Jack's

People and their gods

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Jack

, 7th December 2011 at 04:36 PM (1839 Views)

People pray to gods because sometimes we need to talk to someone and often no one wants to listen to us, and talking to yourself is considered odd.
People ask the gods for forgiveness because it's so much harder to forgive ourselves for failing to live up to our own expectations, and truly forgiving others isn't much easier.
People ask the gods for guidance because we mistrust our own intelligence and don't think to highly of other people's advice, either. We know we can't see "the whole picture" and want to believe someone does.
People ask the gods to bless others because we don't value our own good will.
People thank the gods for every good thing because we consider ourselves unworthy of a decent life.
People expect the gods to judge us and punish us because we can't believe that humans have any innate worth, goodness or decency.
People ask the gods for mercy because even though we believe we deserve to be punished, we want to believe we can somehow be spared. Some people even act horribly expecting to be forgiven later by the gods, thus avoiding any penalty for their behavior, believing only the gods can judge them.
People ask the gods for enlightenment because they distrust natural wisdom.
People ask the gods for love because we find it difficult to love ourselves and others, and since we believe only the gods can truly love, we never even make the effort.
People invented the gods to free us from having to face and accept our humanity.

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Tags: gods, love, prayer

Categories: Atheism/Theism

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Comments

Glowing Lamp - 7th December 2011 11:11 PM
You are entitled to your opinion, but did it ever occur to you that some people talk to God because they really believe he's there?

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wordryder - 7th December 2011 11:30 PM
Jack, did you just make all that up?
Try hanging upside down from a big ole tree limb for a few minutes---looking at the world from another angle might help you feel better.

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Jack - 8th December 2011 09:02 AM
Of course "some people talk to God because they really believe he's there". I don't argue that. But why do they believe he's really there? That's what I'm addressing above. People don't generally believe in a god because they want to but rather because they need to.

...did you just make all that up?

Yes, I originally wrote that about 3 years ago. I came across it yesterday and thought it was worth posting since the original post was to a blog that no longer exists. Ironic but true story: the blog was RadicalAtheist.com. It was a blog I had for several years and got around 30,000 unique hits a month. Last year I became unable to maintain several blogs and closed them down, including RA. Now I see the domain has been purchased by none other than Joel Osteen. I suppose I should be flattered.

...looking at the world from another angle might help you feel better.

I've looked at this world from a lot of different angles in my life. My present angle has me feeling pretty good, thanks.

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wordryder - 8th December 2011 09:37 AM
It just didn't seem to match your usual upbeat style. My apologies and glad to hear all is well.

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Glowing Lamp - 9th December 2011 12:28 AM
People generally believe in God because they know that there is something other than mankind. We like to think that we choose God, but he really chooses us and we are completely dependent on him. We believe in him because he tells us to.

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finder - 9th December 2011 06:59 AM
You might think this is strange coming from me, but there is an element of truth to all your points. Some more then others. What is it though, besides the obvious ramifications of the fanatical few, that causes you to see it as such a terrible thing? It would seem you see belief in God as a coping mechanism, so why not just let them cope?

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Jack - 9th December 2011 03:08 PM
It would seem you see belief in God as a coping mechanism, so why not just let them cope?

I object to it because religious belief requires a negative view of both one's self and humanity in general. In order to convince people they need god religions portray humans as weak, evil, pathetic creatures with no ability to help themselves or anyone else. Religion teaches that we are doomed to an eternal damnation unless we accept the dogma of a particular faith. It's a belief system built on negativity. Religion discourages its members from trying to be good people, from trusting themselves and loving themselves. It encourages a mindset that is detrimental to individuals and societies. A good illustration of religiously-inspired self-mistrust is in the comment above yours, "...we are completely dependent on him." That attitude completely devalues humanity.

We like to think that we choose God, but he really chooses us...

If that were true how do you account for Muslims, Hindus and those who worship a different god than you?

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wordryder - 9th December 2011 05:44 PM
I was raised with a more appealing model than the ones you cite. Even though “mistakes were made,” etc., I’ve never felt, pathetic or helpless because of this concept:

MAN. The compound idea of infinite Spirit; the spiritual image and likeness of God; the full representation of Mind. M. B. Eddy, 1876

The use of the phrase “compound idea of infinite Spirit” makes me think of the possibility of a hierarchy of sentient Life forms that exist and run the full gamut from pure thought or energy (NO! not ghosts or spirits associated with death—no, no, no), to the physical format that defines human beings... and.... other ideas inhabiting the universe.

MIND. The only I, or Us; the only Spirit, Soul, divine Principle, substance, Life, Truth, Love; the one God; not that which is in man, but the divine Principle, or God, of whom man is the full and perfect expression; Deity, which outlines but is not outlined. M. B. Eddy, 1876

The thing I like about this writing is that is wouldn’t move sideways if a whole bunch of other “beings” were to suddenly pop up on the other side of the universe, because man is expressed as a “compound idea,”---how all inclusive is that?

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Glowing Lamp - 12th December 2011 09:10 AM
(Jack) There is no difference between Muslims, Hindus or anyone who worships a different god, and those in old testament times who worshiped idols or other gods. God does not call people to those religions, they go there because of their own decision. The Bible is generally critical of mankind because it doesn't seek God, but wants to go its own way. Mankind has accomplished many things, but we no sooner solve a problem and more problems pop up for us. Humanity has always been incapable of solving all its problems and coming to God on its own. In his word God says he will not refuse anyone who wants to come to him.

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Glowing Lamp - 12th December 2011 09:19 AM
(Jack) There is no difference between Muslims, Hindus or anyone who worships a different god, and those in old testament times who worshiped idols or other gods. God does not call people those religions, they go there because of their own decision. The Bible is generally critical of mankind because it doesn't seek God, but wants to go its own way. Mankind has accomplished many things,.but we no sooner solve a problem and more problems pop up for us. Humanity has always been incapable of solving all its problems and coming to God on its own. In his word God says he will not refuse anyone who wants to come to him.

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Jack - 13th December 2011 12:11 PM
Mankind has accomplished many things, but we no sooner solve a problem and more problems pop up for us.

I don't see any indication that a belief in a god corrects this or that those who believe in gods are immune to the same thing. The only difference I see between believers and non-believers is their philosophical differences. They share the same behaviors, the same physical characteristics; in fact if one were just to go by appearances and never know a person's philosophy we couldn't tell who were believers and who were non-believers among those walking down the sidewalk in any major U.S. city.

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wordryder - 13th December 2011 01:25 PM
Can't argue your point. We all resemble each other regardless of what we understand or believe.
The difference may lie in how we experience life.
"She was old and still having too much fun. That's just not right, is it."

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Glowing Lamp - 14th December 2011 01:35 PM
All good points. But at the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves if we put our faith in mankind or God.

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Jack - 16th December 2011 03:39 PM
we have to ask ourselves if we put our faith in mankind or God

To what end? We don't just "put faith" in something, we put faith in it to achieve something or produce something. I can surmise what you mean by putting faith in god, you mean to trust him to do what he said and promised. But what purpose does putting faith in mankind serve?

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Glowing Lamp - 21st December 2011 02:28 PM
Hi Jack: I'm sorry. In some of your writings above I got the impression that you thought faith in humanity was better than faith in God. As you said, putting faith in God means to trust him to do what he said and promised. As is written, the righteous will live by faith. As a popular fast food chain says in its commercials, that's just the way it is.

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