Why is God worth worshiping?

[Truthseeker]

I seek the truth night and day... Not so sure that I found it

We can only find the truth to the extent we have a pure heart. Endeavor to have a pure heart.

 

[Spiderman]

We can only find the truth to the extent we have a pure heart. Endeavor to have a pure heart.

And you think a person in Saudi Arabia or North Korea is guaranteed to find the truth if they have a pure heart?

 

[Truthseeker]

And you think a person in Saudi Arabia or North Korea is guaranteed to find the truth if they have a pure heart?

Eventually. It takes time and opportunity also.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

I think scientists and atheists have just substituted the word Time for the word God. Just like God, the idea Time is eternal, Universal, and accepted as real without any shred of evidence. Here is an article on the physics of time explaining why time is imaginary arbitrary concept created in man's minds

Time, or the psychological experience of a series of nows fading into thens, may well be a byproduct of conscious experience rather than an inherent property of unexperienced reality. We can imagine reality as a movie in the can, with its beginning, end, and the states between all existing simultaneously there, but nor simulataneously for the conscious observer of the film, who must travel through it frame by frame and organize the experiences in memory as a recalled and ordered duration experienced as persistences and changes.

I wouldn't equate tht with anything that I would call God, by which I mean an sentient entity capable of creating universes.

there is something nihilistic in the idea the the Universe is just patterns of energy swirling around according to the laws of physics where no pattern is any more meaningful than any other

Some patterns are more meaningful than others to me, and I'd be to you as well.

since everything is meaningless, then it is ALSO meaningless that it is meaningless

Meaningless for whom? I find meaning in my world and my existence in it. I don't mind if the universe is meaningless to itself. It's meaningful to me.

There is more to worshiping God than just being thankful to God.

Agreed. Gratitude doesn't even require an object. One can be grateful to be participating in existence without being grateful to anybody.

I do not think sin is God's responsibility

I ascribe omniresponsibility to the omnipotent and omnisicient. If you know about something and have the power to intercede or not, you are responsible for which ever choice you make and for whatever follows from that choice.

 

[Quintessence]

@FlyingTeaPot
Why do I worship my gods? Because armchair theism is nonsensical and useless. Why bother accepting gods into your life if you aren't going to do anything with it? It's kinda like saying "yeah, I have this friend, but I don't give them gifts, talk to them, spend time with them, or really acknowledge them in any way."

But if you meant to ask why God is worth worshiping, I don't think that god is worth worshiping. I'm not a monotheist of any sort, much less of the Abrahamic variety.

 

[dfnj]

Time, or the psychological experience of a series of nows fading into thens, may well be a byproduct of conscious experience rather than an inherent property of unexperienced reality. We can imagine reality as a movie in the can, with its beginning, end, and the states between all existing simultaneously there, but nor simulataneously for the conscious observer of the film, who must travel through it frame by frame and organize the experiences in memory as a recalled and ordered duration experienced as persistences and changes.

Prove to me time exists. Show me time. Hold it in your hand. If you can't, it's just imaginary like the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Time is not real but some arbitrary construct created by men very similar to the idea of God. God and time only exist in our words and language.

 

[ManofIslam]

Allah (God) (SWT) has created us to Worship Him! Our purpose for being on this earth is to Worship Allah (SWT)!

 

[dfnj]

Allah (God) (SWT) has created us to Worship Him! Our purpose for being on this earth is to Worship Allah (SWT)!

I can appreciate your point of view. Are you capable of appreciating mine? Or, do you believe Allah is the only one true path?

 

[ManofIslam]

I believe that Allah (SWT) is the only true path; but I respect you as a person.

 

[RedDragon94]

Just everyone else's belief in God prevents them from loving you.

That's their problem.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

Prove to me time exists.

I can't prove to you that you exist, but I'd guess that both of believe that you do.

Show me time.

I can show your persistence and change. Both occur in time.

If you can't, it's just imaginary like the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Time is not real but some arbitrary construct created by men very similar to the idea of God

Disagree. Time is an irresistible intuition, like external reality.

Yes, time may well be a mental construct - something generated by consciousness like an imagined FSM - but we are unable to have conscious experiences without experiencing time. I don't need to experience space or matter (external reality) to have a conscious experience. Thought alone is enough.

But I do have to have a sense of a series of ordered nows just to think, thinking being a change of mental state that cannot occur without the experience of before, now, and the anticipation of next or later, even if just implicitly. My dog expresses an ability to remember and anticipate. That is what time is, and there is nothing arbitrary about it apart from the units we choose to measure it.

