Why do believers love God?

[1213]

Why do believers love God?
...
(c) Because they believe that God is good since God has been good to them in their lives
...

My reason is that He has loved me.

 

[Trailblazer]

And I'm not so sure about injuries and misfortunes...a lot of that is on us.

Some but not all.

 

[Trailblazer]

What an awful thing to say.

I don't think it is awful, it is just honest, because what 'some people' believe about God is what they want to believe about God and what they believe they know. If they claim that they believe what they believe because of scriptures why then do other people reading the SAME scriptures view God differently? "I know I am right" is ego. It also means that everyone who does not agree with me must be wrong, which is condescending.

Scriptures teach people to be humble, so if believers appear to be egotistic, that would be their imperfection, and not any reflection on the nature of G-d.

G-d has no need of our respect and worship.
However, we need remembrance of G-d in order to prevent us from being led astray without realising it.

I agree with all of the above. No, God has no need for anything.

 

[Trailblazer]

It's true for many people, IMO.

I fully agree, as I just said to @muhammad_isa above.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

No. No they aren’t. Love is stronger than fear, love is stronger than hate. Love has the power to heal all harms; the world is built on that.

Yes, that's very romantic, uplifting even. It's just not quite true. All the love in Kentucky didn't keep the tornados away.

And do you know how Republicans get so much support from their base? They use fear. It's their most powerful tool. Just watch Joe Biden for a while, talking about how much he loves and cares for his country and his people -- and then see how the Republicans can destroy all the good by making people afraid of some stupid conspiracy or other.

 

[Trailblazer]

To add to it: we can logically conclude that evil does not exist. For if X existed and was evil, then it would be loved by God, since all that exists is loved by God. But God cannot love evil, therefore there is not such a thing as evil. There never was.

So, why do we need a heaven?

Ciao

- viole

It is a Baha'i belief that God loves everyone but that does not mean that God views everyone as equal, and that is one reason there is a heaven and a hell. Evil souls go to hell, where they can no longer harm good people who are in heaven as evil people harm good people on this earth.

“Let no one imagine that by Our assertion that all created things are the signs of the revelation of God is meant that—God forbid—all men, be they good or evil, pious or infidel, are equal in the sight of God.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 187

 

[Trailblazer]

God being existentially real and genuinely good I think true believers love God for the following reasons:

We are on the wrong side of justice and deserve our circumstances.

There is a legitimate evil that is enemy to all that God is and we are responsible for being foot soldiers in the war against evil doings.

The eternal prize is so worthy, and God's truth is so great that every trial, test, horror, and tragedy is worth enduring to the end.

Finally, God's truth creates love in us that never dies.

That makes sense and in my mind I believe it, but my heart does not follow, because of what you said below.
So I am kind of split person.

Now I'm still an atheist because I don't sense, feel, or see any such presence. Nature is a giant mess. And the atrocities that happen are absolutely sickening and not deserved.

I would be an atheist for the same reason, if I had not been a Baha'i first, but it is difficult being a Baha'i when I do not feel anything positive for God.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Some but not all.

But we still have choices how to react to any situation. That's not fate.

 

[Trailblazer]

It's d for me, because I don't love God. As a matter of fact, I strongly disagree with the belief in a loving God, and I think the belief in a merciful heavenly father is irrational, and it perpetuates a false hope in people. Personally speaking, I tried to believe in a loving caring God for more than 35 years of my life, and this is in despite of the traumatic and painful experiences I endured from being abused at home, and perpetually bullied in school. I've struggled to hold onto the false hope of a loving God for the majority of my adulthood too, but it became more difficult for me as I grew older to keep ignoring the nagging feeling that my belief and faith in a loving merciful God, and all the traumatic experiences and painful memories from my childhood, were not compatible. And that's not to mention, genuinely contemplating all the suffering, death, and violence in the world and throughout human history.

About a year ago now, I decided it was time that I was honest with myself and I needed to face the painful truth that this "loving God" did not protect me from years of physical, emotional, and other abuse. I was also tired of pretending to be something that I knew I was not, and I had to accept the fact that I could no longer call myself a Christian. It was a painful time of personal reflection for me, and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone else. I'm still shaken by its effects today. At some point during my journey of personal reflection, I finally came to a conclusion that God is either a sadistic bloodthirsty tyrannical monster, who takes pleasure in causing human suffering, and then sitting back to happily watch the total chaos he creates (despite the many verses in the Bible depicting his loving and merciful nature, contrary to Isaiah 45:7) or God simply doesn't exist, and humans are alone in this world, and always have been. Hence, the point of calling myself an agnostic. I refer to it as being in "spiritual limbo," and I'm honestly okay with it.

In conclusion, there's something else I'd like to say before I post my reply, and that's my disclaimer, so to speak.

If you're a Christian and reading my post, I'm asking you, in advance, not to preach at me and try to convince me to believe that "God loves me," and wants what's best for me. I was a Christian for more than thirty years, so I know how the game is played, and the usual "the carrot and the stick" proselytizing tactics won't work on me. I'm only saying this because I know Christians will either try to lure me back in (the carrot) or try to shame me and even threaten me with hell fire (the stick) if I don't comply. In other words, I'm not buying what you have to sell. I've been there, done that, so please don't waste your time. FWIW, I'm not trying to be rude to anyone. It's just the way I feel at this point in life. I hope the Christians who read this will respect my request to be left alone.

