Happy Atheist Forum

Theists generally attempt to prove the existence of god, yet if god exists I say “So what?”

If a god (as in an ultimate creator with all the commonlyâ€"accepted notions of divinity: omnipotence, omniscience, etc.) exists and does not require us to worship it then its existence makes no difference to human life, which can remain at the very least functionally secularist. I can simply acknowledge its existence and then get on with the rest of my life.

I submit that theists need to demonstrate that not only a divine being exists, but that it requires us to worship it. If the traditional notions of Abrahamic monotheism hold true, and that god epitomises infinite mercy, justice, omnipotence, perfection, yadda yadda, why would such a deity need us to stroke its ego by forcing us to worship it? That sounds like the ultimate power trip to me: “I created you and everything else, ∴ you must adore and worship me for all eternity or else I’ll condemn you to Hell!”

So does god NEED worship (and therefore has some form of desire like humans)?

... it's all conjecture, and it depends on which "god" you're speaking about.

Some need worship.  Some could care less about humanity.  Some are downright nasty, and others are really caring.

Nobody knows.  Period.

I can tell yo one thing, though.

God definitely does NOT need a Starship.

JoeActor

Quote from: "joeactor"God definitely does NOT need a Starship.

What about a TARDIS?

A need implies lacking. Lacking implies incompleteness. Incompleteness implies imperfection. If god needs, it is not god.

Thank you, thank  you, I'm here all week. Try the veal.

Depends on who you ask.

If you are just looking for my opinion, then no, I don't think that a god would care for worship, or any other human affairs.

So why all this hoohah and proselytisation about worshipping (a specific type of) god? In fact, the only religious people I know who don’t preach to others consist of hardcore Jews.

I've pondered this in a broader way (what does God need with anything?) before, but I've never really come across a satisfying answer.  Being an atheist, I don't expect there should be one, but you never know.  To that end, I've put the question to a Christian forum, and I shall forward you their answers if they are reasonable.  

Hell no!!!! Do you need your pets to worship you???......cats, dogs, birds, etc. I do not....Some I hardly see....LOL! One cat hides all of the time, and it makes me sad....as I love him, and want to see more of him....but I love him not any less because he does not worship me....He does need me, IMO, though, in some ways...I think.......as he is tame and needs the shelter, food, etc.....and there are coyotes out there where I live....I would not want to know a god that needed worship....I would flick him off like a bug....LOL!

Quote from: "curiosityandthecat"A need implies lacking. Lacking implies incompleteness. Incompleteness implies imperfection. If god needs, it is not god.

Thank you, thank  you, I'm here all week. Try the veal.

Need, and desire imply lacking, but whimsy does not. A perfect god could want to be worshiped just because it feels like it.

QuoteTheists generally attempt to prove the existence of god, yet if god exists I say “So what?”

If a god (as in an ultimate creator with all the commonlyâ€"accepted notions of divinity: omnipotence, omniscience, etc.) exists and does not require us to worship it then its existence makes no difference to human life, which can remain at the very least functionally secularist. I can simply acknowledge its existence and then get on with the rest of my life.

Thats what I say. Everything Christians do to prove there must be a god ("It couldn't have just happened, blah blah blah...") is useless unless they can actually prove that the Bible is from this God. And if none of "holy books" are from god, then he apparently doesn't care what we do, so we are still free to live our lives as if he didn't exsist.

QuoteIf the traditional notions of Abrahamic monotheism hold true, and that god epitomises infinite mercy, justice, omnipotence, perfection, yadda yadda, why would such a deity need us to stroke its ego by forcing us to worship it? That sounds like the ultimate power trip to me: “I created you and everything else, ∴ you must adore and worship me for all eternity or else I’ll condemn you to Hell!”

Reminds me of back when I went to church and people would pray things like "Thank you for letting us come here and worship you." It really just felt like we were trying to kiss his holy ass.