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Theists: Why Worship God?

JustGeorge

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
Trailblazer said:
I experience the opposite. I find that human-to-human relationships are simple, but a relationship with God can be extremely complicated.

Nevertheless I do understand what you mean and I can see how it would be as you said for the believer who does not wonder about all things God.

Human-to-human relationship: You talk to them and if they are kind, compassionate and understanding they talk back to you and help you and you feel better.

Human-to-God relationship: You talk to God and all you get is dead silence. Sure, people can imagine that God is speaking to them, but that is all they can do. If that makes them feel good I have no problem with that but just count me out, as I do not need an imaginary friend, I want a real friend...

Don't get me wrong, I believe that God exists, I just do not believe that God communicates directly to any humans except the Messengers of God who are both divine and human.

Other than saying the regular Baha'i prayers, I do talk TO God on occasion, but I hardly ever ask for anything unless I am really desperate, and by that time I am pleading, not asking. I have been doing a lot of that lately. I think I do get assistance within the next day or so by way of thoughts I have and people who help me, but I could never prove that assistance came from God. That is just a belief.
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I find human relationships complicated... I don't find they're always kind... or unkind. What means one thing to one person means another to another person.

I've had some profound 'conversations' with Gods. You would think its all in my head, and you're free to believe that, but I guess in the end its just two beliefs against each other.

What do we(humans) really know, anyways? What works for one doesn't work for another.
 
Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
The Sum of Awe said:
This is existence, this is what is instead of what isn't. That's proof enough that reality is unfolding in the exact way it's supposed to - because it is.
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So what you are saying is whatever we see in this physical reality is what is meant to be?
That sounds like fate and predestination.

I believe in fate and predestination but I think humans can influence their own fate by the free will choices they make.
 
Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
JustGeorge said:
I find human relationships complicated... I don't find they're always kind... or unkind. What means one thing to one person means another to another person.

I've had some profound 'conversations' with Gods. You would think its all in my head, and you're free to believe that, but I guess in the end its just two beliefs against each other.

What do we(humans) really know, anyways? What works for one doesn't work for another.
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Please allow me to double back.:)
I do find that human to human relationships can be complicated and they can be either kind or unkind, and THAT makes all the difference. I have learned to recognize unkind people and minimize my contact with them when possible, and gravitate towards kind people when they come around. Kindness make ALL the difference especially when one is going through a difficult time. I try to be kind to everyone, as that is a very important Baha'i teaching. If I cannot be kind owing to my own sordid state of mind, I keep to myself so I will not hurt anyone.

1: O SON OF SPIRIT!
My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.
The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 3

I am very open-minded, which is why I sometimes why I disagree with Baha'is and question the way they interpret the Baha'i Writings. ;)

I do not think it has to be "two beliefs against each other." I am sure, and I have even heard, other Baha'is say they had conversations with God, and the fact that you believe in 'gods' is no reason to say your experience was invalid. People understand God(s)in many different ways.

I would never question you if you say you have had conversations with gods, because I am not YOU so I do not know what YOU experienced. I consider questioning another person's experiences just because of how "I" interpret some scriptures to be egotistical.

I will also say this: At the end of the day, people can always let us down, but I believe that God will never let us down. What form that takes varies. It might be some assistance from God through other people or it might just be knowing that whatever happens is God's will and is for the best.

You might wonder why I am saying this given some not-so-nice things I sometimes say about God, but as my bff @Truthseeker knows only too well :rolleyes:, I am a very complicated person so things are not always black and white for me as with many believers -- I question everything!. It would sure be easier to just "believe" unquestionably like many Baha'is and Christians do, but that is not how my mind works.
 
Dogknox20

Dogknox20

Well-Known Member
Eddi said:
Theists: Why Worship God?

And "because it is written" will not suffice :D

I'd like to hear intelligent and well thought-out answers, not quotes from any holy book

Basically: Why do you think it is written? And why do you personally worship him?

I think that when most people say "worship" they actually mean "grovelling"...

However, according to my dictionary the word "worship" actually comes from the Old English "weorthscipe" which means an act of acknowledging something's worth

It has nothing to do with grovelling

I would refuse to grovel before anyone or anything

I would refuse to bow to the Queen and at least I can be 100% sure she exits

And if God appeared to me and demanded that I bow down and prostrate myself before him I would outright refuse

That would be beneath me

I think it is beneath any human to bow down to anyone or anything

But I would readily acknowledge his worth were he to ask me to, although that would sound a little insecure and needy especially coming from someone who is supposedly a Supreme Being.

