It is not a rhetorical question nor is it intended for mockery.

Billions worldwide have a concept of God(s) from the dawn of time and till date not much as changed with regards to the key activity surrounding the believers; WORSHIP. be it in prayer, songs and admonitions. God(s) require and demand worship and sacrifices in blood, money or other alternatives to appease their moods or as a show fealty by the adherents.

What does God want? That I believe is a fair question. What does God need? How can an omnipotent, timeless, and all knowing deity need anything? Does he hunger for worship so much that he creates infinite universes with beings for the sole purpose of worship?

All across the world great progress and innovation are founded on the backs of science and intellect, great wars and death are founded on the claims of God(s) divine purpose or at least breasted on the notion that godless nations and peoples deserve to be annihilated if the cannot be converted.

I think its time for all religions to sit together and rethink why we are all here. the singular purpose that we expect to get rewarded for after death. For some religions the act of worship continues for all eternity.

Why did God create us in the first place? Why did he create the Angels (you got that right - WORSHIP!) but why does he require it sooo much. is it food?

I think you already know the answer.

Gods will die if the stop worshipping them, just like all the other thousands of dead gods that people stopped worshipping, such as Zeus, Thor, Apollo, etc.

The gods didnt create humans. Humans created gods to fill the gaps in our understanding of our own existence. The truth is we dont yet know exactly how we got here, but a lot of people find this difficult to accept so invented gods as a source of comfort. They worship these gods thinking that they will keep them safe from harm and provide a place for them when they die.

We are a natural expression of the ultimate transcendental reality, which is what people call God: and that reality requires nothing from us.

Deep Sight:

We are a natural expression of the ultimate transcendental reality, which is what people call God: and that reality requires nothing from us.

. . . except for us to evolve to our full potential as beings of much higher consciousness. Whether we do it spiritually, scientifically, or both ways at the same time, it really doesn't  matter, as long as we just keep the self evolution of our species going, that is all that is required of us, that is the true worship.

mantraa:

I think you already know the answer.

Gods will die if the stop worshipping them, just like all the other thousands of dead gods that people stopped worshipping, such as Zeus, Thor, Apollo, etc.

The gods didnt create humans. Humans created gods to fill the gaps in our understanding of our own existence. The truth is we dont yet know exactly how we got here, but a lot of people find this difficult to accept so invented gods as a source of comfort. They worship these gods thinking that they will keep them safe from harm and provide a place for them when they die.

You're quite right, mantraa. I do concur with your view. All what these religions do is keep all these gods alive and fresh in the minds of human beings upon whose belief their survival depends. Without the minds of man to keep them alive, they will just vanish into oblivion in a matter of a few generations at the most.

God does not require your worship.

[size=13pt]When you are truly his, you will indeed worship.[/size]

[size=13pt]If i soak a towel in a river, I don't need to beg it or require it to drip when it is brought out of the river.
It drips automatically.[/size]

^^^^Inesqor, your existence is already a worship. Your existence alone already means that you are God's own. That is true for all in existence. Nothing that is not the creator's own is in existence. And once anything is in existence, it is already in worship through it's existence and evolution.

Any entity that demand affiliation to a particular cult, sect or religion and then ask for praises and adulations and worship, is automatically a fake god.

jagunlabi:

^^^^Inesqor, your existence is already a worship. Your existence alone already means that you are God's own. That is true for all in existence. Nothing that is not the creator's own is in existence. And once anything is in existence, it is already in worship through it's existence and evolution.

Any entity that demand affiliation to a particular cult, sect or religion and then ask for praises and adulations and worship, is automatically a fake god.

@jagunlabi:

Your existence is not an act of worship.

Worship is a deliberate choice, and you did not choose to exist.

Thus your argument is flawed.

God's references to modes of worship are furnished to people who CHOOSE to worship him but want to know how to do so.

As Jesus said,

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).

If you are not His by choice, He does not require your worship. You are free to grovel and worship the sand at the seashores

And in case you wonder how one can not "be His", just look around you and see many 100% citizens of Nigeria who spend all their time talking against the country and bringing bad reputation to the country internationally. Are they then truly of the country, although they are? They did not choose to be born of Nigerian parents, but they can choose their allegiance. It's dead simple.

