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not worshipping the sun?

GoodbyeDave

Well-Known Member
The reason it's wrong is because as great as the sun is; you have to consider how much greater the One who made it is to easily make such a thing.
The Sun I know, but where is the evidence for the god you claim created it?

The sun is a huge gas ball. I don't worship gas balls.
If the Sun is a gas ball, then you are a bag of dirty water. A silly description, isn't it?
 

Polymath257

Think & Care
Staff member
Premium Member
The Sun I know, but where is the evidence for the god you claim created it?

If the Sun is a gas ball, then you are a bag of dirty water. A silly description, isn't it?

Not really, no. One difference is that the actual complexity of the sun is fairly small, so describing it as a gas ball that is of a certain size and composition (mostly hydrogen and helium) pretty much determines its characteristics.

On the other hand, describing humans as bags of dirty water tends not to determine the range of possibilities as neatly.
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
I am pretty sure Akhenaten had similar ideas

I think #4 is problematic. The sun will die in around 5 billion years when it runs out of fuel. However, humanity (probably all life on earth) will be long dead by then.
One could see it that way or one could say that the sun will transform into a White Dwarf and live on.
It is thought that monotheism and the idea of the abrahamic god derived from Atenism
Very questionable. Jewish henotheism is thought to be around 2600 years old. At that time, Achenaton was dead and forgotten for about 700 years.
 

QuestioningMind

Well-Known Member
I don’t know if this has ever been done before, but here are some reasons I’ve thought of, to worship the sun:
  1. Its existence cannot be doubted
  2. Without it life would not exist, it created us
  3. It shines on each of us with equal measure and has no favourites
  4. It will never fail or abandon us, it can be relied upon 100%
What reason do you have for not worshipping the sun?

Personally: I don’t worship it because I choose to worship the being who created it (God) and also, it cannot love me as it is an insentient ball of fire - one cannot have a meaningful relationship with the sun anymore than one can have a meaningful relationship with a table or a pen, no matter how important it is

But, historically sun worship is a thing: Solar deity - Wikipedia

And, finally, I'd like to venture the opinion that the above four points all apply to God himself (at least for me) :cool:

I agree that it would far more reasonable for me to worship the sun, as opposed to a god being for which I have no verifiable evidence even exists. However, just because the sun created me and I'm reliant upon it for my continued existence does not mean that I have reason to worship it. First off, it makes no sense to me to worship something that is not sentient and has no awareness of my worship. But even it it was verified that the sun is a conscious being, that wouldn't automatically mean that the sun is worthy of my worship. In the exact same way that just because my father created me and puts a roof over my head doesn't mean that he automatically deserves my worship. He could be a vile and abusive individual far more worthy of my disdain.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
One could see it that way or one could say that the sun will transform into a White Dwarf and live on

It appears our sun has sufficient helium to go red giant when it runs out of hydrogen. In which case it will expand past earths orbit. Kinda toasty...

Very questionable. Jewish henotheism is thought to be around 2600 years old. At that time, Achenaton was dead and forgotten for about 700 years.

I understand Akhenaten's worship of the Aten to be the first truly monotheistic religion. Hebrew mores likely drew from this over hundreds of years to develop into the origins of Judaism
 

1213

Well-Known Member


Its existence cannot be doubted

Without it life would not exist, it created us

It shines on each of us with equal measure and has no favourites

It will never fail or abandon us, it can be relied upon 100%

Everything can be doubted, there is doubt about that.

How sun created us? Allegedly it is only one giant gas ball.

He favors tall people, short remain in shadows of higher things.

According to the “science” it has also end.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
In Hinduism the sun, known as Surya or Suryadeva among many other names and epithets, is a very prominent deity. It’s the form of God that is visible. Vaishnavas tend to equate Surya with Nārāyana (Vishnu).
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
It appears our sun has sufficient helium to go red giant when it runs out of hydrogen. In which case it will expand past earths orbit. Kinda toasty...
Ah,that red giant thing is just a short phase it's going through, a few hundred thousand years.
I understand Akhenaten's worship of the Aten to be the first truly monotheistic religion. Hebrew mores likely drew from this over hundreds of years to develop into the origins of Judaism
700 years with no evidence of any continuation of the Aton cult. I think it is more plausible the Jews invented henotheism new by themselves.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Ah,that red giant thing is just a short phase it's going through, a few hundred thousand years.

