why worship gods?

[Bren2010]

However, this isn't a totally nutcase scenario. During WWII, when Americans would set up makeshift Airforce bases on very primitive islands, the locals thought they were Gods. Upon returning some years later, they were again treated as Gods, and the local had attempted to build Airplanes out of sticks, twigs, and rope to emulate the "Gods" they had seen. If we have a modern example of something like this happenstance, is it so far fetched to think that an ancient civilization did the same thing, but tried to emulate Aliens?

Where did you learn that? I've never heard of it before . . .

[insomaniacal]

I remember watching footage and such of that in some documentary I watched. I don't remember the name, but I was able to find this from wikipedia.

Code: Select all

Cargo cult activity in the Pacific region increased significantly during and immediately after World War II, when large amounts of manpower and materials were brought in by the Japanese and American combatants, and this was observed by the residents of these regions. When the war ended, the military bases were closed and the flow of goods and materials ceased. In an attempt to attract further deliveries of goods, followers of the cults engaged in ritualistic practices such as building crude imitation landing strips, aircraft and radio equipment, and mimicking the behaviour that they had observed of the military personnel operating them.


Link to Article

[Pieprophet]

The idea that ancient gods were in fact extraterrestrials, while not exactly old, is rapidly picking up steam (I've seen the mentioned documentaries a bunch on history lately) lately. I'm actually a little surprised people haven't encountered it yet. I would say that the issue isn't so much that the evidence is circumstantial, as non-existent. It's a very interesting theory, and a relevant question to ask. But every bit of evidence used to support the theory could just as easily be explained by more traditional theories (either that the gods were real, or that they were not, but we thought they were). To me the whole idea seems no more or less fantastical than any other explanation.

The assertion that we should worship god is based on the assumption that doing so is in our best interest, either because we will be punished for not doing so, or because doing so will improve the quality of life for everyone, ourselves included. If, like me, neither of these make a whole lot of sense to you (i am personally skeptical that god is on our side, if he exists) than the whole argument goes out the window, and i would recommend giving this question up for awhile. That is (as far as i can tell, it is hopefully clear that im no theologian) the ultimate justification for surrendering to god.