largely on how I worship this particular God during my lifetime.


Premise 3: Worshipping other Gods than the one and only real God will negatively affect my afterlife.


Premise 4: There are/have been thousands of religions wordwide worshipping thousands of different Gods in different ways.


Conclusion: If, as a believer, I accept Premises 1-4, my chances of worshipping the one and only real God are very small and this may severely compromise the quality of my afterlife.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there a way out of this conundrum for believers? Or is there a flaw in the argument?

Best regards

Ian

Well, simply as an argument, you haven't demonstrated why the existence of several possible choices necessarily means that your chances of choosing correctly are very small; this was assume that we have no other data with which to inform our decision. Just because there are many possible options does not mean they are all equally legitimate.

That aside, the Catholic answer to your question is probably explained best by Paul in Romans 2:

13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them
------

You do not need to be a member of the institutional Church to be a member of the spiritual Church; all you must do is follow the law written on your heart - strive to always love others, and to place their good above your own. The Church teaches that in following your conscience, you are following God - whether you know it or not.
 

GoodbyeDave

Well-Known Member
I would like to share something with you that has preoccupied my mind for some time now:

Premise 1: There is a God
Premise 2: There is an afterlife, the quality of which will depend largely on how I worship this particular God during my lifetime
Premise 3: Worshipping other Gods than the one and only real God will negatively affect my afterlife
Premise 4: There are/have been thousands of religions wordwide worshipping thousands of different Gods in different ways
Conclusion: If, as a believer, I accept Premises 1-4, my chances of worshipping the one and only real God are very small and this may severely compromise the quality of my afterlife
Firstly, I'd like to know the justification for the second and third premises, even within Christianity. You may like to read this:
Can Non-Christians Be Saved?

Obviously, given my religion, I would consider the fourth premise as the principal argument against any form of monotheism.
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
Dear Forum Members

I'm new to this forum and I would like to share something with you that has preoccupied my mind for some time now:

Premise 1: There is a God.


Premise 2: There is an afterlife, the quality of which will depend largely on how I worship this particular God during my lifetime.


Premise 3: Worshipping other Gods than the one and only real God will negatively affect my afterlife.


Premise 4: There are/have been thousands of religions wordwide worshipping thousands of different Gods in different ways.


Conclusion: If, as a believer, I accept Premises 1-4, my chances of worshipping the one and only real God are very small and this may severely compromise the quality of my afterlife.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there a way out of this conundrum for believers? Or is there a flaw in the argument?

Best regards
Ian
I think God accepts prayers regardless of what name you use. Whether it is Elohim in Hebrew, God in English, Allah in Arabic, Waken Tanka in Lakota, etc., you are calling upon the One True God.

However, you can have some very false beliefs about God. These beliefs might cause you to act in such a way that God does not approve. For example, some of the pagan gods of old required human sacrifice and temple prostitution. For this reason, it is worth it to weigh different religions to find the correct one, or at least that one which is closest to the truth.
 

1213

Well-Known Member
...
What are your thoughts on this? Is there a way out of this conundrum for believers? Or is there a flaw in the argument?

I would say, Bible tells eternal life is for righteous. If you try to worship Him to earn life, you have failed already.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

Also, righteousness is wisdom of the just, it is like right understanding that makes you do right works. What do you think, would righteous person keep his left foot shoe as his god? Would righteous person keep his neighbor as his god? Surely, they both exists, but is it really wise to keep them as one’s god?

To me there is only one choice for God, Bible God, because He is the only one who shows great knowledge and wisdom and has something meaningful to say.
 

ManSinha

Well-Known Member
To me there is only one choice for God, Bible God, because He is the only one who shows great knowledge and wisdom and has something meaningful to say.
How many other gods have you studied prior to making that statement? The underlined part of your statement is pure codswallop by the way.The Bible is a book full of internal contradictions between the OT and NT nature of god and not a truthful representation by any account IMO
 

ManSinha

Well-Known Member
Exodus 1:15-22
Then the king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth, look at the child when you deliver it. If it’s a boy, kill it, but if it’s a girl, let it live.”

17 However, the midwives feared God and didn’t obey the king of Egypt’s orders. They let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. He asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are so healthy that they have their babies before a midwife arrives.”

20 God was good to the midwives. So the people increased in number and became very strong. 21 Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people to throw into the Nile every Hebrewboy that was born, but to let every girl live.

Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward

Matthew 21:16
Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,”replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?

Deuteronomy 6:13
You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.

Matthew 5:37
But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Deuteronomy 19:21
Show no pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Matthew 5:38-39
You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also

Matthew 5:43-44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven

Leviticus 20:10
If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death

John 8:11
He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground….”Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."
 
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TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Dear Forum Members

I'm new to this forum and I would like to share something with you that has preoccupied my mind for some time now:

Premise 1: There is a God.


Welcome Ians You will be happy to know there is but One God and that realisation is what will be the foundation of the unity of all humanity.

I see You have picked up on the oneness of our collective mind.

Premise 2: There is an afterlife, the quality of which will depend largely on how I worship this particular God during my lifetime.

I see you are correct, we have been told it is a state of being we leave this world with. A sun of all our choices. We can leave this life in ignorance in the state of a rock, or hell, or we can leave like an angle with all the spiritual attributes in knowledge or in a heavenly state.

Premise 3: Worshipping other Gods than the one and only real God will negatively affect my afterlife.

As there is only one God, this life is given for us to work out how One God can be seen as many. The key is knowing pure white light is seen as many colours when refraction takes place through a prism and in interpreted by our limited minds.

Thus all the Names of God are but One Name and the Bible tells us we will find that to be so.

Zechariah 14:9 "And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one."

Premise 4: There are/have been thousands of religions wordwide worshipping thousands of different Gods in different ways.

I see It is the One God they worship, one just has to change the frames of reference they use. My frame of reference is the Message given by Baha'u'llah in the 1800's.

Conclusion: If, as a believer, I accept Premises 1-4, my chances of worshipping the one and only real God are very small and this may severely compromise the quality of my afterlife.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there a way out of this conundrum for believers? Or is there a flaw in the argument?

Best regards

Ian

Yes the way out is not to be limited by God's Names as they are unlimited.

A thought is that all Good is from God and all that is not good is from our own selves.

God chooses to give His Messages through a chosen Messenger, who has a Name which is but an Attribute of God.

I see in this age that Name is the 'Glory of God', Baha'u'llah.

There is a book called the Kitab-i-Iqan which explains how God comes with many Names.

I wish you all the best. What path have you chosen to date?

Regards Tony
 

Bird123

Well-Known Member
Dear Forum Members

I'm new to this forum and I would like to share something with you that has preoccupied my mind for some time now:

Premise 1: There is a God.


Premise 2: There is an afterlife, the quality of which will depend largely on how I worship this particular God during my lifetime.


Premise 3: Worshipping other Gods than the one and only real God will negatively affect my afterlife.


Premise 4: There are/have been thousands of religions wordwide worshipping thousands of different Gods in different ways.


Conclusion: If, as a believer, I accept Premises 1-4, my chances of worshipping the one and only real God are very small and this may severely compromise the quality of my afterlife.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there a way out of this conundrum for believers? Or is there a flaw in the argument?

Best regards

Ian



Questions,Questions, why stop at one? Where do these premises come from? Who decided what goes in them? Why should one blindly accept them? Why does God require worship? What is God going to do with His Ego problem? Why would God create so many children knowing so many got it wrong? Why can't one take action in the afterlife to create a better afterlife? Does one really care about truth when one blindly accepts? Do I see any flaws? How can anyone not?

It's a good thing reality consists of more than mere beliefs one might decide whether to accept or not. Those that take the effort to Discover rather than accept will lead everyone to Reality and the Truth.

Those who worry so much who to worship might be surprised to know worship has never ever been what it is all about. Kick your feet up and relax. It's all going to be OK!

That's what I see. It's very clear!!
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
Either you need to look harder, or just to be less dismissive of the experiences of others.
Why? Why should the experience of others be important for me?
Welcome Ians You will be happy to know there is but One God and that realisation is what will be the foundation of the unity of all humanity.
That alone is not enough, Ian. You must accept a 19th Century Iranian preacher as the last in line of Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Mohammad and others, but must not accept anyone after him. Tony explains it in the rest of his post.
God chooses to give His Messages through a chosen Messenger, who has a Name which is but an Attribute of God.
I see in this age that Name is the 'Glory of God', Baha'u'llah.
There is a book called the Kitab-i-Iqan which explains how God comes with many Names.
Done with your unashamed proselytization, Tony?
 
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