Why Do Gods Need To Be Worshipped

[katiafish]

My God does not need to be worshipped. The only worship i can offer is being aware of everything i do, the air i breathe, the food i eat, and everything around me, as God is everything.

 

[TimothyA]

Why do gods need to be worshipped? (I apologise if this topic has already been discussed i did search for one)

And im talking about all gods, not just yours in particular so please don't get uppity?

I mean most gods are considered 'omnipotent' all powerful. That means they shouldn't need us in any way shape or form. But yet they still require worship from their followers.

So i've been pondering this and i've come up with some theories:

A. The gods are not all powerful but get their power from our worship.
B. The gods are narcissistic egotistical beings who require the ego strokes they get from worship.

Any other possibilities?

-Q

I don't believe the Gods do need worship.

See: Sallustius: On the Gods and the Cosmos | Hellenismos.us

• ...that all God (here and elsewhere, = Godhood, divine nature) is good, free from passion, free from change. For whatever suffers change does so for the worse or the better; if for the worse, it is made bad; if for the better, it must have been bad at first.
• The essences of the Gods never came into existence (for that which always is never comes into existence; and that exists for ever which possesses primary force and by nature suffers nothing): neither do they consist of bodies; for even in bodies the powers are incorporeal. Neither are they contained by space; for that is a property of bodies. Neither are they separate from the first cause nor from one another, just as thoughts are not separate from mind nor acts of knowledge from the soul.
• If any one thinks the doctrine of the unchangeableness of the Gods is reasonable and true, and then wonders how it is that they rejoice in the good and reject the bad, are angry with sinners and become propitious when appeased, the answer is as follows: God does not rejoice – for that which rejoices also grieves; nor is he angered – for to be angered is a passion; nor is he appeased by gifts – if he were, he would be conquered by pleasure.
• The divine itself is without needs, and the worship is paid for our own benefit.
• For this reason we pray for communion with the Gods. Since, therefore, the first life is the life of the Gods, but human life is also life of a kind, and human life wishes for communion with divine life...

If the Gods are (A) not all powerful but get their power from our worship, or (B) are narcissistic egotistical beings who require the ego strokes they get from worship, then they are not true Gods.

 

[dust1n]

It's obvious to me that God has self-identity problems.

 

[Baydwin]

It's obvious to me that God has self-identity problems.

I think the problem is more on our part. Plus I wouldn't say god has an identity as such.

 

[McBell]

Why do gods need to be worshipped?

It is what happens when the ego gets as powerful as everything thing else.

 

[dust1n]

I think the problem is more on our part. Plus I wouldn't say god has an identity as such.

I agree, I was just being sassy and sarcastic to the idea of God... sitting, yearning to hear his name from his creation, just from one particular (and tiny) detail of the universe (though I hear he will make the rabbits and rocks worship him. )(God has his fingers crossed on this one.

Even if he did want to be worshiped so badly, why doesn't he just change the environment of the world to convince more people to worship.

 

[Baydwin]

Even if he did want to be worshiped so badly, why doesn't he just change the environment of the world to convince more people to worship.

He's got yoga on Mondays, Tuesday is piano lessons, Wednesday the in-laws visit, on Thursday he worships Thor, Friday is curry night, Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath and Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. He just doesn't have the time.

 

[The Neo Nerd]

I don't believe the Gods do need worship.

See: Sallustius: On the Gods and the Cosmos | Hellenismos.us

• ...that all God (here and elsewhere, = Godhood, divine nature) is good, free from passion, free from change. For whatever suffers change does so for the worse or the better; if for the worse, it is made bad; if for the better, it must have been bad at first.
• The essences of the Gods never came into existence (for that which always is never comes into existence; and that exists for ever which possesses primary force and by nature suffers nothing): neither do they consist of bodies; for even in bodies the powers are incorporeal. Neither are they contained by space; for that is a property of bodies. Neither are they separate from the first cause nor from one another, just as thoughts are not separate from mind nor acts of knowledge from the soul.
• If any one thinks the doctrine of the unchangeableness of the Gods is reasonable and true, and then wonders how it is that they rejoice in the good and reject the bad, are angry with sinners and become propitious when appeased, the answer is as follows: God does not rejoice – for that which rejoices also grieves; nor is he angered – for to be angered is a passion; nor is he appeased by gifts – if he were, he would be conquered by pleasure.
• The divine itself is without needs, and the worship is paid for our own benefit.
• For this reason we pray for communion with the Gods. Since, therefore, the first life is the life of the Gods, but human life is also life of a kind, and human life wishes for communion with divine life...

If the Gods are (A) not all powerful but get their power from our worship, or (B) are narcissistic egotistical beings who require the ego strokes they get from worship, then they are not true Gods.

So are you saying that gods do not need worshipping, but that humans need to worship gods to fill some kind of void in their psyche.

-Q

 

[Buttons*]

Why do gods need to be worshipped? (I apologise if this topic has already been discussed i did search for one)

And im talking about all gods, not just yours in particular so please don't get uppity?

