Worship

[Sriram]

Hi everyone,

What is worship?  Why do we worship certain gods and deities?

Some religious people may think that we should worship only certain deities and not others. While certain other religions may worship any deity.

The philosophy behind worship is that ...when we worship something we become humble and we build a faith and connection with the unseen  power that is behind our life. It is not really about the deity that we worship. The reaction within us and the mental changes that happen are more important than the object we worship. 

This is why in Hinduism we are allowed to worship any deity we want. Different members of a family may have different preferred deities, what we call Ishta devata. The important point is that regardless of which deity we worship the reaction within us is the same and the same faith is built up in us that controls our lower self and helps us develop spiritually.  Many Hindus visit churches, mosques and gurudwaras....and for them Jesus or Moses or  Mohammad are no different from Hindu sages or Mahavira or the Buddha.

In Jainism and Buddhism, worship was not encouraged in earlier times, but in course of time the emotional needs of people have made them worship Mahavira and Buddha themselves.  Nothing wrong with that. It is natural and inevitable. 

Just some thoughts.

Cheers.

Sriram

[trippymonkey]

Kya baat hai SriRam-Ji.

Excellent thoughts but try telling that to certain fascist religions, eh??

Nick

[ekim]

Unfortunately the act of worship can be a two edged sword.  It can be directed at anything or anybody and can be used as a method of control.  In the eyes of many North Koreans, I feel sure that  Kim Jong-un is worshipped almost as a God and the mental changes in people can become dedicated to egotistical nationalism or political and religious ideology.

[Gordon]

No idea why people 'worship', as opposed to 'approve', 'admire'. 'appreciate' etc.

Worship, as far as I can see regarding religion, is code for ritualised subservience.

[ekim]

No idea why people 'worship', as opposed to 'approve', 'admire'. 'appreciate' etc.

Celebrity status comes to mind.

Worship, as far as I can see regarding religion, is code for ritualised subservience.

It can be that.  I suspect that basically it was a structured method for attempting to invoke the qualities which were seen to emanate from a deity e.g. love, power, good fortune, life, protection etc.  Of course, there are the negative elements which satanic and devil worshippers might seek to invoke.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Siriam,

You really should take the time to read some of Karen Armstrong's books ( you will find much to interest your good self ) but Our Lord Jesus told every Christian how to worship the Father when he was asked, What is the Greatest Commandment, Mathew 22 verses 34 - 40, it is all there in the Second Greatest Commandment, all there, the rest is window dressing.

Gonnagle.

[Anchorman]

Dear Siriam,

You really should take the time to read some of Karen Armstrong's books ( you will find much to interest your good self ) but Our Lord Jesus told every Christian how to worship the Father when he was asked, What is the Greatest Commandment, Mathew 22 verses 34 - 40, it is all there in the Second Greatest Commandment, all there, the rest is window dressing.

Gonnagle.

-
As a wee aside, if God alone is worthy of worship, why did Christ allow Himself to be worshipped....unless........

[Gonnagle]

Dear Jim,

Sorry old son but I respect you too much to go into that old argument, suffice to say, The Holy Trinity for me is just one way of saying, we have no way of describing the ineffable, or, I just don't know.

Gonnagle.

[Anchorman]

Dear Jim,

Sorry old son but I respect you too much to go into that old argument, suffice to say, The Holy Trinity for me is just one way of saying, we have no way of describing the ineffable, or, I just don't know.

Gonnagle.

-
Thing is, though, if Jesus respected the Mosaic Law and the Prophets, He should have rejected any worship directed at Him, since, as all Jews knew, only Fod - YHWH - is to be worshipped. So......

[Gonnagle]

Dear Jim,

Go away

Just be thankful that I know Our Lord is my Salvation

Gonnagle.

[SusanDoris]

No-one should worship anything or anyone. In any case, I've yet to hear someone actually explain what worship means, how it is done and what are its effects if any.  I think Gordon has it spot on in his post above about the subservience.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Susan,

How we Worship, that's the key, Gordon does it, because he is a jolly good egg, I am sure you do it, I would go so far as to say, everyone on this forum worships God, we just all, the whole world, learn to do it more often.

Gonnagle.

[Rhiannon]

Dear Susan,

How we Worship, that's the key, Gordon does it, because he is a jolly good egg, I am sure you do it, I would go so far as to say, everyone on this forum worships God, we just all, the whole world, learn to do it more often.

Gonnagle.

No we don't. We really don't.

[SusanDoris]

Dear Susan,

How we Worship, that's the key, Gordon does it, because he is a jolly good egg, I am sure you do it, I would go so far as to say, everyone on this forum worships God, we just all, the whole world, learn to do it more often.

Gonnagle.

