Thread: Does God want to be worshipped?

I have been to more church services in the past two months than in the previous 3 years: a visit to my daughter's religious community (3 hour services), a memorial service for the partner of a gay man who once directed a play I was in (tremendous service) and a few others.

Increasingly, I find the idea of worship itself rubs me the wrong way. I like to pray and to meditate and I enjoy the sacraments. I enjoy singing hymns that are testimonies to faith or those that are instructive. I like to listen to the Priest or preacher instruct.

But somehow, the idea that God wants us to sing and shout things like "Thou art Great... Thou art Holy" and many other such phrases just disconnects from my idea of God and what he/she is about.

I realize there is lost of scripture on this, but at some basic level I think worshipping God is to the believer what a memorial service is to a dead person. In both cases, the subject (God or the dead person) is not the point. The service is for those attending. It's good for people to mourn the dead. It helps them close the chapter and creates a fond, enduring rememberance.

Is the same thing for worship? Do we worship because it's supposed to strengthen our faith or is it because God has an actual need to be told he is holy?

All views welcomed, even you cynical, sniping guys....

If we benefit from worshipping does that diminish the value of it? no, I think whether or not we benefit is irrelrevant.

Does God want to be worshipped?

Worship is not about the singing and the saying "Thou are great." It is about valuing God and our relationship with our loving creator. Worship = value.

If God is valuable then recognizing that value would be consistent. God made and sustains all of us and on a personal level - me. So I certainly find Him to be valuable and to recognize that. How one does that is not really very important. King David once worshipped God by tearing off his shirt and dancing in the streets. Gasp! The people were appalled.

On the other hand God commended a woman who sat on the stairs outside the temple and prayed to herself silently while the priests were inside building themselves up with prayers designed to demonstrate how pious they were compared to everyone else.

Jesus was asked where one should worship and He said there would be a day when it would not matter if one worshipped in the temple or not as long as it was done in spirit and truth.

Well then, why does God WANT so badly to be recognised? That seems kind of vain to me, considering we are talking about a suposedely flawless deity.

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

Well then, why does God WANT so badly to be recognised? That seems kind of vain to me, considering we are talking about a suposedely flawless deity.

Delicious food should not be wasted, Innocent babies need to be loved, beautiful flowers are best appreciated, the stars inspire awe because they are awesome, life is sweet because it has value. Denying the purpose of these things is just wrong.

Goodness is it's own purpose and ultimate goodness has been set aside for an ultimate purpose - that is the definition of Holiness. Mankind too has a purpose. We have been created to love God just as any child is meant to be in a loving relationship with it's parent. It is not that He is vain. It is that he knows that goodness deserves to be valued and being the ultimate good anything short of trust and worship is wrong.

The original sin in the Garden was the failure to trust God. The fall of man has always been our mistrust of God and our belief that we know better than He what is best for us. The solution has always been a re-establishment of that trust and faith; faith in the Christ.

"Hi, I'm God. Yes, it's true that I created a universe, but the truth is I'm so insecure I need everybody I created to tell me how great I am incessantly, or I'll get depressed."

This is your God on Prozac.

Originally Posted by kmiller1610

I have been to more church services in the past two months than in the previous 3 years: a visit to my daughter's religious community (3 hour services), a memorial service for the partner of a gay man who once directed a play I was in (tremendous service) and a few others.

Increasingly, I find the idea of worship itself rubs me the wrong way. I like to pray and to meditate and I enjoy the sacraments. I enjoy singing hymns that are testimonies to faith or those that are instructive. I like to listen to the Priest or preacher instruct.

But somehow, the idea that God wants us to sing and shout things like "Thou art Great... Thou art Holy" and many other such phrases just disconnects from my idea of God and what he/she is about.

I realize there is lost of scripture on this, but at some basic level I think worshipping God is to the believer what a memorial service is to a dead person. In both cases, the subject (God or the dead person) is not the point. The service is for those attending. It's good for people to mourn the dead. It helps them close the chapter and creates a fond, enduring rememberance.

Is the same thing for worship? Do we worship because it's supposed to strengthen our faith or is it because God has an actual need to be told he is holy?

All views welcomed, even you cynical, sniping guys....

I've always looked at worship as a step of Faith and personal sacrifice to God. I believe the message of the New Testament is simple, Deny Self. By lifting up Praise and Worship before a Holy God, as long as you truly believe he is Holy, then it is a means of keeping your Self in check. The power of conviction is strong when you are in the Faith, living it every day. But those in the Church know that when you come before God, however you worship him, that power becomes a heavy weight on your shoulders. Believers find it hard to praise God, when they are living in sin. This becomes a life cycle for true Christians, because the deeper in the Faith you are, the more Sin in your life you will recognize. Praising God is a reminder, who you are serving, the Lord, not your Self.

If you are able to Praise God holding on to your Self, then Who are you praising? It reminds me of an anecdote my old pastor told of a man hanging on to a cliff. The man was crying out to God to save him from Falling. God asked him; "Do you believe I am Holy?" The man screaming, said "Yes" God asked him; "Do you believe I would ever leave you?" Crying now the man again screamed, "No"

God said Good, Let go.

Originally Posted by Babylon

I've always looked at worship as a step of Faith and personal sacrifice to God. I believe the message of the New Testament is simple, Deny Self. By lifting up Praise and Worship before a Holy God, as long as you truly believe he is Holy, then it is a means of keeping your Self in check. The power of conviction is strong when you are in the Faith, living it every day. But those in the Church know that when you come before God, however you worship him, that power becomes a heavy weight on your shoulders. Believers find it hard to praise God, when they are living in sin. This becomes a life cycle for true Christians, because the deeper in the Faith you are, the more Sin in your life you will recognize. Praising God is a reminder, who you are serving, the Lord, not your Self.

If you are able to Praise God holding on to your Self, then Who are you praising? It reminds me of an anecdote my old pastor told of a man hanging on to a cliff. The man was crying out to God to save him from Falling. God asked him; "Do you believe I am Holy?" The man screaming, said "Yes" God asked him; "Do you believe I would ever leave you?" Crying now the man again screamed, "No"

God said Good, Let go.

Why is it that God is always supposedly more worried about men not being humble enough? If that were the case pride and vanity would have been in the Ten commandments somewhere wouldn't they?

Originally Posted by Blueneck

Why is it that God is always supposedly more worried about men not being humble enough? If that were the case pride and vanity would have been in the Ten commandments somewhere wouldn't they?

3 "You shall have no other gods before me.

Babs:
That includes you and I.

13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Babs:
I believe much of the New Testament is solely about Self, and how to walk in accordance with God, denying your Flesh Daily. Before Jesus' death, he washed the disciples feet, to teach them we are all servants before God. They looked up to him as their teacher, yet even he had to serve.

Originally Posted by lakeman

We have been created to love God just as any child is meant to be in a loving relationship with it's parent. It is not that He is vain.

I think this sells God pretty short, most of us don't have children so that someone will love us, and I think that to suggest the Creation was for such a self-aggrandizing end demeans God. It's very "old testament" though and is probably a popular idea because it brings God's ineffable motives down to a level with which humans can identify, just like much of the blasphemy in the Old Testament did.

If there is a God, I think he is a Deis God, or the Einsteinien God who does not interfere with his creation. Primarily because that is why you've got laws in the first place, haven't you?

Why resrict your pet monkey or ant (whichever way to look at it) from flying if you want to constantly control his existence? Common sense tells us exactly this. Either this (if he is all powerful) or he isn't what he is touted to be or of course, there isn't a divinity. Your call.