I mean most gods are considered 'omnipotent' all powerful. That means they shouldn't need us in any way shape or form. But yet they still require worship from their followers.

So i've been pondering this and i've come up with some theories:

A. The gods are not all powerful but get their power from our worship.
B. The gods are narcissistic egotistical beings who require the ego strokes they get from worship.

Any other possibilities?

-Q

You really want me to speak for all religions out there? I can't. I can speak for my faith though.

When I say "worship" I mean, contemplate in reverence. It's not prayers, it's not hopes I wish answered, and it's not about making them like me. It's about respect, showing myself and them that I care for myself (and subsequently them) enough to make myself a better person by embodying their strengths. Sophia (wisdom), Barbelo (forethought) these are the Goddesses that are of special import, and they are worth thinking about every so often. When I contemplate them in reverence, that is worship to me. They do not require worship. They are above that. It's more for me than it is for them.

 

[zflash7]

when you worship God you are literally giving yourself a pat on the back, as we are HIS childern and made in His image. So its like meeting your true self.. but never being IT. Always beyond reach so you always strive to become better/more like HIM.
I hope you were being Honest? Because I am,.

 

[Snowber]

Quaxotic,

The question as to why God needs to worshipped is one brought up in many discussions. The problem, I think, is that people see GOD as a human being who has an ego and human emotions where the act of worship would only magnify the ego of the one asking to be worshipped.

Now if you look at this from a different perspective: We don't know what/who GOD truly is then we cannot assume that it is ego based, now we look for different reasons as to why GOD wants to be worshiped and have no idols setup beside Him (Him is a generic identifier not necessarily implying gender in this case).

Now looking at it in a different way we may realize that GOD wants us to worship Him because He IS all powerful, whenever we setup idols beside GOD we find ourselves destined for hurt.

For example, an idol does not have to be an inanimate object that we pray and bow to. In fact, idols can be your car/money/ego/spouse/children/parents, etc. Now I think all of us have an experience in life where we liked a girl too much that, in a sense, we ended up "worshipping" that person, we put them in our minds MORE than GOD.

Studying scriptures carefully I'll think you'll find that GOD in fact does NOT need us, but GOD knows the most fair path, and had we not had a freedom we would simply be like robots. I am not speaking for all faiths but in my case the decision to side with Satan was our CHOICE, and in God's infinite mercy we were put in this world TO REDEEM THOSE WHO DESERVED TO BE REDEEMED.

In fact we see the angels ask:

Satan: A Temporary "god"*

[2:30] Recall that your Lord said to the angels, "I am placing a representative (a temporary god) on Earth." They said, "Will You place therein one who will spread evil therein and shed blood, while we sing Your praises, glorify You, and uphold Your absolute authority?" He said, "I know what you do not know."

Here even the angels ask what humans think about why there is evil everyday. In fact, GOD knew that saving those very few who deserved to be saved was worth it. This "temporary god" is not a real god. Satan made a claim that he could possess power like GOD, and we had the freedom to go along with it, and we are in the GREAT MINORITY.

Animals/trees/the sun the moon/mountains/the earth/ the stars all chose to go back to GOD's kingdom, hence they are ego less creatures set for a specific span. As for the humans, we could not make a firm decision to side with GOD, and hence, here we are. Had we remembered all this, or had angels been sent down through the clouds the test would be over.

 

[Sunstone]

The gods are vain.

 

[horiturk]

any deity would not need worship

 

[blackout]

The gods are vain.

They ARE! :flirt:


*now kiss my jeweled toes*

 

[Renji]

I think, it's not really 'required', but it is the way of people of responding to God's love. It is written that God loves us many times in the scripture (in the RC and christian perspective), and we respond to that 'love' in the form of worship and obedience. It's a relationship between men to God and God to men.

 

[blackout]

I think, it's not really 'required', but it is the way of people of responding to God's love. It is written that God loves us many times in the scripture (in the RC and christian perspective), and we respond to that 'love' in the form of worship and obedience. It's a relationship between men to God and God to men.

... and Men and Women to their Lovers.

Your Lover should be your God, Goddess,
not because it is required,
but because of your OWN DESIRE to pleasure them.

re... worship and obedience...

 

[Renji]

... and Men and Women to their Lovers.

Your Lover should be your God, Goddess,
not because it is required,
but because of your OWN DESIRE to pleasure them.

re... worship and obedience...

Gotcha. Totally agree.

I just used the term *men* but it actually applies for all

 

[Noaidi]

Perhaps people worship in order to get something in return. By worshipping a god, they are seeking its protection or approval. Maybe worship is inherently selfish. We all want to feel loved and cared for.

 

[Midnight Pete]

It's the inverse. Humans need to worship Deity, it is necessary to the spiritual health of a person.

I agree. There is something in the psychological makeup of human beings that compel them to pay homage to some form of deity. This is universal and as old as mankind itself. Even early humans left evidence of this in their cave-drawings and Mother Godess statuary.

 

[Midnight Pete]

The gods are vain.

Man is vain. Where did he get this trait, I wonder?