I think that our concept of God is as imperfect as our religions..... we need to rise above any specific religion and rigidities towards its narrow teachings, in order to attain a reasonable understanding of the Creator and the Creation!!
2007-07-09 20:03:35 · 11 answers · asked by small 7 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Yes our concepts are imperfect. But I think we would do well by understanding His word as best as we can, and acting as loving towards one another as we can.
I may not know all the answers- and there is much in the Bible that I disagree with and that actually angers me. But I know I feel better when I am treating my fellow humankind the way I would want to be treated. Will that be enough for God? I guess I will find out some day.
I agree- we should try to look at the grand picture and rise above rigidities and narrow teachings.
*
2007-07-09 20:09:12 · answer #1 · answered by >Golden Ticket< 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He is neither selfish or mean, and if you could not glorify Him nor serve His purpose then you are serving His nemesis without even trying.
God is not a concept. He is an entity that you nor I have the imagination to concieve.
What He has to teach us is not rigid but rather structured. Everything needs a structure to stand on, even a molecule has a structure, so do we. Whether we are working on the structure that God provided for us or some other structure we live within those parameters.
We know that God is our creator, we know that the universe does not hold Him, but rather He holds the universe. We know that it is running according to His plan and it is expanding according to His works, and His hand.
How much more reasonable can we get?
I believe that should all six billion of the earths population knew Him and served Him then this planet would revolve around the sun spinning so sweetly that no one would go hungry. No one would go without shelter, no one would have to do without clothes, and shoes for their feet. War would be a word to remove from the dictionary, and the ecological system would right itself. Death would be natural not murderous, nor of disease & pestilence.
This would be a much more reasonable understanding of God, the creator and His creation.
2007-07-10 03:32:02 · answer #2 · answered by the old dog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is not forcing us to glorify Him and serve Him that's why He's given us the power to choose......the decision is ours...its just a matter of choice...and for that reason God is not selfish....another thing is that our religion overcomplicate things...we've got a lot of it....conflicting ideas about Him and everything....but of course we should not be blinded by the fact that we cant know everything as we cant do everything....our knowledge is limited and our minds cannot fully comprehend such things as about God.....we are imperfect....thus....our thoughts about Him will not be perfect enough for us to understand His very nature and His purpose or plans..etc...on the other hand,...we should be thankful..we are blessed with bountiful blessings....the air around us that keeps us breathing...the water...and everything around us which are not man-made...are those things not enough for us to thank Him?...to think that He is selfish....are those and these things not enough for us to realize that we didnt brought anything in this world for us to have everything we have now?...the thing is we just have to believe in Him...and that we should glorify and serve for that very reason........
2007-07-10 03:31:36 · answer #3 · answered by yucanzee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have a choice to accept God or reject God . That is why he gave us free will .The Catholic Church does not have rigid narrow teachings. On the contrary it is very open and lets the individual find God in their own way.We don't even have to belong to any denomination or biblical society to embrace God as our Creator.It becomes very clear if you have an open mind .
2007-07-10 08:54:59 · answer #4 · answered by ROBERT P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hmm. Interesting question.
My view on this is that we were originally in a spiritual realm with God, and we loved God. God is not some being who needs nothing, He needs love.
But he wants to give us freewill, so when we said, "We want to be have power, to be godlike," he gave us the earth, and here we are, trying to be happy. But happiness is temporary.
So the conclusion is that real happiness is attained when we love God again, because when we do, we can go back to the spiritual realms and be with God, and God is happy with us because we love Him.
This is a very simplified version of a lot of scripture. that's my opinion on it. It' snot that God is mean, he doesn't want glorification, he wants us to Love Him, and gives us the chance to find happiness without Him. But it is in the very nature of the soul to be happy when in the spiritual realms with God; only there can one attain permanent, eternal happiness.
2007-07-10 03:35:42 · answer #5 · answered by writer_cb 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Firsty, i agree with you that no religion is perfect with what conceptualizes God. We have to appreciate the creations that He made and all the wonderful things we see. However, it made me really think of your question---- I beleived so because we owe ourselves to Him. Glorifying Him is a way of thanking Him! After all, we are all under Him!
2007-07-10 03:31:35 · answer #6 · answered by Third P 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, he isn't, we do it OUT of our own freewill, he expects nothing. If we don't do it, are we so selfish as to not glorify him AFTER he sent his one and only SON to have been crucified on the cross?
2007-07-10 06:00:42 · answer #7 · answered by twistedtattler 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you will find this harder than you think
In Christianity, Christ was killed and raised from the dead. a fact referenced historically by believers and pagans alike. this tends to create a dilemma.
Christ referred to the old testament as his own doctrine, and the old testament accounts many attributes to GOD.
Also, Christianity is not arranged like any other religion.
2007-07-10 03:12:16 · answer #8 · answered by Dr weasel 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe in God but here's the story. (I went to a catholic school)
God created Adam, because he could just have animals. He needed prosperity. So then he created another woman out of clay also. Because she was created out of clay, she refused to marry Adam and believe he was higher than her. So he created Eve. He gave us free will to see if we would do what is right. He knew we wouldn't but some would. He is mean because of it. Really it's our fault. We abuse it.
2007-07-10 03:11:17 · answer #9 · answered by koolksmart55 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
God is perfect. We are not. We cannot understand His ways, because they are beyond our comprehension. Just like a three-year-old cannot understand algebra.
He created us so he could love us, and be loved by us. Much like human parents love their children. I don't force my son to love me, but he does. He chooses to love me, because I have shown him love. God wants this type of relationship with each of us, but he does not force anyone to love Him.
Love can not be demanded.
God is Good. All the time He is good.
2007-07-10 05:46:04 · answer #10 · answered by Mel W 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