Why Would an Omnipotent God Want Worshipers?

[Fool]

Init:
Even science has not figured our what or how our being consciousness - of our bodies, minds - works. This awareness and traits that make each person unique and something more than a machine, more than a computer - cannot be understood at this time. There are reports of something larger even where people have been known to 'feel' that a loved distant one died, or got seriously hurt.

The Bible's teaching is that God is a God of faith who rewards those who obey him in faith. Since the beginning, his worship has always been a simple question of obedience.
Supposition:
If a computer genius had created truly live entities in a virtual reality, perhaps it would be one of his life's dreams coming true to interact with these entities, do things for them on a reward basis, even punishment, depending on their interaction in the virtual society. Since these digital entities never could interact physically with their creator, the interaction would have to depend on other criteria. To be the most interesting, the interaction would be most rewarding if the creator's manipulation of things was opaque, not easily understood. It would also have to be logic based on a 'cause and effect' type system.
Conclusion:
That seems to be what we are dealing with.

i agree, god is faith but faith without work, without spirit, without action, is not god. is not loving.

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

I didn't get your point, if someone asked you to say to him thank you everyday and
he is willing to give you $ 1000 per day, will you say to him thank you?

Eventually the money isn't worth the sheer boredom of a pointless and ego-stroking task.

If someone said they'd pay you a thousand bucks every day to lick someone's behind every day, will you do it?

Maybe god is psychologically imperfect by choice, and has decided he likes the idea of spending eternity with hordes of vapid groupies.

Which is weird because every so often, God and later Jesus act like yes-men are disgusting.

We don't regulate where God is and how he looks like, If God inside each one of us then
why there are angels recording our deeds, why not God recording our deeds?

Is God using some sort of paper spreadsheet or is there an app for that?

 

[Thief]

well, what if we made a list of attributes of God.....
and then ask the question about worship

would it not seem odd to NOT worship a Spirit having such extreme abilities ?

 

[FearGod]

Eventually the money isn't worth the sheer boredom of a pointless and ego-stroking task.

If someone said they'd pay you a thousand bucks every day to lick someone's behind every day, will you do it?

Some are paying to lick women's *** and some do it for enjoyment even though it's actually disgusting..

Is God using some sort of paper spreadsheet or is there an app for that?

There's something called the unseen world, not knowing doesn't mean not existing,
one day we were using large vacuum tubes for the electronic circuits, today we're
using tiny transistors instead, and that doesn't mean it'll be the same for the next
100 years to come.

 

[Akivah]

Why does God get a free pass for railing against gods He should know do not exist? Unless this proclamation of His is an admission that other gods do exist - which opens another can of worms altogether.

No, no other gods exist. You misunderstand the point. G-d asks us not to worship idols, for our own benefit.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

It's not in my view a question of "need"... rather it is love.

There can be no love, in a being who insists on worship.

Worship is what broken-minded slaves do for their masters. The very attitude of worship: down on one's knees, hands out ready for the chains to be applied.

Worship is the opposite of love. The two are mutually exclusive.

The very ugly bible explains all that quite well-- it uses terms like "master" and "servant" (another word for slave).

Or "husband" (master-- in that context-- owner) and "bride" (property/chattel in that context)

The bible says very little of actual love, and what it does is twisted into something ugly.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

There is no testable, falsifiable evidence for the existence of God. It is a matter of faith alone.

Agreed. Which is another reason why there can be no love, here.

Faith-- belief in things for which there is no evidence-- is insanity.

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

No, no other gods exist. You misunderstand the point. G-d asks us not to worship idols, for our own benefit.

But then why His statement that we are to have no other gods before Him at all? Why not just reiterate that there simply are no other gods? It is the same as theists asking why we atheists attribute things to God only to claim He doesn't exist. Granted - other sections of the bible claim that God is the one and only, there are "no others besides Him", etc. etc. This just seems an odd sort of behavior - and in Gods own, direct words, no less. And again, it is behavior that believers should be challenging if they also believe it wrong for atheists to attribute things to God when they have no belief in Him.