^^^^First of all, i have my own definition of what worship is, or else i do not use that word. To me, as far as i am concerned, existence itself is the worship, the eternal dance between the creation and the creator. Any other definition to me is babash.

Secondly, i usually avoid the use of that word because to me, it is a swear word in the way it is used in the religious circles. Nobody becomes the creator's after he/she/it has been created. EVERYBODY in existence is the creator's. All things in existence is GOD'S.

I know the ego of the average religious person will reject this statement because of their ego driven hunger for specialness, but that is just the way it is. We're all GOD'S, so get over it.

jagunlabi:

^^^^First of all, i have my own definition of what worship is, or else i do not use that word. To me, as far as i am concerned, existence itself is the worship, the dance with the creation and the creator. Any other definition to me is babash.

Babash? I laugh in Brownian motion. The definition of worship is not mine. See below on the accurate etymology of the word.

http://homepage.mac.com/paulbeedle/worship.html

[size=18pt]The verb "worship" means "to shape worth."[/size] The meanings of "worth" suggest the purpose of worshipping: to come to be equal to, or to turn toward, the highest or best values. To worship is to give useful, instructive shape to those often abstract values, to symbolize or articulate them in memorable and helpful ways. We create, and we cut back, the words and symbols we use in worship according to their usefulness. They are never fixed, but do endure as long as they serve the purpose of showing us the good we strive toward (or of binding a worshipping community together).

WORSHIP (n) O.E. worðscip, wurðscip (Anglian), weorðscipe (W.Saxon) "condition of being worthy, honor, renown," from weorð "worthy" (see WORTH) + -scipe (see -SHIP). Sense of "reverence paid to a supernatural or divine being" is first recorded c.1300. The original sense is preserved in the title worshipful (c.1300). The verb is recorded from c.1200.

Jagunlabi, you cannot divorce worship from a deliberate choice to carve / shape worth. YOUR definition is babash. 

jagunlabi:

Secondly, i usually avoid the use of that word because to me, it is a swear word in the way it is used in the religious circles. Nobdy becomes the creator's after he/she/it has been created. EVERYBODY id the creator's. I know the ego of the average religious person will reject this statement because of their hunger for specialness, but that is just the way it is.

Everybody is the creator's . . . a Hunger for specialness? This is one reason i don't like responding to some of your posts, it's like you don't read the replies, you just have your own rigid views. How does my analogy with the Nigerian citizens ring true as a hunger for specialness?  

InesQor:

@jagunlabi:

Your existence is not an act of worship.

Worship is a deliberate choice, and you did not choose to exist.

Thus your argument is flawed.

<snip>

And in case you wonder how one can not "be His", just look around you and see many 100% citizens of Nigeria who spend all their time talking against the country and bringing bad reputation to the country internationally. Are they then truly of the country, although they are? They did not choose to be born of Nigerian parents, but they can choose their allegiance. It's dead simple.

What most people regard as worship of God is not worship. Praises, sacrifice, singing, dancing and similar things which are often regarded as worship is not worship. Worship of God lies solely in living according to the will of God. To live according to the laws of God, one has to draw power and strength from God. To draw power from God requires the opening of ones spirit to the power of God. If one opens himself to this power, a process which is known as prayer, such a one will with time reach a state of awareness where the only desire that is alive  in him or her is the desire to live absolutely according to the will of God. Then every breath, every word, every thought, every motive, indeed every stirring of the spirit is an expression of obedience to the will of God. Thus the true worship of God lies solely in recognizing the will of God and living according to the will of God. Eternal happiness and joy lies solely in obedience to the laws of God. The purpose or the will of God for us is to find supreme happiness and in the laws of God lies this supreme happiness. Thus he who practices true worship loves God and all creations of God. Such a one also radiate an inner peace which is unaffected by the vagaries of life. Thus genuine worship does not lie in the churches, temples, shrines, mountains but solely in the laws of God. A first step to genuine prayer that will lead one to pure worship of God lies in prayers without words and thoughts. Such prayer can be achieved in silence, then the intuition of the spirit will naturally gain connection with the power of God. Best Wishes

http://homepage.mac.com/paulbeedle/worship.html
Quote
The verb "worship" means "to shape worth." The meanings of "worth" suggest the purpose of worshipping: to come to be equal to, or to turn toward, the highest or best values. To worship is to give useful, instructive shape to those often abstract values, to symbolize or articulate them in memorable and helpful ways. We create, and we cut back, the words and symbols we use in worship according to their usefulness. They are never fixed, but do endure as long as they serve the purpose of showing us the good we strive toward (or of binding a worshipping community together).

