Why would someone acknowledge the existence of God but refuse to worship Him?

[ChristineM]

He has sent many messengers and created a world filled with signs for people to reflect. Why would someone acknowledge His existence, but refuse to worship Him and to obey the commands He has told people to obey (or, the commands people think he has made known)?

I acknowledge the existence of lots of things, do i have worship them.

And i am quite capable of obeying my own commands without a gid sitting on my shoulder telling me what to do

 

[oldbadger]

Yes!

I work on building and expressing love for God by working on my shortcomings when it comes to loving people as I love my dear ones and loving the Earth.

This practice of mine does not need a building or a prescribed ritual or even a set of commandments except for one: The commandment of love.

Lovely mindset, imo.
I'm not brilliant at loving all, but I do think that I can feel gratitude for every moment, every place, scene, happening....... and for the people and animals in my life.

I do believe that people can give thanks to their God in any place, which of course can include a a place where they have learned to feel 'right', which can be a place of worship for many.

But I do like your way of expressing how you feel. )

 

[icehorse]

He has sent many messengers and created a world filled with signs for people to reflect. Why would someone acknowledge His existence, but refuse to worship Him and to obey the commands He has told people to obey (or, the commands people think he has made known)?

If he's anything like how the Abrahamic religions portray him, I find him to be a reprehensible character.

Even if he's a nice guy, "worship" feels like an unhealthy relationship. If I created the universe, I feel that a simple "thanks" from its inhabitants would be more than enough

 

[Valjean]

He has sent many messengers and created a world filled with signs for people to reflect.

What evidence is there for this? Why do others believe in different messages and messengers? If the world were full of signs, why aren't they known to everyone?

Why would someone acknowledge His existence, but refuse to worship Him and to obey the commands He has told people to obey (or, the commands people think he has made known)?

Why would the creator of the universe want to be worshiped? How are we to know what his commands are, if he doesn't make them clear?

 

[Stevicus]

He has sent many messengers and created a world filled with signs for people to reflect. Why would someone acknowledge His existence, but refuse to worship Him and to obey the commands He has told people to obey (or, the commands people think he has made known)?

Just because someone says they're a messenger from God, it doesn't mean they're telling the truth. As for worship and obeying God's commands, I've noticed that there seems to be a lot of room for interpretation.

 

[Quintessence]

You seem to casually ignore the adjective extravagant.

Not ignoring it. Just not ignoring the word "great" was also used in that same sentence. Nice try at making some sort of slight against the practice of worship, though. Didn't work.

*cough*

 

[sun rise]

I can feel gratitude for every moment, every place, scene, happening....... and for the people and animals in my life.

Gratitude to me is one of the royal roads that lead upwards.

 

[crossfire]

He has sent many messengers and created a world filled with signs for people to reflect. Why would someone acknowledge His existence, but refuse to worship Him and to obey the commands He has told people to obey (or, the commands people think he has made known)?

Because I'm not the devotional, blindly obedient type. I see great potential for harm in worship.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

Doesn’t the Jehovah’s Witness God burn those who do not serve him at the second death?

Nope.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

Yes!

I work on building and expressing love for God by working on my shortcomings when it comes to loving people as I love my dear ones and loving the Earth.

This practice of mine does not need a building or a prescribed ritual or even a set of commandments except for one: The commandment of love.

Lovely mindset, imo.
I'm not brilliant at loving all, but I do think that I can feel gratitude for every moment, every place, scene, happening....... and for the people and animals in my life.

I do believe that people can give thanks to their God in any place, which of course can include a a place where they have learned to feel 'right', which can be a place of worship for many.

But I do like your way of expressing how you feel. )

Beautiful, both of you! I’d like to consider you both, my friends.

 

[Piculet]

It's not so difficult to understand.

Other peoples already have relationships with other things of value to them, whether they call those things gods or not. Different people value different things, and will cultivate different kinds of relationships in their lives. There isn't going to be room for every possible relationship in someone's life. It's not really any more complicated than that.

To add, I'm not interested in any relationship with your god. I don't care about your god beyond academic curiosity. You probably don't care about my gods either. It's not a big deal.

That sounds like an excuse to me, rather than a reason.

I respect people ... but worship them ... you must be joking.

I was referring to the worship of God, not people.

Because your God is one of Many. Some of us listen to the Many, not just the one.

As absurd as that is, this topic was not intented to be a debate about which religion is right, but about the people who believe in God or a god, but who do not worship the god they believe in.

One can believe in God without believing the presumptions others have made about god (what "he" wants, needs, etc.)

What could make one disbelieve in those? Does one simply decide what God wants? If that was the case, the individual deciding would seem to think he is a god himself.

