The Human Need of God

Humans need God. If that were not the case, we would not have been told to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth -- the "Great Commission:"

* And Jesus came and spake to them saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Matt. 28:18-20.

But why did we have such a commission?

It was part of the plan from the very beginning. The promise to Abraham was that all the nations of the world would be blessed through him:

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Genesis 22:18

God is a blessing, and God coming to earth as a Hebrew was a fulfillment to Abraham.

The reason that we need God is because it is through a Christian life that we are actually blessed.

Someone might think that their life is good enough without God. But nobody is actually pursuing moral perfection without God, and while life may certainly be enjoyable, it is not in the process of truly being bettered without a relationship with God.

This ties into something else... There are two ways in which a man or woman should live. One is as a member of his family. Obeying one's father & mother is an extremely fundamental order, and a testament to the importance of family in the classic world.

The other way is to be as Christ -- indeed, one of the things that led me from Protestantism was the utter lack of "Eunuchs for the Kingdom," even though it says right in the Bible the following:

For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. Matthew 19:12

What is a Church if it does not actually have a place reserved for the celibate man who works for the Kingdom? What is a Church that is alien to this tradition? It does not properly connect even with the words of our Lord & Savior. But that is not quite the point of this OP...

The point is that one should either be a mother or father, living one's life productively within their family or they should be a monk or nun for God.

I've known many men and women who returned to religion through having children. The whole experience is overwhelming and it is like gaining a third eye through which one sees the world differently, and one feels a more profound connection. It is as Ryan Landry frequently stated... You suddenly have skin in the game. You suddenly care about things in a way that you never cared before.

It is important to know that while life can be adequate and enjoyable without God, no single person can begin to provide a structure that is sufficient in an ultimate form.

That is to say... man is incapable of transcending himself and being blessed in the most profound ways outside of Christ, and if he fails to give Christ to his children (and his family) he has not properly fulfilled a sort of existential debt. He has only pulled others into the mediocrity of existence and, indeed, should he bear fruit that is clinically depressed or handicapped, he would not be mistaken to think that he may have only brought rote suffering unto a life without an egress.

Christ is the blessing that gives meaning in all things.

We need God to enjoy this blessing. And, without it, while life can be enjoyable for an individual, while life can even be enjoyed as a family unit, there is the Sword of Damocles hanging over your head. To enjoy things and to be surrounded by a family but to not know, and to be purposeless.

WIth God, we are blessed, and there is a path that one walks and a goal towards one moves. There is context and purpose beyond the self, and when this exists there is an actual blessed status.

Without God there is only existential uncertainty and whatever purpose the weak and dark mind of a man can conjure up.

Originally posted by @philokalia
Humans need God. If that were not the case, we would not have been told to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth -- the "Great Commission:"

[quote]
* And Jesus came and spake to them saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of ...[text shortened]... nly existential uncertainty and whatever purpose the weak and dark mind of a man can conjure up.

I think you accidentally omitted the word 'some' at the beginning of your post.

Originally posted by @philokalia
Without God there is only existential uncertainty and whatever purpose the weak and dark mind of a man can conjure up.

While existential uncertainty may well drive many people into the consoling and edifying embrace of religions ~ or keep them there if they've never known anything else ~ the often weak and dark minds of religionists can then be all too easily seduced by the self-sanctifying notion that those without their religious beliefs face "only existential uncertainty".

It's as if their particular ideology about the human condition creates a confirmation-bias peephole for them and renders them incapable of understanding ~ or empathizing with ~ large swathes of humanity that have different beliefs.

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
I think you accidentally omitted the word 'some' at the beginning of your post.

Atheists need God too, they just don't know it yet. 🙂

Originally posted by @fmf
While existential uncertainty may well drive many people into the consoling and edifying embrace of religions ~ or keep them there if they've never known anything else ~ the often weak and dark minds of religionists can then be all too easily seduced by the self-sanctifying notion that those without their religious beliefs face "only existential uncertainty". ...[text shortened]... of understanding ~ or empathizing with ~ large swathes of humanity that have different beliefs.