You are completely wrong! I do not worship anything or anyone, nor have I ever done so. Even when attending church and Sunday School I said the words - and learnt them off by heart because that's the sort of thing I did - and enjoyed the format of the services, but always had this critical thinking side in my mind. Apart from the fact that as a child  the only thing my parents taught as real and existing was God, and even this god only helped those who helped themselves,  I didn't feelllllllll cowed, or fearful, or humble etc before it.  I certainly didn't spend any time thinking or worrying about it - I was too busy just getting on with life.   

[BeRational]

Dear Susan,

How we Worship, that's the key, Gordon does it, because he is a jolly good egg, I am sure you do it, I would go so far as to say, everyone on this forum worships God, we just all, the whole world, learn to do it more often.

Gonnagle.

I can say that I never worship anything.

Why would anyone?

[Gonnagle]

Dear Berational, Susan and Rhiannon,

You have never helped your neighbour, you have never given to charity, you have never felt compassion for the poor, you have never tried to ease another human beings suffering.

Our Lord Jesus tells us how to Worship the Father, but if it eases your conscience or you would rather not associate with the Christian faith, then I think it was Confucius who first promoted the Golden Rule.

Gonnagle.

[SusanDoris]

Dear Berational, Susan and Rhiannon,

You have never helped your neighbour, you have never given to charity, you have never felt compassion for the poor, you have never tried to ease another human beings suffering.

Our Lord Jesus tells us how to Worship the Father, but if it eases your conscience or you would rather not associate with the Christian faith, then I think it was Confucius who first promoted the Golden Rule.

Gonnagle.

That's not worship!  That is being a human being, behaving in a way that has been a survival trait since our species evolved. No supernatural anything involved.

[ekim]

Perhaps it depends upon what is meant by 'worship'.  If it means 'to whole heartedly devote your attention to' then some might worship 'truth'.  Truth, in a sense, becomes their God or object of devotion.

[Bramble]

Worship's a funny thing. An awful lot of people seem to do it in one form or another and yet others find it completely mystifying. Perhaps as a social and hierarchical species we (some of us anyway) just naturally feel more comfortable in a pecking order and want to believe there's someone at the top who has all the answers and will look after us - God as tribal chief, I suppose. Most humans seems to want to feel part of a structured group or team with an authority figure at the apex. I never have but then I'm probably a bit weird. As for the Abrahamic God I can't for the life of me fathom how one can relate to, much less love, something that is supposed to be immaterial. Way too abstract for me, like the idea of capital T Truth.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Susan,

Is there a opposite to the word "evolving" anyway, whether you like it or not, everytime you help a fellow human being you Worship the Father.

But then, I like wee Albert who takes it one step further.

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

Widening our circle of Compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Gonnagle.

[Enki]

Dear Susan,

How we Worship, that's the key, Gordon does it, because he is a jolly good egg, I am sure you do it, I would go so far as to say, everyone on this forum worships God, we just all, the whole world, learn to do it more often.

Gonnagle.

As the idea of any god holds little personal significance to me, I would challenge the idea that I worship(or have ever worshipped God). I don't love God, hate God, honour God, respect God, have reverence for God, praise God, glorify God, admire God or any other variation of worship that I can think of.

I have a feeling, maybe I'm wrong, that you are trying to fashion the word 'worship' to suit your own particular interpretation which seems to emphasise the doing of good to others. In which case I suggest  that the word 'worship' would be in danger of becoming so generalised as to become rather meaningless.

So endeth the first lesson.

[ekim]

...... like the idea of capital T Truth.

I think capital T - Truth represents absolute truth as opposed to relative truth and Love represents universal love as opposed to selective love.  Some seek the former, others are content with the latter.  There are some who say God is Truth and God is Love and worship accordingly.

[SusanDoris]

Dear Susan,

Is there a opposite to the word "evolving" anyway, whether you like it or not, everytime you help a fellow human being you Worship the Father.

100% wrong. No *Father* to be the object of worship, so pleas do not say that any action I take is worship of any sort whatsoever.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Enki,

I have a feeling, maybe I'm wrong, that you are trying to fashion the word 'worship' to suit your own particular interpretation which seems to emphasise the doing of good to others. In which case I suggest  that the word 'worship' would be in danger of becoming so generalised as to become rather meaningless.

Nope, I am a Christian, I follow the teachings of Our Lord Jesus, so I am not trying to fashion anything, but I have already explained this.

Gonnagle.

[BeRational]

Dear Berational, Susan and Rhiannon,

You have never helped your neighbour, you have never given to charity, you have never felt compassion for the poor, you have never tried to ease another human beings suffering.

Our Lord Jesus tells us how to Worship the Father, but if it eases your conscience or you would rather not associate with the Christian faith, then I think it was Confucius who first promoted the Golden Rule.

Gonnagle.

That is not worship but empathy.

As I say I do not worship anything  and do not know why anyone would.