Why does it matter...

If there is a God?

Why does it follow that if there is a God, His existence should impinge on mine, or that I should worship him?

Originally posted by Conrau K
If there is a God?

Why does it follow that if there is a God, His existence should impinge on mine, or that I should worship him?

If god does exist he probably got fed up with all the "God bothering" eons ago and f***ked off!

Originally posted by Conrau K
Why does it matter if there is a God?

It doesn't. God cannot dictate morality, and might doesn't make right either. That is why I am an apathetic. If ever I see God, I'll give Him a big supernatural high-five for creating such things as song, dance, and Keira Knightley; then I would go on my merry way and continue grappling the best I can with the existence that He took the liberty of thrusting on me.

"God exists" is a descriptive claim; so in no way does it directly follow from this claim that one ought to worship Him. To get there in a logically valid way, one needs to introduce prescriptive claims such as "If God exists, then one ought to worship Him", and I think these claims are all speculative at best. I would certainly like to see someone in this thread offer adequate support for such a prescriptive claim (for some weird reason, the theist normally just takes it for granted).

This completely depends on you definition of God. If he is a war mongering bull-god, then your comment holds, though there is always the smiting thing to worry about. If God is the image of perfection, then perhaps a bit of humility can actually do you some good.

Your comment reminds me of a thought I had the other day, though. In the way you suggest that the existence of God, if there is such a thing, holds the same weight as your own existence I am struck by how humans generally set themselves up as little gods of their own. Each and every one of us consider ourselves as the center of the universe, and that every thing and everyone else needs to measure up to that individuals standards. This is most evident, in the US anyway, when people drive. No respect for anyone, no cares, the only thing that matters is the single person's hurtling down the highway--everyone else is merely in the way, everyone else are just peons not worthy of your deified attention.

So, in short, no worship is necessary. But you are not a god, so show a little respect. Spit on religion all you want--it's one of my favorite pasttimes as well--but don't start thinking yourself as a equal to God, whether He exists or not. No wannabe-god human is worthy of that, not even Tiger Woods.

Originally posted by Conrau K
If there is a God?

Why does it follow that if there is a God, His existence should impinge on mine, or that I should worship him?

The importance of the existance of God is two-fold.
One, He is not a natural being, He's supernatural. Therefore, if God exists, so does the supernatural. And if the suerpnatural exists, then there is a basis for all of these life-after-death claims we theists make.

Second, God not only built this place, but created all the rules that govern it. Therefore, you (which includes the supernatural part of you) are goverened by those rules. This is where all this heaven and hell stuff comes from. The rules that govern this place will put your supernatural self into one of those two locations. Which one is up to you.

The "why you should worship Him" part makes sense once get to know Him. In short, worshipping God is a god-sized take on honoring your parents. It's a way of thanking Him for all He has done for you.

DF

Originally posted by DragonFriend
The importance of the existance of God is two-fold.
One, He is not a natural being, He's supernatural. Therefore, if God exists, so does the supernatural. And if the suerpnatural exists, then there is a basis for all of these life-after-death claims we theists make.

Second, God not only built this place, but created all the rules that govern it. Th ...[text shortened]... take on honoring your parents. It's a way of thanking Him for all He has done for you.

DF

If the supernatural does exist, why not 2 gods, or 10?
What about fairies, and unicorns and dragons, and whatever else?

Perhaps Wal-Mart should consider stocking these things ...

How do I decide between the possible myriad supernatural things?
Is there a hierarchy in the supernatural world? Does one god rule over the rest? How do we know this?

Originally posted by amannion
How do we know this?

Perhaps Wal-Mart should consider stocking these things ...
If they did, they would drive the suppliers completely out of business, so intent are they on the lowest price.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
[b]Perhaps Wal-Mart should consider stocking these things ...
If they did, they would drive the suppliers completely out of business, so intent are they on the lowest price.[/b]

And we'd be getting a culturally biased cornucopia of Chinese mythic creatures ....

Originally posted by thesonofsaul
Each and every one of us consider ourselves as the center of the universe...

We are the centre of the universe if taken from our point of view - which is where we see ourselves from. If we looked down at ourselves from the moon all the time it would get confusing. And yes the most important thing in our lives is ourselves and always will be. even the most die hard Christian talks more about getting himself into heaven than he does about getting someone else in. In fact I have asked a number of Christians this one:
If you could give up your place in heaven to someone else (in the spirit of love and giving) would you do it?
The answer is invariably No.

Originally posted by amannion
If the supernatural does exist, why not 2 gods, or 10?
What about fairies, and unicorns and dragons, and whatever else?

Perhaps Wal-Mart should consider stocking these things ...

How do I decide between the possible myriad supernatural things?
Is there a hierarchy in the supernatural world? Does one god rule over the rest? How do we know this?

Maybe we should worship Wal-mart.

Originally posted by LemonJello
It doesn't. God cannot dictate morality, and might doesn't make right either. That is why I am an apathetic. If ever I see God, I'll give Him a big supernatural high-five for creating such things as song, dance, and Keira Knightley; then I would go on my merry way and continue grappling the best I can with the existence that He took the liberty of thru ...[text shortened]... rescriptive claim (for some weird reason, the theist normally just takes it for granted).

hmmm, Keirkegaard?