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TVBlogger
That's how I see it. You spend your entire life, for what? To serve God, for what? So you can go to heaven and be allowed to serve God. LOL
posted by
Afzal_Sunny7
on July 28, 2006 at 2:35 PM
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My comment has more to do with other comments
than your post. One of the things that began not to make sense to me while still born-again was the message that we were created in order to worship and bring glory to God. Uh... so he made me for the sole purpose of praising him? Once we had spent our lives on earth praising him and proving we deserved heaven, we would be then rewarded with the job of praising him for all eternity. That seems like a pretty weak and vain God to me. Just doesn't make sense in the big picture. My cosmology now falls much more in line with Moon_Spirit's views.
posted by
TVBlogger
on July 28, 2006 at 2:30 PM
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SuccessWarrior -- if you are going to attempt to convert me
I'll have to ask you to get in line. ....and no pushing and shoving at the back of the line, though a few impromptu sermons are okay.
posted by
gomedome
on July 28, 2006 at 2:24 PM
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Gome, I have a confession. I have become a believer.
Being that we are kindred spirits, I felt that you should be the first to know. I was going to write about my conversion today but I was asked for some information on saviors so I will tell you the tale tomorrow. I am out of time for today.
You know that, of course, this means that I will be trying to convert you from now on. =)
posted by
SuccessWarrior
on July 28, 2006 at 12:59 PM
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Gome......Amen!!......er......well, you know what I mean. Moon 
posted by
syzygy
on July 28, 2006 at 12:01 PM
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Moon_Spirit - that actually makes a lot more sense to me
than traditional forms of worship . . and for a number of reasons.
The first reason that comes to my mind is: the failing point of all religions is that they are not structured in an all inclusive manner. Believing in and worshipping a specific version of God cannot be what this being had in mind. If this being is going to be defined as all knowing and all loving, then it follows that to worship him (assuming the masculine) must have a common element attainable by all of mankind. It cannot be exclusive to one region on this planet, or to one set of religious doctrines. There is also the practical consideration of how healthy a message doing selfless good deeds is. Everybody wins if this message is proliferated. It simply beats the hell out of threatening everyone with hell, excluding all that do not believe a certain way and muttering gibberish to invisible beings. If this being does exist, it simply cannot be any other way.
posted by
gomedome
on July 28, 2006 at 11:34 AM
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GD, 'picking up trash', i.e., positive actions in the world is called karma yoga in the East. It is one of the paths to 'Enlightenment' or union with the 'all pervading reality' ('God'), or what Ariala might call the quantum sea of unimanifest probability (my words, not hers.) It is considered by some to be the best path to reaching 'God;' no worship at all being necessary. In order to be karma yoga, it does have to be done selflessly, i.e., to benefit humanity rather than the self (which does not mean that the self might not also be incidentally benefited.) Moon
posted by
syzygy
on July 28, 2006 at 10:57 AM
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gome
Yes, I would agree with you on that. But only assuming that the being in question is "good".
I am certainly no expert, but in my opinion, when you have a being, as in God(ess) there is more logically going to be balance...meaning good and bad in a balance...just like humans.
But the God in question, as depicted in the Bible, seems to hold a lot more favor on the "bad" side. Focusing on fear, and punishment. So it could be that the God in question would favor worship of himself over actual "good deeds" so to speak.
posted by
Afzal_Sunny7
on July 28, 2006 at 10:55 AM
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Sunnybeach7 - and who is to say that traditional forms of worship are valid
to begin with?
Imagine for an instant that the traditionally defined God actually exists. To me it is absolutely ludicrous that this being would hold in higher regard, people congregating in a building and muttering things at him, than he would positive actions. Even things as mundane as picking up litter would be a higher form of worship than praying or hymn singing. If this mythical being actually did create this universe, I would think that showing a little bit of respect for it through practical deeds, would carry a heck of a lot more weight with him than some useless demonstration of worship. Like how vain is this being?
posted by
gomedome
on July 28, 2006 at 10:46 AM
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gome
LOL! Why do people think you have to "worship" at all?
I just don't get that. If I feel like appealing to a God or Goddess, which is rare, I don't "worship" them, but more hold respect for their pressence.
People are so very mislead.
posted by
Afzal_Sunny7
on July 28, 2006 at 10:21 AM
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Sunnybeach7 - I had a funny conversation with a pastor of some flaky cult
about 10 years ago.
Organized religion does in many instances promote ignorance. This guy was a pastor of the "church of we are right and you are wrong" that is attended by my in laws. He was attempting, at their behest to have my wife and I attend one of their services. When I told him that I don't do such things because I don't believe that the God he believes in exists, his response cracked me up. "What do you do to worship, ....sacrifice chickens?" ......it is a shame that so much of mankind's history and entire cultures have been destroyed in the name of religion. The really sad part is that there are knuckleheads still attempting to do this today.
posted by
gomedome
on July 28, 2006 at 10:13 AM
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gome
It's really sad to think of all that has been lost, all that has been changed, ruined, kept secret, etc. to protect the desire for control over humanity.
Also to think of all the lies and biased views put out there against "pagans" like myself. People still believe that we sacrifice animals, and humans even for evil purposes. Not that these kind of things don't happen, but because someone is mentally ill, not because they are pagan.
Even now, after all of the editing and changing of history etc. I can still find more sources that would say pagans have done much less "killing" than those of Christianity.
posted by
Afzal_Sunny7
on July 28, 2006 at 10:02 AM
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SuccessWarrior - religious freedom to the extent that we have in North
America, is really only a generation old.
...and it is not complete religious freedom by a longshot. I am old enough to remember having rental property denied to our family because my mother was a catholic. I have had to pretend to be a believer as recently as 7 years ago to secure a business contract. Where religious rights and freedoms, including freedom from religion may be in black and white print in our constitutions and charter of rights, the practical application of these philosophies by society in general, can quite often be a different matter. It's a scary notion to think that most of the world is behind us in this reagrd.
posted by
gomedome
on July 28, 2006 at 9:46 AM
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It's still going on
We take it for granted in the U.S. but it isn't that way around the world. Greece is still in the process of making it legal to worship on a nonchristian religion.
posted by
SuccessWarrior
on July 28, 2006 at 8:16 AM
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