I would happily tell him "hey God, I think your'e great, keep up the good work" if I thought that would make him happy and boost his self-esteem and (if he definitely existed and I actually liked him) I would genuinely mean that

But anyway, enough from me

Theists: Why Worship God?
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Worship the Creator!
 
Dogknox20

Dogknox20

Well-Known Member
Trailblazer said:
but he was asking WHY we should worship the Creator.
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Trailblazer hello....

We should worship the Creator....Because the Creator is greater then the created! We ... "Man".. are the created! Man was created by a Creator>> God!; Thus God is the greater!

Romans 9:21
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

The Creator is God he is the Potter! The Potter is greater then the Pot!
 
Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Dogknox20 said:
Trailblazer hello....

We should worship the Creator....Because the Creator is greater then the created! We ... "Man".. are the created! Man was created by a Creator>> God!; Thus God is the greater!

Romans 9:21
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

The Creator is God he is the Potter! The Potter is greater then the Pot!
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So we should worship God just because God us Greater than we are?
God could be Greater than us but that does not necessarily mean God is worthy of worship.
Why do you think that God is worthy of worship, without quoting scriptures?
 
Nakosis

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
Trailblazer said:
I think that is probably one reason but not the only reason.
Some people worship God for selfish reasons but others worship God just because thy love God.

I believe that God wants to be worshiped but only because it is beneficial for us to worship God, and God wants what is beneficial for us.

God does not need our worship, since God had no needs, given God is fully self sufficient and fully self-sustaining.
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How is worshiping God beneficial to us?
 
Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Nakosis said:
How is worshiping God beneficial to us?
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One way it is beneficial is that it keeps us from worshiping ourselves.
Iows, it takes the focus off self and puts the focus on God.

But worship is not just saying prayers, it is service to God, and ideally, the way we serve God is to serve other people. That is what God wants us to do because other people have needs whereas God has no needs. So we can hopefully help other people and they can also help us, depending upon what their/our needs are.
 
LuisDantas

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
What is worship?

What are the most popular conceptions of what constitutes worship and what does not?
 
JustGeorge

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
Trailblazer said:
@JustGeorge
Thanks for the Like and the Winner but you are too fast for me! :oops:

After I saw the Like on that other post, I realized I had put the [brackets] in the wrong place so it looked like I was saying what Nakosis actually said

So please go back and read it again... #15 Trailblazer, Today at 11:22 AM

I also added to the post to you so maybe you can go back and see what I added. :)
#23 Trailblazer, 10 minutes ago

I am a stickler for detail!
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I read fast...

I used to get in trouble for it when I was a kid because I'd read all my books too fast for Mom to keep me supplied with reading material. :D
 
Jainarayan

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and offer obeisance to Me. Doing so, you will certainly come to Me. This is My pledge to you, for you are very dear to Me. Abandon all [religious and spiritual pursuits and searching] and simply surrender unto Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear. Bhagavad Gita 18.65-66

What is this worship? Is it out of fear of punishment? Will God reject us? No, it's thinking of, living for, serving God to draw closer to Him and ultimately be with Him. It's getting on the Get To God Train. If you don't get on the train you just won't get to the destination, but you will still live your life with no repercussions, no punishment, no rejection.

Why do I want to get to him? Because of Who He is. I have a slightly different view of why I worship God that I try to explain to people. It’s hard because they are used to, if they are Abrahamic, an image of a sad suffering Jesus or a grandfatherly yet stern and cantankerous white-bearded older man. If you don't worship and accept him you risk eternal damnation.

I see Krishna as a a very handsome, well dressed, laidback, friendly, charming and charismatic, always smiling and joking, incomprehensibly compassionate, and popular fellow. He’s the guy women swoon over (girl to girl “ooooh! he’s such a hunk!”), and the guy other guys want to be buddies with, which He is happy to be because He likes everyone (He’s a better man than I am ... oh wait, He's God!).

I work with a guy like that. He’s handsome, friendly and likable. Everyone wants to be around him and never have a bad thing to say about him. But Krishna is God, make no mistake. He has unseen powers and isn’t to be underestimated despite His characteristics I mentioned.