The FSM has no external correlate or referent, and is not only not an irresistible intuition, had the person who created the idea not done so, it is very unlikely that anybody would have had that concept in imagination.

God may also have no external referent, but the idea seems to have been inevitable.

 

[corynski]

I have a deep respect for the atheist position. It's logical. It's consistent. But science has NOTHING on religion. An omnipotent God can create the Universe in any amount of time including all the fake carbon dating and fossil evidence. Once you accept the existence of an omnipotent God, science and religion are separate Worlds of thought.

Now why do people have religion at all when science has been so successful in dismissing so many superstitions over the years. Religion has always existed since the beginning of time to answer our big questions about why we are here, what it all means, what is going to happen to us when we die. Science explains how nature behaves. Science has never explained why anything exists at all as opposed to nothing. Science has never explained why nature behaves at all. It's not enough to say electrons move because they are electrons with charge. Having charge is one thing. Performing the laws of physics requires an act of God. So you could easily dismiss this as just more superstitious nonsense. And you may be right. But the fundamental truth of reality remains. Nature is always stranger than anything we could have ever imagined. And God is the force in the Universe that keeps our full understanding of all of nature's behaviors just one step beyond our full comprehension.



I think scientists and atheists have just substituted the word Time for the word God. Just like God, the idea Time is eternal, Universal, and accepted as real without any shred of evidence. Here is an article on the physics of time explaining why time is imaginary arbitrary concept created in man's minds just like the Flying Spaghetti Monster:

"There Is No Such Thing As Time"

I don't mean to sound disrespectful to you. I just would like you to understand the point of view where theists are coming from. As far as we can tell, or from the theists perspective, there is something nihilistic in the idea the the Universe is just patterns of energy swirling around according to the laws of physics where no pattern is any more meaningful than any other. I don't have a shred of evidence to prove to you everything is NOT meaningless on a cosmic timescale. All I can say in defense of theists is since everything is meaningless, then it is ALSO meaningless that it is meaningless. Well, if it doesn't matter, then WE have to choose which one we believe is true. Theist choose the Universe is meaningful and divine on the cosmic timescale. So please do not ask theists to start from the starting point the atheists and scientists have CHOSEN.

dfnj....... Thank you for such a comprehensive reply, it's hard to know where to begin. I prefer to begin with the concept of reality,..... is there a 'reality'.... do we all experience the same reality...... what if matter and energy have always existed, and there has never been anything created, only transformed. When I was younger I thought I would find answers, but instead I find only deeper questions...... Science, especially semantics, appears to offer some hope that we may agree with other humans regarding something exterior to our individual consciousness, and if we could agree upon something, perhaps we wouldn't have to kill each other regarding each other's non-reality. To agree upon what 'is' is quite an accomplishment, but what if there are no 'referents', i.e. objects of a verb that can be measured and evaluated by the scientific method. We can agree that this is large, or this is red, or that is soft, because the object is part of our world of 'Being'. And what has 'being' has 'isness'. The sun is bright, the rug is soiled, the troll is beneath the bridge, and god is..... what? Humans create their own gods, a fact that we know from our study of the thousands and thousands of years of evolution, each one for unique cultural reasons as I've mentioned elsewhere. And now, finally after all those thousands of years of evolution, our consciousness has emerged with a method to evaluate our experiences. The question that occurs to me is, "Do we want to live in reality, or in a fictional world created by our minds?" I have assumed reality is preferable. Why do people have religions you ask? Obviously in hope of perceiving and experiencing a true reality, a true god...... from which follows an endless litany of heavens and life everlastings and such. We all want some idea why we are here, and where will our minds go upon death. Religion purports to answer those questions, but no one can agree..... it devolves into supposition entirely, as there is no substrate of reality, no 'being' that can be corroborated by anyone. And regardless of which god you choose, are you not faced with the same enigma? Where did god come from? Where was any god while humans evolved over thousands and thousands of years, likely with pain and suffering we can't begin to imagine. If a 'god' created this world why would he ignore it as he did? Religion and belief raise more questions to me than they do answers.......

 

[arthra]

To all my friends who are theists out there, I would like to understand why you worship your God.

Tea pot,

You would like to understand why I worship God?

For me in my life of some seventy years or so I've found worshipping God provides me and my family with meaning, truth and love. When alone or against great odds and when in fear worshipping God provides security and meaning to life and the end of this life as well as the life to come....

Worship is the spiritual core around worship is my life.. how I act and what I work for and this involves teachings that we receive from the Messenger of God in this day.