 

[FearGod]

There can be no love, in a being who insists on worship.

Worship is what broken-minded slaves do for their masters. The very attitude of worship: down on one's knees, hands out ready for the chains to be applied.

Worship is the opposite of love. The two are mutually exclusive.

The very ugly bible explains all that quite well-- it uses terms like "master" and "servant" (another word for slave).

Or "husband" (master-- in that context-- owner) and "bride" (property/chattel in that context)

The bible says very little of actual love, and what it does is twisted into something ugly.

Yes, we aren't monkeys.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Yes, we aren't monkeys.

Actually? We kinda are monkeys!

 

[Akivah]

But then why His statement that we are to have no other gods before Him at all? Why not just reiterate that there simply are no other gods?

{snip}

This just seems an odd sort of behavior - and in Gods own, direct words, no less.

.
Not strange at all. Humans tend to believe (and remember) a message more when they hear it repetitively. G-d knows that idol worship is so bad for us, that He repeats it over and over.

And again, it is behavior that believers should be challenging if they also believe it wrong for atheists to attribute things to God when they have no belief in Him.

I can sympathize. I have the same issues when I make posts concerning the Christian man-god. I don't believe that dude ever actually existed, but when mentioning him in a post, it can seem like I think he did.

 

[Tumah]

IMO....He wouldn't but that was a belief from an older stage of understanding. Many of us have already moved into a newer age where mutual love rules.

Have you read Song of Songs?

 

[Tumah]

Why would such an entity even need them?

He doesn't and omnipotence doesn't play a part in creating worshipers. Omnibenevolence plays a greater part. Being able to worship G-d grants us the potential to become as close to G-d as possible, which is good for us.

 

[FearGod]

Actually? We kinda are monkeys!

Yes but God shouldn't treat us as if we're monkeys, we may kill some goats to eat
and we're still a lovely creatures.

 

[Tumah]

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

if there is no other God besides it, how can it be jealous of what doesn't exist?

Either there are other gods, or else, it's jealous of nothing. seems rather irrational; especially for an omniscient god, don't you think?

The grammatical construct attached to the word for jealousy used here indicates jealousy over something that should belong to Him but is given elsewhere. In this case, worship. In other words, G-d isn't jealous of other gods, G-d is jealous for the worship that belongs to Him.

 

[Tumah]

If god is god of unconditional love, he should not need worshipers. Thats going completely against what displaying unconditional love is.

Here is a scene from Star Trek: Welcome to Olympus

Its a whole wrap up (good episode though) of god wanting people to worship him, why, and the conclusion man made today as compared to before.

Your argument aside, are you bringing proof of your position from a fantasy television show?

 

[Tumah]

if we are made in the image of God, wouldn't this creator/progenitor want us to realize our full potential as God? vs a parent always wanting us to remain codependent?

In the image of G-d =/= G-d.
We remain eternally dependent on G-d since He is what keeps us alive.

Did you mean dependent or codependent?

 

[George-ananda]

Have you read Song of Songs?

Not that I recall, but I have a vague understanding of its meaning from hearing other discussions. Isn't it more of a 'love' song than a 'worship' song? Perhaps I stand to be corrected.

 

[Tumah]

This idea struck a chord - and there is something very interesting here. By many theists' own way of thinking, they should take God to task for this very proclamation. They certainly don't hesitate to call atheists out for railing against a God they do not believe the existence of. Why does God get a free pass for railing against gods He should know do not exist? Unless this proclamation of His is an admission that other gods do exist - which opens another can of worms altogether.

I made a post about it once, but I can't seem to find it. The basic idea was that there are three different ways that the Torah uses the Hebrew word for jealousy depending on the words attached to it. In this case, it means that G-d is jealous for the worship that is given to false gods. He's not jealous of the gods but of the worship. Jealous might not be such a great translation here, maybe zealous is better.

 

[Tumah]

Not that I recall, but I have a vague understanding of its meaning from hearing other discussions. Isn't it more of a 'love' song than a 'worship' song? Perhaps I stand to be corrected.

Its a metaphor of the relationship between G-d and Israel.