The idea that God would want to be Glorified has always struck me as

[Quixote1818]

strange.

Today on the Al Franken show they were talking about how Saddam Husaine would have the Iraqi school children sing songs about him and he always wanted statues and paintings that glorified him created and put on every street corner. This struck me as soooooooooooooo bizarre, self-centered and sick and then I thought about how so many people believe God wants to be treated this way. As though God's self-esteem needs a boost like a jealous O.J. Simpson ready to kill anyone who does not love him and glorify him.

If their is a God (which I have no clue) I really can't imagine he/she wanting to be worshiped and glorified but perhaps loved as a friend or a parent. As Benjamin Franklin once said:

I cannot conceive otherwise than that He, the Infinite Father, expects or requires no worship or praise from us, but that He is even infinitely above it.
Benjamin Franklin

Ok, I am sure this will be moved to the religious forum and then no one will see it.

[On the Road]

1. Saddam Hussein is a Clue

The desire to be glorified is just another of the long list of undesirable traits the god of the Old Testament picked up from ancient middle eastern kings. Right up there with vengefulness, unpredictability, pitilessness, and the tendency to break his own standards.

[Bridget Burke]

4. So is GW Bush....

"Vengefulness, unpredictability, pitilessness, and the tendency to break his own standards?"

Sounds familiar.

[TahitiNut]

6. Those who demand power over others ...

... almost always "Create God In Their Image"! It's happening today, too. Here. Now.

[pretzel4gore]

16. oh c'mon...being a political gangster in that part of the world

saddam could hardly have had time for all the crap the pig media always claims...the woman on al franken sounded like she was the kuwaiti woman who accused iraq of boiling premature babies into soup! proven untrue since then! Saddam was a political gangster, yes, but he was probably closer to tony soprano then to george bush sr....now there's a real mass murderer! and junior's outdoing the old porker!

[GreenArrow]

2. nowhere in the Bible

does Jesus ask to be worshiped.

[Neil Lisst]

3. Exactly. What kind of God would want that?

The notion that God wants his ass kissed nonstop is a vestige of the world 4000 years ago, when Kings ruled as gods on earth.

Of all the repugnancies of modern religion, the idea that God wants and needs praise and groveling is one of the smarmiest.

[BobbyinPortland]

5. I completely agree

People are continously putting human traits onto a being that is incomprehensible. We can't imagine, if He/She exists, what God is really like and to think that a being that might be responbile for creating worlds would be jealous, vindictive and egomaniacal. It's amazing we made it out of the caves.

[Brotherjohn]

7. I agree. It seems to me that the New Testament did away with all that.

Do unto others... period. That's pretty powerful, yet simple.

A god that demands to be worshipped (lest ye be cast into eternal fire and damnation) is hardly a superior being in my book. Seems a bit petty to me.

[cynatnite]

8. It's arrogant presumption to do so...

Jesus didn't ask it and neither did god in the bible. I like to remind my rw mother that jesus never asked for anyone to believe in him before healing them. He just did it.

Too many rw christians do the opposite of what god wants, IMO.

[ms liberty]

9. Gratuitous Holy Grail reference....

God, to Arthur and his Knights:

"Oh, quit groveling!"

[Quixote1818]

14. That about sums it up!

:bounce:

[bryant69]

10. One answer might be that such actions

are for us rather than for him. Veneration helps put us in a place where we take God and what he has asked us to do in a serious manner.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[nyhuskyfan]

11. Agree 100%

I also find it strange that if there is a god, he/she/it would be so egotistical that he/she/it would base my ascension into heaven based on whether or not I believe in him/her/it and how much I pray to him/her/it during my lifetime. Instead, I would figure that decision would be based on how I chose to live my life.

In the words of Modest Mouse,

If God controls the land and disease,
keeps a watchful eye on me,
If he's really so damn mighty,
my problem is I can't see,
well who would wanna be?
Who would wanna be such a control freak?

[RagAss]

12. Perhaps in some of the more advanced stretches of the...

Universe...but definitely not here......we are the bedpan of existance.....!!!

[Shine]

13. From my perspective, God/Goddess/Divinity is something

that we are NOT separate from. In other words, "God" is that part of ourselves that is Whole, Complete and Connected with All. I do not see "God" as some judgmental or parental entity that has a gender and waits to punish us.

My two cents,
Shine

[DanCa]

15. What did Senator Kerry say in the debates about god on our side?

Didn't the senator say instead of loudly proclaiming god is on our side, that he would rather humbly and respectfully ask that we were on his side? Bringing back my second favorite line of Senator Kerry's from the debates "You can't legislate articles of faith.".

[thereismore]

17. Franklin was a deist, which explains his view. Saddam was a selfish

bastard, like Bush or Stalin.

God, on the other hand, is not human, so it is dangerous to project our logic or perceptions of right and wrong onto him. If you believe He is the Creator, then there is no problem. He simply demands something from his created subjects. If you do not believe that God is the Creator of everything (and you), then what's the point about being confused about his character?

[JerseygirlCT]

18. I agree

it seems to me that its a human need to glorify, not a divine need to be glorified. We always put things in human terms (of course). It's hard for us to see things any other way.

I think God wishes us to love one another. That IS loving God, and probably exactly the point anyway.

[OnionPatch]

19. Must be a theme today

I just posted on this in another post. I think this whole worship garbage came from the fact that back in ancient times people just couldn't wrap their minds around the idea that there would be a God who didn't need to be worshipped.

It really doesn't make sense to me at all, never did. In fact I am convinced that somewhere, sometime, someone misinterpreted the words of Jesus. I think it was his MESSAGE that he wanted worshipped. That message being to "love one another." I don't think he ever really wanted to be worshipped as a deity. In fact he said things like; "These things I do, you can all do." etc. If you think about it, anyone can follow his message without even being Christian!

I never trusted that the words of Jesus haven't been totally twisted and warped. So I have to use my mind to figure out what he really meant. What you say makes total sense.

[KittyWampus]

20. I Am Resplendent In Divergence :-) Robert Fripp

I think "God" or the Conscious Energy that pervades & comprises the Universe revels in diversity and considers each and every part a necessary part of the whole.

When we celebrate our diversity and appreciate the differences between brothers/sisters I think we are coming closest to really honoring "God" the way he/she would want to be honored.

[Thirtieschild]

21. Excellent question

My Christian Right brother-in-law always starts his prayer (before we eat) by thanking God for being our God. Someday I'm going to ask him what other god might have chosen us. Zeus?

[roguevalley]

22. God doesn't need to be glorified by pigmies like us. He knows

who He is. Or She.

[jsamuel]

23. RAMEN!

[Larkspur]

24. It's Narcissism, not strangeness

And probably dates back to the time when religion and politics became one and the same. In ancient civilizations, religion was the propaganda vehicle for the ruling elite and there was no distinction between religion and politics. Temporal rulers, like kings, were often priests or were seen as the god incarnate on Earth.

This obsessive need to be worshiped by "God" probably derived from those delusional rulers, like the Roman emperors, who saw themselves as divine or the "Sons of the gods." If one did not worship the state sponsored god, you were considered a traitor and could be executed as such.