Why is god so vain?

Why does god require a person to believe in him in order to be saved? Is he really that vain that people, who don't believe he exists but oherwise lead good moral lives, will not be saved in the end.

Since belief in him requires us to ignore the...

overwhelming scientific evidence of our origins, why would he punish people for not believing in him. Is it vanity or is afraid of something?

It makes no sense. And don't tell me because we can't know or understand his reasons. That is a cop out.

Silverwings, in all of that nonsense, you still haven't answered the question.

The question is WHY does god require belief in order to be saved? Your post is so full of contridiction, I don't know where to start.

You say he requires obeience, reverence, submission. Then you say he has our best interests at heart. Which is it? If he had our best interests at heart, why would he condemn so many solely because they found the story of his existence so imposible to believe?

Again, he is either vain, or incrediibly cruel.

if god existed and his teachings enforced, everyone would still be going to hell, lol. With an exeption of 5% at most, most priests would go to hell too, sick basterds. see you there buddy, along with everyone else I know

...which god? I'm guessing you mean Allah, Jehovah, or Yaweh, right?

Taoism (for example) is a philosophy / religion born in China. There is nothing but the way, the way is everything, etc. The Tao Te Ching is one of the oldest religious or quasi religious texts out there...and you don't have to believe in it's teachings to go to a special place in the afterlife.

in my opinion, the whole 'must believe to attend the special place' belief was concocted to force people to accept their overseers, masters, rulers, etc, as at the time when these beliefs were invented by people, most of the population of the planet was subsistance farmers...which meant little to no education, superstition, etc.

What better way to encourage the peasantry to stay in their place than to invent a system of moral religious dogma that they must follow which stipulates they should stay in their place in life accept their fate, and that if they are good, they'll be rewarded, even though on Earth, they're doomed to a life of drudgery while their rules live richly?

...but, that's just my take

I think that religious dogma was indeed invented by men to put fear in people.
dogma meaning rules to put it simply. God, vain?? no, the men who invented the god they want everyone to believe in are vain.

The bible says that there is a God, there is a heaven, and a hell. It gives instructions on how God wants us to live. It gives an invitation to anyone that chooses to follow the instructions.

As for me and my house, we choose to serve the Lord, according to his instructions.

We have no need to search farther.

Many of the attributes of God have been revealed to man over the ages.

Many things are yet to be understood.

Some things we may not understand until we stand in his presence.

We can wrestle with God and with his promises.

Or, we can submit to the light that we have been shown, and start receiving his promises.

We have everything to gain, and nothing to loose, except our stubborn will.

God desires obedience.

Reverence.

Holiness.

Perserverance.

Determination.

Faith.

Submission.

Under the umbrella of God, is protection, provision, direction, peace of mind, contentment, and hope.

His way is right, and true and just.

He has our best interest at heart.

He knows the end from the begining.

He has a plan for our lives.

We have to seek him to find his will for us individually.

We can fight him, or we can come humbly to him.

The first way, we wear ourselves out, and it is not productive.

The second way brings his promises.

Thanks guys, I agree with all of you.

I was hoping to get a beleiver to take this one on. I don't think they will because to admit that good moral non-believing people will still be saved, flies in the face of there desire to get everyone to believe, and means that it really doesn't matter if one believes. If they admit that it is true that one must believe in order to get saved, it shows their god to be a self-serving meglomaniac.

Piker187 you must be drinking a lot. If you want to be in hell fine. You don't get to damn anyone else to hell though. I hate to wake you up and make you smell the coffee. Tell us why priests are sick basterds as you spelled it?
Getting saved is some religions' way of making you believe you need to follow their church so that you don't go to hell.
God gives us free will to everything. I don't think He damns us to hell for not believing in Him.

Since he is an atheist and doesn't believe in hell, I wouldn't get too worked up over it.

I also think he was refering to pedophile priests.

The idea that an all powerful self sufficient being would desire anything at all is an absurdity.

There are two different gods in the Bible. The god of the Old Testament is jingoistic national tyrant king of Israel, living in the sky with superpowers. The god of the New Testament is the loving father god. It's impossible to reconcile these, so you end up with a god with split personalities.

Hi, I just wanted to say I dont think God would want a bunch of people who don't love Him, dont respect Him, who curse Him, and who dont even know Him to spend all eternity in heaven with Him. Would you want to spend even an hour with someone who talked about you like a dog and said who's jimahl he's a nobody. Come on, we gotta be fair here and think about this. God doesnt want to send anybody to hell, but thats the only other option. Heaven or hell. There's no in between. Is it hard to understand that God wants people who love Him to come to His home with Him and be with Him forever?

First off, I don't love or hate him. I don't respsect of disrespect him. I just don't believe he exists. So according to you, no matter how good a life I lead, or how many charitable acts I do, I won't be saved because I didn't believe in him when he I was alive. If he really wants us to believe in him, why doesn't he give us some actual proof of his existence?

As I said, he is either vain, or incredibly cruel.

womanofvirtue, I was under the impression your god is described as omnipotent. If so, then the bifurcation of heaven/hell is not his only option. Afterall, earth is neither heaven nor hell, and here we are.

Well, jimahl, if you dont hate or disrespect Him then I obviously was not talking about you then. You dont believe He exists so there's no way you can believe that His home (heaven) exists right? So where is it that you think you should go?? What does being saved mean to you? And yes, you're right, no matter what good you do, it doesnt matter. .that's not what's required of you. Believing and accepting is what you're required to do. And He does give proof of His existence: the earth, for one. and also what He does in our lives.