 

[Father Heathen]

That sounds like an excuse to me, rather than a reason.

I was referring to the worship of God, not people.

As absurd as that is, this topic was not intented to be a debate about which religion is right, but about the people who believe in God or a god, but who do not worship the god they believe in.

What could make one disbelieve in those? Does one simply decide what God wants? If that was the case, the individual deciding would seem to think he is a god himself.

You just described religion, such as yours; humans who've appointed themselves to represent and speak for god, just making **** up.

 

[Quintessence]

That sounds like an excuse to me, rather than a reason.

Could you explain why it sounds like an excuse to you? Or do you simply not respect the relationships other people choose to cultivate in their lives if it doesn't include your favorite things? Do you also think people who aren't fans of the same television shows you are make excuses?

 

[The Hammer]

As absurd as that is, this topic was not intented to be a debate about which religion is right, but about the people who believe in God or a god, but who do not worship the god they believe in.
.

So this should have been a discussion and not a debate? Maybe place this in a discussion thread then, and not in religious debates?

Also, you didn't answer my question. I never said that Odin was the "right" God, I asked why you wouldn't support another deity who also has messengers, and gives signs to those of his followers, as well as giving guidelines for how to be a decent human (ie Hávamál). He even created the universe from the corpse of Ymir. These are all of the same wickets that you are pointing to for worship of your God (messengers, signs, wisdom, creation), so why not another one as well?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

He has sent many messengers and created a world filled with signs for people to reflect. Why would someone acknowledge His existence, but refuse to worship Him and to obey the commands He has told people to obey (or, the commands people think he has made known)?

That sounds more like the Greek Gods mythology and people forced to bow down (or coerced) to follow god(s) and if they don't, hell will break loose (however interpreted). Do you obey god because he told you to "or" because you want to?

Someone who knows god but doesn't follow him is just exercising his freedom to follow and behave in a manner best suited for his spiritual, mental, and physical health. Acknowledging god (like acknowledging a good looking woman) doesn't mean you have to obey him or date her.

 

[Quintessence]

To add a relevant aside - I presume the OP is a monotheist. I can understand from that perspective how it might be confusing to acknowledge their god but not worship it (if the expectation is present that one worships gods, which is not unreasonable).

Some of us posting in response are not monotheists but some other type of theist. For polytheists where the existence of multiple subjects of worship (aka, gods) is the default, things just work differently. In polytheist religion, there's simply no issue with acknowledging the existence of many gods but actively worshipping only some of them. That's simply normal, just like it's simply normal to not have deep relationships with every single human you meet. We don't have the time or energy for that in our lives. We prioritize based on our values or what's important at the time.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

He has sent many messengers and created a world filled with signs for people to reflect. Why would someone acknowledge His existence, but refuse to worship Him and to obey the commands He has told people to obey (or, the commands people think he has made known)?

- They may not believe in the same version of "God" that you do. There are plenty of versions of "God" out there.

- I think a good argument could be made that many versions of God are necessarily evil, or at least amoral. Some people have standards for what they're willing to worship.

 

[Brickjectivity]

He has sent many messengers and created a world filled with signs for people to reflect. Why would someone acknowledge His existence, but refuse to worship Him and to obey the commands He has told people to obey (or, the commands people think he has made known)?

Many people acknowledge God but do not obey God. I know of several reasons.

Sometimes it is because people are too constrained by the rules of other people, don't have enough autonomy to actually be obedient for themselves (or ourselves). I am talking about social constraints, but let me try to make up an imaginary example to illustrate: Consider a man who lives in a glass room for forty years, constantly observed and told exactly how to behave, and he's told that God wants him to not eat fish. He's never given any fish there, never tested, never has the opportunity to disobey; but his jailers praise him for not eating fish. Then he's released into the world, no longer observed or controlled by people; but he still believes God has said not to eat fish. Well...this is not the same as telling a normal person not to eat fish. Its an extreme case, but the example is that this person robbed of autonomy will have a need to find out what is the truth of obedience. He's like a child. He'll be driven to disobey and to try eating fish. In fact if he doesn't he may never believe in God for himself.

The wording of the OP seems confusing. It would make more sense to me to use the following: "Why would someone acknowledge what God's messengers have said but refuse to worship the God they mentioned; why would they acknowledge what they said but refuse to obey those commands?"

 

[epronovost]

That sounds like an excuse to me, rather than a reason.

Would you care to offer an explanation for your assesment? It seems to me you are trying to weasle out of a reasonnable explanation as to why a person would not worship a deity he or she knows exists.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

What could make one disbelieve in those? Does one simply decide what God wants? If that was the case, the individual deciding would seem to think he is a god himself.

You must have decided what God wants; how did you do it?