why would god want us to worship him?

no, that's not what i was trying to say. the point was that whether it is God, booze, drugs or sex or whatever, we live our lives dedicated to something don't we? yes. so if we dedicate ourselves to something, it consumes our time and effort and life. is that not worship?

rockpie wrote:

no, that's not what i was trying to say. the point was that whether it is God, booze, drugs or sex or whatever, we live our lives dedicated to something don't we? yes. so if we dedicate ourselves to something, it consumes our time and effort and life. is that not worship?

No.
When we dedicate ourselves to something, it's called "dedication".
When we worship something, it's called "worship".

worship, derived from Middle English, worschip; Anglo Saxon weorthscipe, wyrthscipe, "honor, dignity, worth;" from weorth, wurth, "worthy, honorable" + scipe "quality, condition, or state of"
1. a prayer, church service or other rite showing reverence of devotion to a deity; religious homage or veneration
2. extreme devotion; intense love or admiration of any kind
[only first two meanings given]

devote, derived from Latin, devovere, "to dedicate by vow;" de, "from" + "vovere," to vow
1. to dedicate, to consecrate
2. to give up or apply (oneself or one's time, energy, etc) to some purpose, activity, or person

dedicate, derived from Latin, dedicare, "to consecrate, declare;" de, intensitive + dicare, "to proclaim, make known"
1. to set apart for a deity or religious purpose; devote to something sacred
2. to set apart for any special purpose; devote to some work, duty, etc
[only first two meanings given]

If god wanted us to worship him, it's obvioulsy because he/she wants his/her ego stroked.

We should be able to identify with this if we believe the Judeo-Christian doctrine that god created man in his own image.

The fact that the holy books say that god wants us to do this seems to betray the likely conclusion that the doctrine itself is man-made.

IFF: Separate what is divinely inspired from what is merely cultural conditioning.

Exactly how does one "separate what is divinely inspired from cultural conditioning?" Who determines this separation, and under who's authority?

stlstrike3 wrote:

If god wanted us to worship him, it's obvioulsy because he/she wants his/her ego stroked.

Would you also argue that the obvious reason that parents demand respect from their children is that they want their egos stroked? Or is it because they know that it is good for children to treat adults with a certain degree of respect? In a similar way, perhaps we are encouraged to worship God because a disposition of worship toward a higher power is conducive to happiness?

Quote:

We should be able to identify with this if we believe the Judeo-Christian doctrine that god created man in his own image.

The fact that the holy books say that god wants us to do this seems to betray the likely conclusion that the doctrine itself is man-made.

The doctrine is man-made. It was written by men. Perhaps God is able to work through us in certain ways. The fact that there are contradictions and incomprehensible elements to the bible may indicate that those who wrote it were imperfect conduits for God's expression. That wouldn't make the bible necessarily worthless. It means that it would have to be read with discernment. Separate what is divinely inspired from what is merely cultural conditioning.

I've noticed that Christians love to use the parent/child relationship when speaking of God and humans.

If that is so than why does God love killing humans? His solution to all problems is to kill people.

Atheist and agnostics can be just as moral, if not more so, than religious people. One doesn't need religion to be moral and many religious people are immoral. But they will be saved because they believe so it is profitable to sin when a Christian and if not a Christian you lose regardless of what you do.

While we're on the subject of parenting do you, as a parent, believe that teaching your children by example is the proper way to raise a child or do you believe that your behavior has nothing to do with the behavior you demand from your child?

xingu wrote:

I've noticed that Christians love to use the parent/child relationship when speaking of God and humans.

If that is so than why does God love killing humans? His solution to all problems is to kill people.

God kills humans? How do you figure that?

Quote:

Atheist and agnostics can be just as moral, if not more so, than religious people. One doesn't need religion to be moral and many religious people are immoral. But they will be saved because they believe so it is profitable to sin when a Christian and if not a Christian you lose regardless of what you do.

The idea that Christians are guaranteed salvation and all others are doomed to eternal suffering in hell strikes me as extremely naive.

xingu wrote:

While we're on the subject of parenting do you, as a parent, believe that teaching your children by example is the proper way to raise a child or do you believe that your behavior has nothing to do with the behavior you demand from your child?

Is this question directed at me? Actually, I have no children. However, I believe that teaching by example is the best way to teach.

Question one; read the Bible. God is always killing people.

It may be naive to you but not to most Christians, esp. conservative Christians. Where do you suppose they got that naive idea from?

Read the Bible. They didn't make it up.

IFeelFree wrote:

...I believe that teaching by example is the best way to teach.

Well God does not teach by example. Read the Bible.

xingu wrote:

I've noticed that Christians love to use the parent/child relationship when speaking of God and humans.

If that is so than why does God love killing humans? His solution to all problems is to kill people.

God kills humans? How do you figure that?

xingu wrote:

Question one; read the Bible. God is always killing people.

It may be naive to you but not to most Christians, esp. conservative Christians. Where do you suppose they got that naive idea from?

Read the Bible. They didn't make it up.

I have read the bible (or parts of it, at least). However, that doesn't mean that I believe everything that is written in it, or that I believe it is to be taken literally. The notion of God killing people is not reconcilable with the idea of a loving God. In my experience, God is love, so I cannot accommodate the view that God kills people. I guess your question was for Christians who believe that. My apologies.