Giving God a Present?

[Eddi]

Here is an anecdote, from a friend:

My friend decided to grow some tomatoes in his greenhouse

He planted an entire plant but only one tomato grew to maturity, the others remained stunted and green

Apparently it looked lush and succulent, better than any tomato you’d see in the shops

However, instead of eating it he destroyed it, as tribute to God

Questions:

1) Is it possible to give God a present, by destroying something, so you yourself can’t have it?

2) If you sacrifice something to God, can you know whether or not your offering is accepted by him?

3) Would giving God a gift in such a way make him favour you at all? Can you really manipulate God like that?

Sounds like a waste of a good tomato to me…

 

[ChristineM]

1, no, the offering is destroyed and remains destroyed.

2, only if a god exists does that actually make sense.

3, see 2

 

[osgart]

If God is benevolent then maybe the only acceptable gift is how we treat other human beings, and destroying a tomato would probably be meaningless.

I'm atheist but it does matter to me who God is in people's minds. So I just had to answer!

 

[The Hammer]

Here is an anecdote, from a friend:

My friend decided to grow some tomatoes in his greenhouse

He planted an entire plant but only one tomato grew to maturity, the others remained stunted and green

Apparently it looked lush and succulent, better than any tomato you’d see in the shops

However, instead of eating it he destroyed it, as tribute to God

Questions:

1) Is it possible to give God a present, by destroying something, so you yourself can’t have it?

2) If you sacrifice something to God, can you know whether or not your offering is accepted by him?

3) Would giving God a gift in such a way make him favour you at all? Can you really manipulate God like that?

Sounds like a waste of a good tomato to me…

1) Yes, this was the purpose of sacrifice and offerings in many past and current religious practices. I choose to burn my sacrificial offerings personally.

2) Anything you sacrifice to the Gods is accepted by them, for what reasons do they have to reject it?

3) It's not manipulation of the Gods to give them an offering/sacrifice, it's a form of giving thanks. In fact the more worthwhile value the sacrifice has (like your only good tomato), the better. It's about sacrificing something, to something greater then the Self.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Here is an anecdote, from a friend:

My friend decided to grow some tomatoes in his greenhouse

He planted an entire plant but only one tomato grew to maturity, the others remained stunted and green

Apparently it looked lush and succulent, better than any tomato you’d see in the shops

However, instead of eating it he destroyed it, as tribute to God

Questions:

1) Is it possible to give God a present, by destroying something, so you yourself can’t have it?

2) If you sacrifice something to God, can you know whether or not your offering is accepted by him?

3) Would giving God a gift in such a way make him favour you at all? Can you really manipulate God like that?

Sounds like a waste of a good tomato to me…

I would eat the tomato. It's not like God is going to send him a million bucks or anything.

 

[sun rise]

3) Would giving God a gift in such a way make him favour you at all? Can you really manipulate God like that?

Sounds like a waste of a good tomato to me…

If instead of destroying a good tomato, you gave it to a poor person as an act of kindness, then the act will automatically bring its own reward.

For Christians, at least, it seems to me that Matt 25:40 governs and that whatever one does for the 'least', with love, is done for God. And if it's done with love and not in the spirit of bargaining, it's not manipulation.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Here is an anecdote, from a friend:

My friend decided to grow some tomatoes in his greenhouse

He planted an entire plant but only one tomato grew to maturity, the others remained stunted and green

Apparently it looked lush and succulent, better than any tomato you’d see in the shops

However, instead of eating it he destroyed it, as tribute to God

Questions:

1) Is it possible to give God a present, by destroying something, so you yourself can’t have it?

2) If you sacrifice something to God, can you know whether or not your offering is accepted by him?

3) Would giving God a gift in such a way make him favour you at all? Can you really manipulate God like that?

Sounds like a waste of a good tomato to me…

I would think that the only "gift" a God see as good is when human beings start to cultivate a spiritual teaching. And that humans become better beings

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Whatever possible need could a God have for presents? What's left to have, when you already have everything?

I'll just put it down to an inability to think cleary.

 

[Lisette]

HI Evangelicalhumanist, just like a human father likes gifts, our Father in Heaven likes gift, but not material gifts. He prefers gifts in the form of service and penance. He likes penance to show him that he is most important in our lives.