700 years with no evidence of any continuation of the Aton cult. I think it is more plausible the Jews invented henotheism new by themselves.


Variable, a few hundred thousand to a billion but there will be no inner planets, there will be no earth after it to see the results of the planetary nebula.

There is no evidence that the Jews invented their faith on their own either. The lack of historical data makes it impossible to tell. I am of the opinion (and others) that Jewish members of the cult of the Aten continued their faith and passed it on to their children, just as religion is continued to this day.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
700 years with no evidence of any continuation of the Aton cult. I think it is more plausible the Jews invented henotheism new by themselves.

Also consider the similarities between hymns of the cult of aten and the OT
 
I don’t know if this has ever been done before, but here are some reasons I’ve thought of, to worship the sun:
  1. Its existence cannot be doubted
  2. Without it life would not exist, it created us
  3. It shines on each of us with equal measure and has no favourites
  4. It will never fail or abandon us, it can be relied upon 100%
What reason do you have for not worshipping the sun?

Personally: I don’t worship it because I choose to worship the being who created it (God) and also, it cannot love me as it is an insentient ball of fire - one cannot have a meaningful relationship with the sun anymore than one can have a meaningful relationship with a table or a pen, no matter how important it is

But, historically sun worship is a thing: Solar deity - Wikipedia

And, finally, I'd like to venture the opinion that the above four points all apply to God himself (at least for me) :cool:
Read the Quran; surah Al Anaam: verse 74-83
And read; surah An Naml: verse 15-26
 

TagliatelliMonster

Veteran Member
I don’t know if this has ever been done before, but here are some reasons I’ve thought of, to worship the sun:
  1. Its existence cannot be doubted
  2. Without it life would not exist, it created us
  3. It shines on each of us with equal measure and has no favourites
  4. It will never fail or abandon us, it can be relied upon 100%
What reason do you have for not worshipping the sun?


Because pretty much the same things can be said about water, oxygen, plants, ... and all other things that are part of nature / reality and without which human life would be impossible.

So to drive the point home, you'ld have to worship all those things and not just the sun.

Secondly.... why would any of this be a reason to "worship" the sun?
You 're asking me for what reason I would NOT worship the sun. I think that's a strange question. I'ld require a reason to do the oppostie. I don't require reasons to not worship something. Not worshipping things, seems like the default state of affairs....

The default doesn't require reasons, being default.

The list of facts you mentioned... I don't see how those are reasons to worship the sun.

Personally: I don’t worship it because I choose to worship the being who created it (God) and also, it cannot love me as it is an insentient ball of fire - one cannot have a meaningful relationship with the sun anymore than one can have a meaningful relationship with a table or a pen, no matter how important it is

Ok. I still don't see how if the sun would be capable of "loving me" how that would change anything though.
Or how the ability of "having a meaningfull relationship" changes anything.

I'll even go a step further and bend over backwards and assume that god is real.
Why would I have to "worship" it, other then to satisfy this deity's apparant petty need to be worshipped?

But, historically sun worship is a thing: Solar deity - Wikipedia

Yeah well... that is true for almost all phenomena of nature. Like thunder, and wind and tides and storms and fire and whatnot. Just about all of them were their own deity, or were controlled by some deity, at one point or another.

And, finally, I'd like to venture the opinion that the above four points all apply to God himself (at least for me) :cool:

Owkay. Still not seeing how these points apparantly indicate a need for worship.
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
Owkay. Still not seeing how these points apparantly indicate a need for worship.
If we look at the origin of the word "worship" we will see that it comes from Old English for "an acknowledgement of worth"

To me, worship is not grovelling, I do not believe God wants us to grovel before him - or to fear him, for that matter

To me"worship" is about freely acknowledging the worth/importance an entity has in one's life (and one's world) and then living one's life accordingly

So, to address your point, such characteristics don't necessarily demand worship, but they certainly are reasons for worship
 

syo

Well-Known Member
To me"worship" is about freely acknowledging the worth/importance an entity has in one's life (and one's world) and then living one's life accordingly
The sun doesn't care, if you want to worship him. How about worshipping your neighbours?
 
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