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Under What Conditions, if any, Would You Worship a Deity?

Marsh

Active Member
If he granted my prayers
That's good! I didn't think of that. If I could count on him granting me wishes I think I would provide him worship. How else can you repay a god, eh? Still, I can't see what He really gets out of it. Though maybe, if we can make ourselves look silly enough while we do it we might just give him a good laugh?
 

Marsh

Active Member
If said deity wasn't of a sound mind, then perhaps worship might be a useful means to help said deity back to sanity, dependant upon the specific circumstances involved.
You have a valid point, but if he's not of sound mind then we really don't want to annoy him/her and better make sure we have arrived at the correct form of worship.
 

Marsh

Active Member
I don't think I would. First, I can't be certain no matter what evidence it provides or what it tells me that it is indeed a universal supreme deity.:D Second, if a deity won't be a mensch and sit at my table, share food and drink in their honor, and talk with me on a level I can really understand, then I'm not sure I would want to have any relationship with it at all.:p
You want a god who is one of the boys. I think the Norse hit upon your concept when they created Valhalla. :)
 

Marsh

Active Member
Some deities don't ask to be worshiped.
Any that I might have heard of? I can't quite figure what advantage a deity gets from being worshiped. In his book, American Gods, fiction writer Neil Gaiman postulates that gods gain magical power from being worshiped (I highly recommend this book, by the way, a great read).
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Any that I might have heard of? I can't quite figure what advantage a deity gets from being worshiped. In his book, American Gods, fiction writer Neil Gaiman postulates that gods gain magical power from being worshiped (I highly recommend this book, by the way, a great read).

Since there are so many, where would you start? Abrahamics don't hold a monopoly on how one defines god; so, not all gods ask to be worshiped. :shrug: As for the book, I'd have to put that on goodreads. Just stared my classes. Thanks though.
 

Scott C.

Just one guy
If you were reasonably certain there was a Supreme Deity of the Universe, under what conditions, if any, would you worship it?

He would need to be all wise, loving, kind, forgiving, and powerful. I would need to know that he loves me with a perfect love and takes joy in my joy and only wants the best for me. I would need to know that if he ever feels the need to chastise me, it is only out of love and concern for me. I would need to know that he has a plan for my eternal welfare. I'd need to know that he himself, the Almighty, was willing to pay an infinite price for my salvation.
 

arthra

Baha'i
If you were reasonably certain there was a Supreme Deity of the Universe, under what conditions, if any, would you worship it?

For me the conditions under which I worship God are set by His Messenger ... The Prophets and Messengers of God from time to time offer guidance on worshipping God.

Generally there are certain preliminary steps in worshipping God...such as

Having an open heart yearning to return the love of God in worship;

Ablutions - meaning cleansing yourself.. this could include mentally preparing yourself by cleansing your thoughts but also physically cleansing yourself outward by using pure water.

Turning to the Qiblih - or point of adoration

Reciting prayer that expresses your own humility and abasement before the Almighty...and which includes your own recognition of the awe and mystery of being in the presence of God.
 

Sundance

pursuing the Divine Beloved
Premium Member
For me the conditions under which I worship God are set by His Messenger ... The Prophets and Messengers of God from time to time offer guidance on worshipping God.

Generally there are certain preliminary steps in worshipping God...such as

Having an open heart yearning to return the love of God in worship;

Ablutions - meaning cleansing yourself.. this could include mentally preparing yourself by cleansing your thoughts but also physically cleansing yourself outward by using pure water.

Turning to the Qiblih - or point of adoration

Reciting prayer that expresses your own humility and abasement before the Almighty...and which includes your own recognition of the awe and mystery of being in the presence of God.

Pretty much this...
 

crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic Bully ☿
Premium Member
You have a valid point, but if he's not of sound mind then we really don't want to annoy him/her and better make sure we have arrived at the correct form of worship.
Like I said, dependent upon the circumstances. :)
 

Aštra’el

Aštara, Blade of Aštoreth
WORSHIP
wor·ship
ˈwərSHəp/


1.
the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

2.
to show reverence and adoration for (a deity); honor with religious rites.


When I feel a strong connection with a god or goddess (or their archetype), and a great sense of respect, and a powerful desire to express those thoughts and feelings, and a passion to generate mana for that deity and explore the power of our connection, and a sense of knowing that the deity's role in my life not only something I truly want and welcome but also something that was always meant to be... then I my "conditions" have been met.

 
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DawudTalut

Peace be upon you.
Glad to hear you say that. Evolution needs to be taught everywhere.
The complete picture is:
Creation+Guided Evolution (according to Quran)
[Ref: Free online Book with scientific proofs: Revelation, Rationality Knowledge and Truth]
 

Marsh

Active Member
The complete picture is:
Creation+Guided Evolution (according to Quran)
[Ref: Free online Book with scientific proofs: Revelation, Rationality Knowledge and Truth]
Then you reject scientific understanding. There is no natural evidence in the world to support the religious view of a special creation, in fact quite the opposite. The fossil record shows humans did not suddenly appear, but instead evolved from other life forms. Where in the Koran is guided evolution written about?
 