Haven't you just described that evolutionary dance between the creation and the creator with your detailed breakdown of what the word "worship" means?
- Come to be equal to - alludes to the evolutionary process from a lower state of being to the higher state in order to reach an already existing higher standard of being(the creator's)
- "to come to equal to" - see above
- "or to turn towards the highest or best values" - again see above

So you can see that that breakdown of yours does agree with my definition, so what are we arguing about?

We can also go on and differ on the structure and contents of an act of worship. Your definition gives no clear suggestions on what and how this should be. So, if you go ahead and claim that the act of worship is the way the world religions do it, i can easily reject that and make my own claim that it is the evolutionary process we all go through in this existence that is the TRUE act of worship and we can argue on our differences till the cows come home.

jagunlabi:

Haven't you just described that evolutionary dance between the creation and the creator with your detailed breakdown of what the word "worship" means?
- Come to be equal to - alludes to the evolutionary process from a lower state of being to the higher state in order to reach an already existing higher standard of being(the creator's)
- "to come to equal to" - see above
- "or to turn towards the highest or best values" - again see above

And staying with yahweh, the jewish tribal deity, would you, inesqor, regard this deity as the representation of the highest and the best values that we must all strive to attain after having read the OT section of the bible?Is this deity, in your own view, deserving of any act of worship?

To me, he does not even begin to make the cut, but that's just my own opinion. What about yours?

@jagunlabi: YHWH is not the Jewish tribal deity. And I do not wish to speak further on the matter you seek to pursue, because you have an iron-cast mind

InesQor:

God does not require your worship.

If the god in the bible does not need our worship, why then did he ask for it? After reading the bible, it was like he was BEGGING for it. Unless you are talking of a totally different deity, ofcourse.

InesQor:

[size=13pt]When you are truly his, you will indeed worship.[/size]

Followers or supporters of tyrannical figures always worship them, most probably out of fear. This does not say much about anything not already known except to reaffirm the tyranical nature that has been attached to that word, "GOD", through the genocidal acts of the wrathful biblical god and the quranic allah.

InesQor:

[size=13pt]If i soak a towel in a river, I don't need to beg it or require it to drip when it is brought out of the river.
It drips automatically.[/size]

I am trying hard to understand dis ya metaphor . . . let me see;

1)The river is the tyrannical figure
2)The towel is the tyranised figure
3)The dripping water is the tyranny.

If i got that right, then one does not need to wonder too much to see why the tyranised will be willing to worship the tyrant when the tyranised is already dripping with tyranny. Absolutely putrid.

InesQor:

@jagunlabi: YHWH is not the Jewish tribal deity. And I do not wish to speak further on the matter you seek to pursue, because you have an iron-cast mind

He is not? Since when? Why are the jews his only chosen people then? BECAUSE HE IS THE TRIBAL DEITY OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS! He was a made-amongst-the-hebrews product.

^^^ You may like to remember that Job was not a Jew. Don't be close-minded.

InesQor:

^^^ You may like to remember that Job was not a Jew. Don't be close-minded.

Oh, okay! So Job was a non-jew who got royally screwed over by the mighty yahweh just for fun's sake. Apart from the fact that that story only confirmed yahweh as a sicko wacko deity . . so what? It does not disprove the biblically supported fact that yahweh is nothing more and nothing less than a jewish tribal god, the "SANGO" of the jews.

@Lagerwhenindoubt: « on: Yesterday at 05:13:39 PM »
[quot]It is not a rhetorical question nor is it intended for mockery.