Toadaly, when I said there's only heaven or hell, I meant after it's all said and done. Of course, now there's heaven, hell, and earth. But earth will pass away, life on earth is in no way permanent.
And heaven and hell is not HIS only option, but it's OUR only option. We either choose to love Him or reject Him. It's simple as that. You choose where you go, He's given us all free will.

Being saved in a religious context means nothing to me. But the the question was posed to believers. Why does your god require us to believe in him in order to be saved? It is a very simple question.

The existence of earth is not proof of anything other than it exists. Please do not give me supposition. That is not proof. My house exists. Does that mean he created it? No some builders created it, and I can prove that. There is real concrete evidence.

There is no such think in religion. That is why it is called faith.

Now can someone who believe in god please tell me why he insists that we believe in him?

Welll uhh how can ya be saved if you dont believe in God???
I mean you pray to who to get saved? God.
God loves you no matter what.
He is not vain..HE IS GOD!!
Who cares about your Good morals?
You were put on this earth to follow God.
Jesus gave his life for you..you should give your life to him in return.
What do you mean..punish you get saved and go to heaven.
You,dont believe in him..you oviously go to hell.
Anddd heres some proof..everything he created.
millions of galaxies,this earth and everything on it..including other planets and our incredible moon and sun didnt just come here.
Andd come on..humens comin from dumb apes??
creation is just common sense.

I agree with thats funny,god is not vaingod went through ,more suffering than any of us could stand ,the only thing he asks of us is to love and serve him ,considering he died for us,it is a very simple task we should accomplish,just loving him and serving him thats all he wants

It amazes me how no one is answering the question...

WHY DOES GOD REQUIRE US TO BELIEVE IN HIM TO BE SAVED?

I know you believe he requires it, but does anyone know why?

 
Why is God so vain?

 
God isn't vain. It is our perception of God and the attributes that WE assign to God that allows one to perceive of God as vain.

Man wrote the Bible and assigned all the attributes therein to God.

 
Why does everyone discount the possibility of Creative Evolution?

 
Isn't it possible that there is a God but that It didn't create us but instead created our soul-entity and left it up to our soul-entities to create, through (controlled) evolution, the environment and bodies that they needed to exist in within the physical dimension?

It is just possible that WE are not yet advanced enough to comprehend that there are partial truths with Darwinists, Creationists and Intelligent Design proponents?

  
Do you believe in the Bible?

 
No!

In contrast to believing in the Bible, I believe:

1. That God is that Creative/Causative Force that exists before the beginning of the universe/time and continues to exist outside of the universe and time.

2. That Force created/caused the spiritual/soul entities to come into being.

3. The spiritual/soul entities continued the Creation with the Big Bang. And, through evolution and possibly subtle manipulations, have caused the current state of affairs.

4. The spirits/souls choose to inhabit the various physical bodies that they have created in order to experience physical reality.

5. When bodies die the spirit/soul continues to exist and often times reincarnates into another body in order to continue its growth.

6. The purpose of it all is for the spirits/souls (entities) to gain knowledge and experience and to ultimately rejoin or evolve back into the Oneness of God.

 
The Bible is a book of history and guidance for peoples of certain times. The Old Testament was meant for the societies and peoples of ancient times. The New Testament was meant to change much of the Old Testament law and to guide the society and people of two thousand years ago.

The Bible worked during the time periods it was meant to cover. Its guidance protected the people and gave value and purpose to their lives.

The problem is that the Bible was meant for past eras and was successful therein. It, however, did not keep up with the times and technologies during the advancement of mankind.

There may still be some lessons that can be learned from studying the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. But, the lessons must be tempered with the knowledge that exists in the current time period.

Man and his technology has evolved considerably since Biblical times. The Bible has not evolved accordingly. It is therefore the province of man to interpret the whole Bible and attempt to allow its relevant parts to fit into the lifestyles of the current era.

As long as they do not infringe on the rights of others, men are free to follow the teachings of the Bible for themselves. Your rights and beliefs end where mine begin.

 
The Bible is a crutch which is necessary for some but not for all. It is a book written by men with the purpose of helping to guide other men through some of the pitfalls that life has to offer. It is also meant to give hope and purpose to those who may have no other way of finding same.

Just as with other fictional works, it is not meant to be taken literally but parabolically. Parts of its historical accounts may be factual while other parts are symbolic. And, yet other parts are simply devices wherein to protect the health and well-being of people of that era.

It takes many religions to give guidance to those who are in need of direction. Some use the Bible as their basis while others use other Books. They all serve a needed purpose. They all benefit the society of man.

Just because the Bible (or some other Book) is right for you does not mean or make it right for everyone else. The human race is a diverse species. It has many different cultures and Beliefs. Grant to each their right to choose that which fits them.

 
From my chosen path I stray,
Yet my God any'er turns away;
For I have learned -- and understand,
That where God is -- is where I am!

lol jimahl I am trying to answer your question WHY DOES GOD REQUIRE US TO BELIEVE IN HIM TO BE SAVED but please clarify to me what you mean by saved. if you dont believe in Him, then what is it that you think you need to be saved from? If there is no God, then there is no hell coming to you and therefore you dont even need saving right? help me understand what you're asking.

Obviously I don't believe, and I am living my life not believing, but still living a very good, moral life, do much charitable work, don't steal, cheat or lie. When I die, I find out I am wrong, and there is a god. According to most christian teachings, if I did not believe in god and christ while alive, I cannot be let into heaven (or be saved).

Is that clearer?

Now, why does god require people to belive in him in order to be saved? Shouldn't the quality of their character be all that matters? If not, then I submit god is not only vain, he is cruel.

O my goshhh
can we make it ANY clearer...listen to the name..GOD.
if you dont want to follow or care for him..then why should he reward you?