Marsh

Active Member
Since there are so many, where would you start? Abrahamics don't hold a monopoly on how one defines god; so, not all gods ask to be worshiped. :shrug: As for the book, I'd have to put that on goodreads. Just stared my classes. Thanks though.
Good luck with your studies. Also, just thought I would mention, Gaiman incorporates all religious traditions in his books (the universe he creates in American Gods is incorporated in a few of his other books. The Abrahamic religions don't figure much).
 

beenherebeforeagain

Rogue Animist
Premium Member
You want a god who is one of the boys. I think the Norse hit upon your concept when they created Valhalla. :)
deity and spirits in most indigenous and animistic cultures are really about social relationships. I can't imagine a Really Huge Universal Deity wanting to social with what for all intents and purposes from their perspective are on the same scale with bacteria. Somewhat smaller deities and spirits, ya, I can see family and other social connections being important...
 

YmirGF

Bodhisattva in Recovery
Supreme dude or no, I'm still trying to work out why worship is even particularly meaningful. I've always felt that worship is essentially egotistical in that one is trying to score brownie points with an allegedly divine sugar daddy. More to the point though is the thought of having an ant praying and worshiping ME. I'm not sure I'd understand what it was doing and would likely kill it for being a pest long before I realized it was fixated on me and wanted to have some weird kind of relationship. You can bet that if I saw this hopeful ant arrive with his wife and daughter covered up in burkas I'd be reaching for the Raid like lightning. I'd want to stamp that out before the idea took hold.
 

beenherebeforeagain

Rogue Animist
Premium Member
Supreme dude or no, I'm still trying to work out why worship is even particularly meaningful. I've always felt that worship is essentially egotistical in that one is trying to score brownie points with an allegedly divine sugar daddy. More to the point though is the thought of having an ant praying and worshiping ME. I'm not sure I'd understand what it was doing and would likely kill it for being a pest long before I realized it was fixated on me and wanted to have some weird kind of relationship. You can bet that if I saw this hopeful ant arrive with his wife and daughter covered up in burkas I'd be reaching for the Raid like lightning. I'd want to stamp that out before the idea took hold.
Amusing...and very much to my position: at some point, the relative positions/conditions/abilities simply preclude any sort of a personal or social relationship that makes any sense. Now, I like ants, and recognize the vital role they play in our environment...just not inside my house, or on my food at a picnic...
 

YmirGF

Bodhisattva in Recovery
Amusing...and very much to my position: at some point, the relative positions/conditions/abilities simply preclude any sort of a personal or social relationship that makes any sense. Now, I like ants, and recognize the vital role they play in our environment...just not inside my house, or on my food at a picnic...
While I attempted to inject a bit of humor into the question raised in the OP, it is based on a serious idea. What strikes me as being peculiar is how a being who created or is All That Is could possibly be aware of creatures that would be less significant to it than is bacteria to us. Does bacteria secretly worship us? Could we even relate to any form of worship a given bacteria offered us? I'm sorry to say that the whole worship thingy is predicated on the idea that we are this utterly remarkable creature in all of creation and that a given deity is waiting with baited breath on every thought we let fly its way. Why would a given deity be impressed with our feeble offerings? IMO, worship is little more than anthropomorphic egotistical arrogance.
 

DawudTalut

Peace be upon you.
Then you reject scientific understanding. There is no natural evidence in the world to support the religious view of a special creation,
Peace be on you.
From the book mentioned in post 32.
Internal ear
We invite the attention of all who depend entirely on Darwinian principles as causative and commanding factors of evolution and request them to explain how such a perfect artifact of science and technology could have been created step by step in a billion or even a trillion years under the influence of the said principles. Can scientists, with all their advanced knowledge of the mechanisms of life, physics or advanced chemistry, design even the structure of this organ to make hearing possible? Now that they know the complexities of the hollowed temporal bone through which this labyrinth passes, can they copy and reconstruct it with a suitable material which they have synthesized themselves? Could they honestly believe that such a wonder could have ever been created without a purpose and without a functional design, precise to its minutest detail, merely under the mindless influence of natural selection?


Owl's ear
Ear of Bat
Beak of woodpecker
Dolphin's sonar waves
Eye

These are examples of creation work
More @ https://www.alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_5_section_12.html



in fact quite the opposite. The fossil record shows humans did not suddenly appear, but instead evolved from other life forms. Where in the Koran is guided evolution written about?
== Quran repeatedly declares that at every step of creation choices had to be made and each time the selector was not the blind operator of natural selection, but the hand of God, the All-Seeing, the All-Knowing. Again it is specifically and categorically declared:

Arabic_Page347_1.gif

And thy Lord creates whatever He pleases and chooses whomsoever He pleases. It is not for them to choose. Glorified be Allah, and far is He above all that they associate with Him. 8


The decision making is not left to chance, nor to the things which are themselves being created. At every such moment it is God Who makes the choice and operates as the Supreme Selector.

There is no blind haphazard selection of characters as life evolves.
More @ https://www.alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_5_section_1.html



==The following verse from Surah Al-Inshiqaq addressing humans, promises them that theirs is a continuous journey from stage to stage:

That you shall assuredly pass on from one stage to another. (Al Quran 84:20)


GUIDED EVOLUTION: PROOF FROM PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM @
https://www.alislam.org/library/articles/Guided_evolution_and_punctuated_equilibrium-20081104MN.pdf
 
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