It seems to me that people of different faith's have different definitions of the word "Worship"
Now I looked in Websters and it's a long definition so I wont post it here but it includes things like: esteem, highly honor, bow to, & praise. That is always what I thought Worship was. Well, why do some people say "If you celebrate holidays, you worship satan" when people dont bow to or praise Satan during Christmas. Some faith's say "we dont worship statues" when they DO bow to them and honor them. And some faiths say "We arent to worship Jesus" when the Bible has every knee bowing to and every tongue praising Him? Is this not worship? Am I missing something crucial?
2006-08-07 17:19:33 · 11 answers · asked by impossble_dream 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I've always liked this definition:
"To worship is to stand in awe under a heaven of stars,
Before a flower, a leaf in sunlight or a grain of sand.
To worship is to be silent, receptive,
Before a tree astir with the wind, or the passing shadow of a cloud.
To worship is to work with dedication and with skill,
It is to pause from work and listen to a strain of music.
To worship is to sing with the singing beauty of the earth,
It is to listen through a storm to the still small voice within.
Worship is a loneliness seeking communion;
It is a thirsty land crying out for rain.
Worship is kindred fire within our hearts;
It moves through deeds of kindness and through acts of love.
Worship is the mystery within us reaching out to the mystery beyond.
It is an inarticulate silence yearning to speak;
It is the window of the moment open to the sky of the eternal."
How can anyone condemn anyone else for this? :)
2006-08-07 17:33:51 · answer #1 · answered by Tara 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mate, dont get caught up in the nonsense of those who dont understand what TRUE worship is......the dictonary may say many things about bowing down etc etc.....but the way we live our lives is also and can also be called an "act" of worship......me myself I am a Worship Leader in my church. I lead the worship in singing, praying and adoring Jesus.....so far as celebrating holidays I guess you might be talking about Halloween, mate we dont have that here in Australia but there are people who like to celebrate it...all be in not understanding why and what it all means and beleive me they are definetely not worshipping satan and would be abhorred by such a thing. So to your question yes there are many ways that we worship the truth of it all is that we worship Jesus because He's the only one we are told to worship
God Bless ya!!!! real good.
2006-08-08 00:31:00 · answer #2 · answered by like_surfin 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes I believe you are right. As a Roman Catholic, because the common usage of the word worship is only ascribed to praise of a deity. I always say that we do not "worship" Mary(our lady).
We greatly esteem her but do not worship her in any way that is similar to worship ping Our Lord.
I know with the statue question. I may highly esteem images of Our Lord because they have great meaning for me. But I am totally aware that Who I worship is the infinite God who could never be contained in any image. Just like I highly esteem my bible and it means a lot to me. I have been known to hold it close or even sleep with it under my pillow as a symbol of Jesus being near me.
2006-08-08 00:29:06 · answer #3 · answered by Makemeaspark 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think its different faith to faith.... christians go to church and pray, for example, while I, a Wiccan, celebrate under the light of the full moon at Midnight on my holy days, or at dawn, skyclad (which means clad only with sky or naked), or whenever I need to pray. I light a candle but so do many christians. On the other hand, in my religion, intimate relations with another person is considered a divine form or worship as long as its done with self respect and care, yet I think many religions would view that as wrong and .... "easy"..... Worship is done in many ways.
2006-08-08 00:26:32 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Isn't it funny how we complicate things so much? Keep worshiping the Father!!! Bless you!!!
2006-08-08 00:26:38 · answer #5 · answered by ds 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you worship Your whole heart should be in it. If it's not then you aren't worshiping the way you should.
2006-08-08 00:25:08 · answer #6 · answered by Crushed 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you got it. I always think of "adore" as a synonym of worship.
2006-08-08 00:24:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the word itself can mean something differant for every situation. its not just religions that worship differantly. we worship material items, people, etc.
2006-08-08 00:25:39 · answer #8 · answered by hollywood71@verizon.net 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nope, worship is a lifestyle
praise is words you speak honouring God
2006-08-08 00:29:23 · answer #9 · answered by Echo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I odn't think they mean different thing I think thats it people who take the word out of context
2006-08-08 00:26:35 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