Shadownought

Can any of the theists on the board tell me why humans need a god?

Why do you believe in one, and why would humans be better off worshipping something which we have no indication even exists?

Why should humans believe in and worship a god?

[Edited for clarity]

[ December 14, 2002: Message edited by: Shadownought ]</p>

Rousseau_CHN

Shadow,

Boy, are you lost. No one in this forum is going to quote John 3:16 unless they want to make fun of it.

And no one is going to answer why you need a god. 'cause in the first, we believe you don't need a god.

You need a beer, man, that's all you need.

Fire Jack

It says you have 64 posts so far so are you joking or something?

Shadownought

Uh... this is a question for the THEISTS on this board, who most certainly do exist. I cannot see how the question could be taken any other way.

I am being serious. If no one thought a god was somehow necessary, there would be no believers. Let me rephrase the question if it makes you happy:

"Why should humans believe in and worship a god?"

Okay? Good enough? Or is there still a problem with me asking?

[ December 14, 2002: Message edited by: Shadownought ]</p>

Marduk

‘Can any of the theists on the board tell me why humans need a god?’

They might, To envision an ideal example of behavior, morality, compassion, to emulate.

‘Why do you believe in one, and why would humans be better off worshipping
something which we have no indication even exists?’

I don’t, they shouldn’t


‘Why should humans believe in and worship a god?’

For comfort/hope if they so desire, I never really understood the worshipping part, seems silly. Replace worship with love.

Even a crusty old agnostic like me sometimes finds the idea that humans may be the highest form of life in the Universe to be beyond depressing.

Shadownought

Why, though? Why conjure an entity with those qualities rather than simply following those ideas?

Alright, now. The nonbelievers need not answer "Why do you believe?"

</strong>
Personally, I wouldn't try to give myself comfort from something that doesn't seem to exist. I think the biggest problem with the idea of comfort comes when the religion (Christianity for example) starts making extreme claims about resurrections and floods and things like that; why take the Book O' Comfort as being true when the evidence suggests it isn't?

If someone told me they believed simply in reincarnation and took comfort in that belief, for example, I think that's a lot more credible than taking comfort in, say, a book like the Bible that contradicts human knowledge.

<strong> Heh. If we are, it's not a very pleasant thought... but I can see no convincing reason to assume there's a greater supernatural life, comforting though it might be.

[ December 14, 2002: Message edited by: Shadownought ]</p>

Hail

Can any of the theists on the board tell me why humans need a god?
Why do you believe in one, and why would humans be better off worshipping something which we have no indication even exists?

Why should humans believe in and worship a god?

In my view you don't need a God because you already have a God. You don't like refering to the God we have been taught of because it's stupid and you are not. I think the reason religion has not completly destroyed the world is because people don't really practice them to the T. Because they don't believe in it either or the God we have been given by our teachers. It doesen't matter if you dont believe in God because you believe in Life and it's interchageable. If you believe in life you seek to make life function which is a fundamental basis for life and so you will be an agent for making Life possible. This is what everyone is working to be but we can see that what we are doing is not working. Our world seems to be making Life more and more disfuntional instaead of increasingly accomodating it. Although we can see it is not working we will still hold on to institutions which have palyed a part in putting our society together beacuse although it's not working we havent seen anything certainly is. I don't think the neutrality of say the privet sector type or outside of spirituality thinking has resulted in the peace and harmony we would like to see. Or say if you are in a turbelent stream and only have a splintery tattered log to hold on to you might not want to let it go without seeing another or you might think of other ways to use the log. I think there is another log. I think it is our belief system that is mucking us up. The I think this affects secular people just the same as religious beacuse most secular folks still believe in morality and that is completely based on the idea that humany owes God something. That is how we created the concept of guilt. If you do something that does not work or is not likeable to you simply choose to not do it again. What else produces the result you want? It simply impeedes Function and you are choosing not to do that. No one wants to do that, no one at all. The confusion in making it happen is the starting fundation of the concept of (hey place you favorite name or concept for here im easy 'bout that stuff...)or God. All thought that has been constructed on this false picture is also false and the results show that. That is how I see it.

I don't think you have to worship God. It's not a must but I think you can and probably will especially if you ever see that there is nothing else that exist but the whole to which nothing can be added or subtracted so whatever could God be but you? And when we see that nothing was ever stressing us out but us. That venturing part of God exploring God loving the beach, the mountains, sex, music, food and on and on. This is your front end which explores and has to 'not know' but your back end is conscious of and knows of it's entirety, whole; or Holy God. that is how I see it.

Ojuice5001

Why should people relate to a god? Well, most people need all the help they can get keeping the bad things in life and afterlife away, but let's say I'm addressing someone who doesn't, or who think the gods don't offer any help, or don't exist. I think the very fact that people still worship the gods shows that there is some reason, some need, that can best be satisfied by worshipping the gods.

I think the nature of this need is a need for connection to the world at large. I mean, if materialism is true, then you are only connected to the material objects that are at this moment interacting with your senses (and the ones you are consciously thinking about, I suppose). And yet, a lot of people have better psychological health if they feel a sense of connection to the world as a whole. And the best way to get such a sense of connection is to connect oneself to a god.

Mind you, I'm not saying all humans have this need. But enough do that it can fairly be said to be part of human nature. So either humans evolved with a need that can best be satisfied with an objectively nonexistent concept, or this concept is a concept of something real.

Rousseau_CHN

Shadownaught Just one little problem, it's not "me asking." It's "my asking."

Oh my god, it's another grammar cop.

[ December 18, 2002: Message edited by: Rousseau_CHN ]</p>

Rousseau_CHN

Shadow,

It's nothing personal, but, I think, it's not the right forum.

It's like posting question like "Why is God all powerful?" in an atheist bulletin board.