Billions worldwide have a concept of God(s) from the dawn of time and till date not much as changed with regards to the key activity surrounding the believers; WORSHIP. be it in prayer, songs and admonitions. God(s) require and demand worship and sacrifices in blood, money or other alternatives to appease their moods or as a show fealty by the adherents.

What does God want? That I believe is a fair question. What does God need? How can an omnipotent, timeless, and all knowing deity need anything? Does he hunger for worship so much that he creates infinite universes with beings for the sole purpose of worship?

All across the world great progress and innovation are founded on the backs of science and intellect, great wars and death are founded on the claims of God(s) divine purpose or at least breasted on the notion that godless nations and peoples deserve to be annihilated if the cannot be converted.

I think its time for all religions to sit together and rethink why we are all here. the singular purpose that we expect to get rewarded for after death. For some religions the act of worship continues for all eternity.

Why did God create us in the first place? Why did he create the Angels (you got that right - WORSHIP!) but why does he require it sooo much. is it food?[quote][/quote]Allah says in the Quran, Chapter 51 verses 55 to 60 about our creation and duty to Him:

51:55: And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.
(And remind, admonish by the Qur’ān, for reminding truly benefits believers, [these being] those whom God knows that they will believe).

51:56: And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
(And I did not create the jinn and mankind except that they may worship Me: the fact that disbelievers do not worship [God] does not contradict this [statement], since a purpose does not have to be realised [in an act, for it to be valid], as when you may say: ‘I sharpened this pencil in order to write with it’, even though you might not actually write with it).

51:57: I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me.
(I do not desire from them any provision, [either] for Myself, for themselves, or for others, nor do I desire that they should feed Me, or [feed] themselves or others).

51:58: Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength.
(Indeed it is God Who is the Provider, the Lord of Strength, the Firm, the Stern.)

51:59: And indeed, for those who have wronged is a portion [of punishment] like the portion of their predecessors, so let them not impatiently urge Me.
(And for those who have wronged, their souls through disbelief, from among the people of Mecca and others, there will assuredly be a lot, a share of chastisement, like the lot, the share, of their counterparts, who perished before them. So let them not ask Me to hasten on, the chastisement, should I give them respite until the Day of Resurrection).

51:60: And woe to those who have disbelieved from their Day which they are promised.
(For woe, a terrible chastisement [will come], to those who disbelieve, from, upon, that day of theirs which they are promised, that is, the Day of Resurrection).

WOW! Allah is really hungry for worship! He is so desperate for it that he pours woes of all kinds upon anyone who deny him of his daily FIX! Atleast the muslims are not pussyfooting around on concluding that their deity is a very very finite being that needs to be fed like a wild animal house pet needs to be fed to prevent it from running wild and turning savage on it's owners.

So, please keep feeding allah, all ye muslims,  so as to stop him from turning on you all.

nopuqeater:

51:55: And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.
(And remind, admonish by the Qur’ān, for reminding truly benefits believers, [these being] those whom God knows that they will believe).

51:56: And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
(And I did not create the jinn and mankind except that they may worship Me: the fact that disbelievers do not worship [God] does not contradict this [statement], since a purpose does not have to be realised [in an act, for it to be valid], as when you may say: ‘I sharpened this pencil in order to write with it’, even though you might not actually write with it).

51:57: I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me.
(I do not desire from them any provision, [either] for Myself, for themselves, or for others, nor do I desire that they should feed Me, or [feed] themselves or others).

51:58: Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength.
(Indeed it is God Who is the Provider, the Lord of Strength, the Firm, the Stern.)

51:59: And indeed, for those who have wronged is a portion [of punishment] like the portion of their predecessors, so let them not impatiently urge Me.
(And for those who have wronged, their souls through disbelief, from among the people of Mecca and others, there will assuredly be a lot, a share of chastisement, like the lot, the share, of their counterparts, who perished before them. So let them not ask Me to hasten on, the chastisement, should I give them respite until the Day of Resurrection).

51:60: And woe to those who have disbelieved from their Day which they are promised.
(For woe, a terrible chastisement [will come], to those who disbelieve, from, upon, that day of theirs which they are promised, that is, the Day of Resurrection).