I worship him because I want to see Him and be with, hang around with Him some day ... for eternity. It's got to be a blast. :)
 
JustGeorge

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
Jainarayan said:
Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and offer obeisance to Me. Doing so, you will certainly come to Me. This is My pledge to you, for you are very dear to Me. Abandon all [religious and spiritual pursuits and searching] and simply surrender unto Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear. Bhagavad Gita 18.65-66

What is this worship? Is it out of fear of punishment? Will God reject us? No, it's thinking of, living for, serving God to draw closer to Him and ultimately be with Him. It's getting on the Get To God Train. If you don't get on the train you just won't get to the destination, but you will still live your life with no repercussions, no punishment, no rejection.

Why do I want to get to him? Because of Who He is. I have a slightly different view of why I worship God that I try to explain to people. It’s hard because they are used to, if they are Abrahamic, an image of a sad suffering Jesus or a grandfatherly yet stern and cantankerous white-bearded older man. If you don't worship and accept him you risk eternal damnation.

I see Krishna as a a very handsome, well dressed, laidback, friendly, charming and charismatic, always smiling and joking, incomprehensibly compassionate, and popular fellow. He’s the guy women swoon over (girl to girl “ooooh! he’s such a hunk!”), and the guy other guys want to be buddies with, which He is happy to be because He likes everyone (He’s a better man than I am ... oh wait, He's God!).

I work with a guy like that. He’s handsome, friendly and likable. Everyone wants to be around him and never have a bad thing to say about him. But Krishna is God, make no mistake. He has unseen powers and isn’t to be underestimated despite His characteristics I mentioned.

I worship him because I want to see Him and be with, hang around with Him some day ... for eternity. It's got to be a blast. :)
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Ditto. :)
 
C

Clara Tea

Well-Known Member
Eddi said:
Theists: Why Worship God?

And "because it is written" will not suffice :D

I'd like to hear intelligent and well thought-out answers, not quotes from any holy book

Basically: Why do you think it is written? And why do you personally worship him?

I think that when most people say "worship" they actually mean "grovelling"...

However, according to my dictionary the word "worship" actually comes from the Old English "weorthscipe" which means an act of acknowledging something's worth

It has nothing to do with grovelling

I would refuse to grovel before anyone or anything

I would refuse to bow to the Queen and at least I can be 100% sure she exits

And if God appeared to me and demanded that I bow down and prostrate myself before him I would outright refuse

That would be beneath me

I think it is beneath any human to bow down to anyone or anything

But I would readily acknowledge his worth were he to ask me to, although that would sound a little insecure and needy especially coming from someone who is supposedly a Supreme Being.

I would happily tell him "hey God, I think your'e great, keep up the good work" if I thought that would make him happy and boost his self-esteem and (if he definitely existed and I actually liked him) I would genuinely mean that

But anyway, enough from me

Theists: Why Worship God?
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Anyone who can write could write their own bible. They can assert that the words came from God. They can create characters in their book to vouch for each other (apostles). They can recount details from long forgotten events, so that no one can verify what was said nor what was done.

Miracles? Twain, a well known atheist, wrote about a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Many things that a modern man could do could be taken to be a miracle. Lighting a match might be seen as witchcraft.

Snake oil salesmen have touted the curative properties of their poisonous elixers for centuries. But they could not prove that they worked. Yet, they persisted with phone shows about the cures. They had assistants help them stage cures (it was all an act). Was that what faith healers did to gain converts and sell phony medicine?

Belief in Jesus evokes more questions than answers.
 
C

Clara Tea

Well-Known Member
Eddi said:
Theists: Why Worship God?

And "because it is written" will not suffice :D

I'd like to hear intelligent and well thought-out answers, not quotes from any holy book

Basically: Why do you think it is written? And why do you personally worship him?

I think that when most people say "worship" they actually mean "grovelling"...

However, according to my dictionary the word "worship" actually comes from the Old English "weorthscipe" which means an act of acknowledging something's worth

It has nothing to do with grovelling

I would refuse to grovel before anyone or anything

I would refuse to bow to the Queen and at least I can be 100% sure she exits

And if God appeared to me and demanded that I bow down and prostrate myself before him I would outright refuse

That would be beneath me

I think it is beneath any human to bow down to anyone or anything

But I would readily acknowledge his worth were he to ask me to, although that would sound a little insecure and needy especially coming from someone who is supposedly a Supreme Being.

I would happily tell him "hey God, I think your'e great, keep up the good work" if I thought that would make him happy and boost his self-esteem and (if he definitely existed and I actually liked him) I would genuinely mean that

But anyway, enough from me

Theists: Why Worship God?
Click to expand...

"Why worship God?" What, other than a God, should a God worshipper worship?
 
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