Do you think that one must believe in God to be holy?

Question

I have met many people I consider to be 'holy' or 'sacred' who aren't Christians (although I have met many holy Christians). Do you think that belief in a God is necessary to have this characteristic? I feel we are inherently divine by nature but that's just me......Thoughts?

Socks: Me too:}

Answer 1

I love this question.

As an atheist, I don't really view anything as "divine" or "worthy of worship", as the word holy is usually associated with these things. But your question caught my attention, and I looked up the definition in the American Heritage Dictionary.

Yes, "sacred", "worthy of worship and veneration", "divine", and "religious" were all there, but there was one particular definition that stood out: "Regarded as deserving special respect or reverence".

This struck me, because all people should be deserving of special respect, regardless of their faith. In fact, I think this view of people is more "sacred" than the idea that we're all inherently evil.

Answer 2

Your question was "Do you think that one must believe in God to be holy?" - but then you spoke only of Christians. I'm sure you don't think Christians are the only ones who believe in God. (although some Christians believe that they have a different God than others - and that their God is the "right" God).

I believe there is just one God - and as humans - we choose to see It/use It in different ways. There can only be ONE- because It connects us all. My belief is that God is LOVE. It's the Power of Love. Most everybody who has ever had anybody love them - believes in It - because they have experienced It. So - the way I see it - there are not really any atheists. And yes - everybody is holy. Being holy is when the God qualities (Love, Compassion, Joy - etc.) work through you. I try to work at being wholly holy!!

I agree with you completely - we are inherently divine by nature. Finding and using the God within us is a beautiful experience.

Namaste!

Answer 3

1 : exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness
2 : DIVINE
3 : devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity
4 a : having a divine quality b : venerated as or as if sacred

I don't feel that any human should be considered holy. I don't feel that we are inherently divine or there wouldn't be so much killing in the name of religion.

atheist

Answer 4

All the demons in hell believe in God and they surely are not holy. James 2:19.
So the answer is no, belief in God is not enough.
Set yourself apart to be holy, keep all of God's decrees by putting them in to practice. Leviticus 20:19.
Therefore one must believe God and do that which is right in His sight to be holy.

Answer 5

God is beyond human conceptions and ideas. If you look carefully at the word Holy you will see that it is referring to Wholeness. One who is whole has become Holy. Wholeness is perceiving everything as the Omnipresence of God. Be so careful not to be caught in a concept of God, given to you, not of you. Be fully Present, In the Present, As the Presence, and you will have a closer realization of God.

Answer 6

I think you must define the term "holy" before you can go any further. If "holy" means a righteous and good person, then you definitely don't need to believe in any god. If "holy" is specifically attached to a specific deity, then that's another story.

Hope that helps!

Answer 7

Good question. Not necessarily, but I think it definitley helps. If you understand God's will that will make it easier to know how to be a better person. Those who don't are at a bit of a disadvantage, but that doesn't mean they can't follow His will unkowingly. All good comes from one source - God, so if you do good things, you can only do so by accepting God's grace first. Whether you realize it or not is inconsequential, but you can see why it would make a difference.

Answer 8

I think quite often people who believe in God have a very vague concept of what God is, myself included. It's not like I have a direct communication with Him, and my knowledge of what God is is very small. I generally am overwhelmed if I try to imagine what God is so I rarely even try. So in a sense, my belief in God is not very useful. I could get along without it, but I think it helps to keep one humble to believe in a Creator rather than to think this all just happened by accident and that human beings are the most intelligent beings in existence. People who think like that tend to be arrogant, I find.

I mostly study the laws of existence - how things work and then try and follow those laws. I think if anyone really does that, that will be a spiritual practice and they will evolve spiritually as they adjust their minds and actions to the way things work.

Answer 9

Don't think so.
Just blunders and slip-ups with human errors.
When living human kind were suppose to learn and master Merlin's magic wand from our creator's universal gifts of life for the creation of living human kind into mankind of intelligent design in worshiping God with success to be the Son of God.
Look at the mess when one tried to be Holy while living in misery without being aware of the mess out there.
Getting themselves kick on the butts by the three monkeys with see no evil, hear no evil and say no evil who were still primitive in their monkey suits were blind, deaf and dumb in making a mess out there.
Luke 9.55-56

Answer 10

The belief of "a" God won't do it. A belief in one God works. You see, the belief in a God is without understanding, and so where is the love?