I found a paragraph from an article on "worship" that I wanted to share here:

"The word comes from an Old English term that means “to show honor” or to “give worth (worth-ship)” to something or someone. Of course, many words exist to describe the ancient concept of worship. In the Bible, initially written in Aramaic, the word for worship—proskuneo–meant “to bow down, to prostrate oneself before God.” In Buddhism, the Pali and Sanskrit word for worship—puja—means giving honor and devotional attention. For Hindus, the word for worship—bhakti—means the expression of devotional love. In Islam, the concept of ibadah means obedience, submission and devotion to God. In Judaism, Avodat Hashem means worshipping God through prayer, devotion and meditation."

What Do Baha'is Worship?

- Art

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

Some theist get defensive when you question their faith beyond the basics. Putting atheist in one put doesnt resolve the issue.

I did get that sense from some of the posts on this thread.

The act of worship or putting someone at a higher standard of reverence than yourself is just a way to say thank you. For example, some people say thank you to their parents for taking care of them; so, they take care of their parents. Its a physical appreciation for being treated well and taken care of.

Sure, makes sense.

So, if someone saves your life, would you not want to say thank you?

Yes I would. I don't know if I'd worship them though.

As for how one worships-puts one on a petelstool for reverence-depends on the person and culture. Singing (and dancing etc) as well as chanting brings vibrarions and a sense of peace and oneness with the person or thing one sings to. Some people do it because they cant think of words to express how greatful they are. Others are just gratitful in general and dont need to "be saved" to say it.

Yep, I can see that.

Why people get defensive, probably because how one gives reverence (gratitude) is highly personal. Also, if you spark a nerve of one's truthfulness of their worship it makes them fustrated and they blame it on the person asking the question rather than responses towards questions that cant hurt people.

Yeah, again. this is the sense I got from some of the posts on this thread as well as generally on the forum, which is what sparked this thread.

Its kinda complicated why people worship. I feel its better understood in religions like Hinduism and non evagalist religions. There is a peace of giving whats given rather than holding what they feel will be mistaken. (Charity with reservations)

Based on this thread, I would have to agree with you. I got much better answers from non-evangelist religious people here. The common theme is to aspire to be good, as opposed to being told what to do. The motivations are indeed quite different. Maybe that's why evangelists have to evangelize in the first place.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

Love of God is defined strictly as obedience. However, one comes to know God due to the interaction that occurs, and this means that a bond forms. I know He keeps his promises, and that is a world, this earth under one rule, no more wars, illnesses cleared up, etc. -- to me this and the personal promises given (through scripture) is worth my love and devotion. His demand of obedience is not for his own sake, but for our sakes.

That's interesting, thanks for your perspective.

Another person on this site posted a video I didn't look at, too stressful perhaps for me, but it highlighted the differences between human habitats and animal's. We are destroying our own world and we need someone to tell those of us, even nations, that this must not happen or else. Enormous plastic refuse in the middle of the oceans, and so much more. We need someone to tell us how to tow the line for our own sakes and the earth's.

Absolutely. Although there are some who welcome Armageddon.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

All people tend to worship (adore) something(s). Christians:

* worship the Creator, not the created
* give proper worship to His most worshipful presence
* love a good party, like a worship party
* receive power when they worship, and pleasure

Okay, although your post does not answer the core I was trying to get at, which is why your (Christian in this case) god is worthy of worship.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

One definition of worship is 'to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion.' So many people worship celebrities or sports stars. And their worship always leads to disappointment, as the person commits crimes or engages in immoral behavior. For me, G-d is the best place to focus my worship, my respect, my honor, my devotion. G-d will never let me down. G-d Created this world for me and everyone. G-d deserves all the thanks and gratitude that I can muster.

Okay, great. That is inarguable.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

because without god we wouldn't be alive. god created life and we are grateful for this.

Hmmm, this answer is not entirely convincing. My parents gave me life, but I don't worship them. Maybe I should

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

I worship God, not because I like God very much and, I think he's very cruel, but without God I was very immature, hedonistic, perverted, angry, insane, irrational, and Confused, and by turning to God, I got a lot better.

I turn to God because I want understanding, maturity, enlightenment, and the ability to suffer through hard times without turning to drugs and alcohol, I badly need God's help for this and God does indeed help

Best answer yet. Thank you, and I hope you find what you're looking for through your god.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

What is the difference between deep respect and reverence, please?

Reverence goes deeper than deep respect

My worship of The God is less of a feeling and more of a thought. I believe The God is able to lead me in the right way. But, to be led, I must be devoted to the way. To believe God can lead me, I have to have deep respect for that. After a while of being led I can't but adore The Leader. Right?

Because I believe that there is just one beginning and one end, then it follows that there can be just one God or Way. I revere God for being alone as the only one and the only way.

That's a great answer, thank you.