Why does God need your praise/belief?

[Bongoman]

Ok now this is something about religions I've never really understand, why is it whenever people go to churches, mosques whatever, they always spend about an hour saying how great god is and how hes all merciful? Why? What purpose does it serve? Even if he exists, why would he need your praise, or your belief for that matter? IS he so narcissistic that he enjoys it? Maybe, but somehow I doubt the supreme creator of the ultimate multiverse has any self esteem issues. Also, why does he not let unbelievers into heaven? Surely it can't make that much difference to him? Anyway, I'm not trying to attack, I am genuinely curious as to what the reason is.

[SFGurrilla]

Sacrifice of some sort? Time instead of death for sins?

[Bongoman]

But why would he need sacrifice? In fact why does he need the concept of sin at all?

[Gonzo54]

I always criticise people for this
They go to mass all the time, praising God etc
Yet when it comes to helping someone else out, like a good Samaritan, they're nowhere to be seen

I'd say God would prefer us to help each other rather than 'praise' him all fucking day long

[SFGurrilla]

But why would he need sacrifice? In fact why does he need the concept of sin at all?

cause religion values sacrafice? He saraficed himself. Its the ultimate gift back to the creator. And sin is more then doing wrong. its morals and karmas. Sin distrups the fine balance between the ying and yang.

[Bongoman]

cause religion values sacrafice? He saraficed himself. Its the ultimate gift back to the creator. And sin is more then doing wrong. its morals and karmas. Sin distrups the fine balance between the ying and yang.

But why does it value sacrifice? Also, why did he need to sacrifice himself if hes omni-potent? Couldn't he have just said "OK, all your sins are forgiven, you can come on up now". Anyway, he/Jesus sacrificed himself to absolve original sin (the whole tree of knowledge thing), a concept that makes no sense whatsoever. Why punish us for something our supposed ancestors did thousands of years ago?

[TX Girl]

Ok now this is something about religions I've never really understand, why is it whenever people go to churches, mosques whatever, they always spend about an hour saying how great god is and how hes all merciful? Why? What purpose does it serve? Even if he exists, why would he need your praise, or your belief for that matter? IS he so narcissistic that he enjoys it? Maybe, but somehow I doubt the supreme creator of the ultimate multiverse has any self esteem issues. Also, why does he not let unbelievers into heaven? Surely it can't make that much difference to him? Anyway, I'm not trying to attack, I am genuinely curious as to what the reason is

hi Bongoman :)

good question. I would guess it is more for the believers edification than to stroke Gods ego or anything.

[yokinazu]

simply put god needs beleivers to exist. if no one beleives in god there can be no god. take any other religion and you will find that to the followers of that religion their god(s) is just as real to them as god is to the christians.
why do we consider the gods of the greeks, romans, egyptians, mayans, etc. etc. nothing more than myth? because they are no longer beleived in or worshipped.

[Bongoman]

cause religion values sacrafice? He saraficed himself. Its the ultimate gift back to the creator. And sin is more then doing wrong. its morals and karmas. Sin distrups the fine balance between the ying and yang.


simply put god needs beleivers to exist. if no one beleives in god there can be no god. take any other religion and you will find that to the followers of that religion their god(s) is just as real to them as god is to the christians.
why do we consider the gods of the greeks, romans, egyptians, mayans, etc. etc. nothing more than myth? because they are no longer beleived in or worshipped.

That is interesting, so belief actually creates gods? Do you mean it literally creates a god, or that due to belief, God becomes "real" for the people who believe in him?

[yokinazu]

thats quite a philosophical argument. i my self beleive that until the first person belived truly in their heart that god was real he could not have existed. wouldnt god have revealed himself long before the advent of judaism instead of letting his people worship false gods condeming them to hell? i ask this also all the "ignorant" heathens in the new world that woshiped false gods who lived before the arival of the christians are they in hell? even though a man lived a good life did not kill, provided for his family, but his only "sin" would be that he had never heard the name jesus christ or god, would a loving all forgiving god condem a man for this? so there fore i say god could not have existed at all before beleif. like i said if god existed from the begining of creation then why did he take so long to reveal himself?

[40oz]

like i said if god existed from the begining of creation then why did he take so long to reveal himself?

Well if you truly believe in the 3 Abrahamic religions (Islam, Judaism, Christianity), then god did reveal himself right from the begining in the story of adam and eve. They knew god existed and god made them perfect, without sin. At least I think he did.

The world then was a paradise, it was the garden of eden. Most people probably know the story, God's only rule was to stay away from the tree of knowledge (kind if ironic, huh). They were tempted and ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge and "their eyes were opened" and they realized they were naked and had sin and god banished them from paradise...I guess because he is not as forgiving as he likes people to think.

That is why all humans have sin, according to those religious texts (even the Koran). So basically humanity has to submit and praise god because of their sins because some naked people got convinced that knowledge was better than paradise by a snake.

[delusionsofNORMALity]

....humanity has to submit and praise god because of their sins because some naked people got convinced that knowledge was better than paradise by a snake.
so; according to accepted religious dogma, the quest for an understanding of the world around us is the ultimate sin. is it any wonder those of us with more than two brain cells to rub together have declared war on these institutions of slavery? religion, from its very inception, was never anything more than a sorry attempt to explain that which we are unable to understand. our origins, the workings of the cosmos, the reasons for our existence; these are the big questions that religion has always given us little answers for. every step we have taken toward any understanding of these "unanswerables" has always been thwarted by religion and as these belief systems have evolved they have gained power over the ignorant masses and a death grip on the intellectual growth of our species.

the primitive ritual of genuflection has become the most important part of religious exercise. it is an admission that we are incapable of understanding our own natures and an act of submitting ourselves to bondage under some mythical master. it is also a secret handshake of sorts, with each creed creating some special form of prostrating themselves before their illusory creator as a way of setting themselves apart from those with different beliefs. remember; these gods are cruel, as nature is sometimes seen to be cruel, and they must be placated in order to assure their benevolence.

[yokinazu]

some naked people got convinced that knowledge was better than paradise by a snake.

so ignorance is bliss

if you cant tell i dont beleive in the 3 abrahamic religions. according to them the earth and humans have been here just about 6000 years. i just dont buy into it. but that is an argument for a differant thread.

[tabuwn]

Even if he exists, why would he need your praise, or your belief for that matter? IS he so narcissistic that he enjoys it? Maybe, but somehow I doubt the supreme creator of the ultimate multiverse has any self esteem issues. Also, why does he not let unbelievers into heaven? Surely it can't make that much difference to him? Anyway, I'm not trying to attack, I am genuinely curious as to what the reason is.

God doesn't need anything; if anything WE need God, or at least a realization of who He really is. An intellectual understanding, or belief in God is not nescessary to enter heaven, but it is helpful. Heaven is within you, all one must do is "realize" this truth. So many people wait, and do nothing worthy on this earth because they think that heaven is somewhere "out there".

It is here, on earth, and within each of us. The trouble with this truth is that VERY few realize it, and focus only of suffering. There is purpose in suffering; it builds character, and is indeed beneficial for us, but it is not the essence of life.

Love is the stuff life is made of - w/o Love there is no life in us. Christ is Love - Love is Spirit - Spirit is God.

God consists of more than spirit, but Spirit is God's essence. God is all things. [Mind - Spirit - Matter] We are all part of God, and we will always be part of God. Even after our bodies decay, we still reside in God as dirt - ash -nutrients for palnts, animals, etc. Life is eternal - Death is an illusion.

Tabuwn

[Reefer Rogue]

This is why

YouTube - George Carlin - Religion is bullshit. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o)