Nice. I see you have already had your morning coffee. (I'm rubbish at time zones).

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
Nice. I see you have already had your morning coffee. (I'm rubbish at time zones).

Four o'clock in the afternoon here. I have had enough coffees today to well and truly stave off the "existential uncertainty" that grips me every time the sun makes its journey across the sky.

Originally posted by @philokalia
Humans need God. If that were not the case, we would not have been told to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth -- the "Great Commission:"

[quote]
* And Jesus came and spake to them saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of ...[text shortened]... nly existential uncertainty and whatever purpose the weak and dark mind of a man can conjure up.

I think you are confusing God with Religion. God is already within and in all people. The Light of Christ is in every man. This manifests itself in the ability of all people to distinguish good from evil, and right from wrong. The stronger the 'force' is the more inclined a person is to do good. Weaker mortals lean toward evil.

Religion is what helps some to bring it all together, and it creates a brotherhood upon which one can lean in times of weakness. Not everyone needs religion neither the strength provided by a group. Some have a God given internal strength of conviction which is independent of others around them.

Religion is good but it can lead many in the wrong direction.

Originally posted by @philokalia
The other way is to be as Christ -- indeed, one of the things that led me from Protestantism was the utter lack of "Eunuchs for the Kingdom," even though it says right in the Bible the following: (that there are eunuchs for heavens sake)...edited for space. Matthew 19:12
What is a Church if it does not actually have a place reserved for the celibate man who works for the Kingdom?

To be clear, you left Protestant demonisation because there were not enough celibate people in it, people who you would classify as being celibate for Christ, “eunuchs for Christ”?

A church should have “places reserved” for “eunuchs for Christ”, people prepared to be celibate for Christ? You are proporting celibacy?

Are you a “eunuch for Christ” Jacob?

^^ Apologies for typos 😞

Originally posted by @rajk999
I think you are confusing God with Religion. God is already within and in all people. The Light of Christ is in every man. This manifests itself in the ability of all people to distinguish good from evil, and right from wrong. The stronger the 'force' is the more inclined a person is to do good. Weaker mortals lean toward evil.

Religion is what helps som ...[text shortened]... ependent of others around them.

Religion is good but it can lead many in the wrong direction.

"Religion is good but it can lead many in the wrong direction."

Thanks for proving your own point.

Originally posted by @suzianne
"Rajk999: Religion is good but it can lead many in the wrong direction."

Thanks for proving your own point.

Mmm. It's exactly the same point that KellyJay and josephw and checkbaiter made on this forum countless, countless times over the years without it once drawing a comment from you.

Originally posted by @fmf
Mmm. It's exactly the same point that KellyJay and josephw and checkbaiter made on this forum countless, countless times over the years without it once drawing a comment from you.

And you are a liar. On more than one occasion, I called these people out on their misunderstanding. Perhaps you missed it (every time) in your stampede to find something ridiculously ludicrous to say to me. Take a breath, and take a minute to ask yourself why you have this unreasonable desire to naysay every single post I make. And then realize that what you think means nothing to me or anyone else not under your thrall.

Originally posted by @suzianne
And you are a liar. On more than one occasion, I called these people out on their misunderstanding. Perhaps you missed it (every time) in your stampede to find something ridiculously ludicrous to say to me. Take a breath, and take a minute to ask yourself why you have this unreasonable desire to naysay every single post I make. And then realize that what you think means nothing to me or anyone else not under your thrall.

You seem peculiarly het up.

Originally posted by @fmf
Mmm. It's exactly the same point that KellyJay and josephw and checkbaiter made on this forum countless, countless times over the years without it once drawing a comment from you.

Another non-substantive post designed to anger someone? Shall I start counting how many times you do this?

Originally posted by @fmf
You seem peculiarly het up.

Another non-substantive post designed to anger someone. Shall I count how many times you do this?