I admire your honesty and share many of the same sentiments, including those about not buying what my fellow believers are trying to sell. I cannot believe in what does not make sense to me. I believe in God because it makes sense but I don't believe in a Loving God because it makes no sense. I admit a lot of the reason I cannot believe it is because of my own suffering but I am a product of that and none of it was anything I brought on myself or deserved. But it is not only my own suffering that makes me believe that God cannot be loving, it is all the suffering of others, humans and animals.

For me, the answer was (d) None of the above because I don’t love God, for the three reasons I stated in the OP.

 

[Trailblazer]

But we still have choices how to react to any situation. That's not fate.

I am not so sure that how we react is a choice. What we do might be a choice but how we feel is not a choice.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Yes, that's very romantic, uplifting even. It's just not quite true. All the love in Kentucky didn't keep the tornados away.

And do you know how Republicans get so much support from their base? They use fear. It's their most powerful tool. Just watch Joe Biden for a while, talking about how much he loves and cares for his country and his people -- and then see how the Republicans can destroy all the good by making people afraid of some stupid conspiracy or other.

Love won’t stop a tornado, but it can help a community rebuild after one.

Maybe love can even be the antidote to your fear of Republicans. It’s a powerful thing, showing love to one’s enemies.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Love won’t stop a tornado, but it can help a community rebuild after one.

Maybe love can even be the antidote to your fear of Republicans. It’s a powerful thing, showing love to one’s enemies.

You are engaged in what I see as some very romantic and wishful thinking. What helps rebuild after disaster is need -- and effort.

We are a social animal, and that drives us to help those around us -- because we need them, not because we love them.

I will tell you this, humans motivated by fear (even those who think they are worshippers of "the love of Christ") are easy-peasy to convince to lynch the object of their fear. Look at history.

 

[osgart]

That makes sense and in my mind I believe it, but my heart does not follow, because of what you said below.
So I am kind of split person.

I would be an atheist for the same reason, if I had not been a Baha'i first, but it is difficult being a Baha'i when I do not feel anything positive for God.

Is the Baha'i God all knowing and all powerful?

Or are we talking about a God with limits?

 

[Trailblazer]

Is the Baha'i God all knowing and all powerful?

Or are we talking about a God with limits?

The Baha'i God is all knowing and all powerful.

 

[osgart]

The Baha'i God is all knowing and all powerful.

Then God's truth prevents all direct divine intervention. Somewhere in God's truth is the answer.

I don't know how any God can sit and watch WW2 though. Of course there are even worse things then that too.

Perhaps God is constantly working through His/Her Spirit.

If I had God gloves though I'd cage all the wicked and bring everybody what they deserve without delay.

There's nothing to be learned from allowing evil. There's no justice in allowing atheism to be so convincing.

Of course if God has limits then God would undoubtedly not be able to get to helping us.

 

[Wildswanderer]

I am not so sure that how we react is a choice. What we do might be a choice but how we feel is not a choice.

I don't agree. Feelings are temporal and fleeting things. We basically decide which feelings to entertain and feed and which to shove away and starve. And love isn't really a feeling first. It's a choice that leads to the feelings.

 

[Trailblazer]

I don't know how any God can sit and watch WW2 though. Of course there are even worse things then that too.

I cannot consider that to be a loving God, so that is where I am stuck. I cannot just believe in things that make no sense to me because they are in a book of scriptures.

If I had God gloves though I'd cage all the wicked and bring everybody what they deserve without delay.

That is what I would do if I was God but I am not God.

There's nothing to be learned from allowing evil. There's no justice in allowing atheism to be so convincing.

Of course if God has limits then God would undoubtedly not be able to get to helping us.

Atheism is not convincing to very many people but God allows non-belief if people choose it.
God has no limits but God does not want to force anyone to believe, it has to be a choice.
God allows evil because of free will and it is supposed to be a learning tool. Good people are just collateral damage.

 

[CG Didymus]

This thing about God's Love is blown way out of proportion. It is a Christian belief that some Baha'is have tried to commandeer but it is not the primary focus of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah.

I'm so far behind in this thread. I'm on page 6. But a couple of thoughts.... One, if God is real he better be all loving. But, number two, If we read some of the stories in the Bible, I wonder, what kind of love does God have? Would we love an abusive parent? God killed several of his people for not obeying his rules. One guy took some things from a city the Israelites had just destroyed, by God's orders, then God had that man and I think his whole family killed. Plus, some of the cities that God had his people destroy, also including killing all the women and children in that city.

Hopefully, that is just a fictional story. And I could see that. The writers just wanted the people to fear, obey and also to love this mysterious invisible God of theirs. Anyway, I'll read on.

 

[CG Didymus]

So what is the act of suicide?

Another thing about this loving God. He's not supposed to give a test that a person can't endure. But some religious people can't endure and do themselves in.

 

[Lain]

Another thing about this loving God. He's not supposed to give a test that a person can't endure. But some religious people can't endure and do themselves in.

Being able to endure and not enduring are two different things, people do not always do what they are able to do, for instance I am able to go and murder someone on the street right now but I am not doing and will not do that.