What is worship?

I think to worship means to honor or something that you are devoted to. It makes the worshiper feel harmonious

Following/learning doctrines/principles of someone/something in order to become/benefit from what they are/promise if you follow/submit.

Maybe it isn’t all that cynical though. A form of inspiration and motivation that gets you through fears, incertitude and adversity. Much better grounded when it hits a communal point. Amplifies authenticity. Like monthly sacrifice or going to Sunday mass.

Aye aye, Gwar is no different than God, nor is being a Xena fan any different from calling some Greek deity one’s avatar. Or again, loving Neil Gaiman or Woten, makes no real difference. Despite the colorful ’‘differences’’ in societies and sets of beliefs past and present, they have so much in common; relation and a longing for guidance.

Also, LARPing is live D&D and such…yeah, good point. XD

It’s either:

1. A colossal waste of time and energy (if God doesn’t exist), or
2. The means by which we repeatedly tell God how wonderful he/she is, because he/she demands that (if God does exist, and if if our clergy types are correct about what he/she wants).

A third possibility would be that God does exist, but he/she has no particular interest in our flattery. In that case, see “colossal waste of time and energy” above…

Worship is a feeling of awe. Often it is directed at some concept (like a deity) or creature (Donald Trump, an elephant). When you worship you let down your guard, and become utter and complete awe before your object of worship. You open your psyche completely and let whatever flows in to flow in and whatever flows out to flow out.

It’s kind of hard to describe. This sense of awe and openness is different from feeling one with everything. It is more of a sense that whatever you worship is more powerful than you are, and is kind of a master of you. Oneness does not have that kind of hierarchical feeling. Worship is directed towards an idea, whereas oneness is open and diffuse and connective. Very different kinds of relationships to the numinous.

“When you worship you let down your guard, and become utter and complete awe before your object of worship. You open your psyche completely and let whatever flows in to flow in and whatever flows out to flow out.”

That’s pretty descriptive, thanks @wundayatta.
How did you come to this opinion?

I learned it through dance. I came to understand how posture gives us feelings and that if I put someone in a certain posture their heart would open up and they would feel connected to whatever it was they worshipped. It’s not my cup of tea. I prefer to experience my spirituality in a different way. A more activist way or participatory way. But I have helped a small number of people experience this over the last couple of decades or so.

It’s kind of amusing, since I’m an atheist. But I’m guiding religious people towards their God. Ironic, no? I guess the difference is that I know what I’m doing and I know why it works. For them it’s a mystery.

Even though I’m an atheist, I don’t feel that worship is “an utter waste of time.” I think that, like meditation, it can center the worshiper’s thoughts, help him or her concentrate on something bigger than the self, recalibrate the mind, and have subconscious benefits. A deity doesn’t have to exist in order for the idea of one to change the believer. If concentration, adoration, communion and awe (worship, in a nutshell) helps you be kind to your neighbor, not steal, observe the beauty in the universe, heal yourself, or change a destructive behavior, then please, by all means, worship.

This is a very large question requiring a very large answer. You must consider all the major religions and what is behind them because worship comes in many forms for many different reasons. I can only give you one idea of what worship is.

To me, in Christianity, it’s not about the music or the waving of hands or the tripping and falling all over the place to please God. I don’t worship like that. When Jesus prayed, he did not do those things anyway.

Getting on with the topic, Jesus died for the sinners of the world, past, present, and future. Otherwise we would all be in Hell or going there – there would be no hope. No other major religion offers that kind of pardon on humanity. This is why we worship. Not because we are literally afraid, but because we are thankful.

Also, for me, God is at the center of life, so I try not to make anything else the center. What I chose to do in life, it had better be with Him in mind. So, worship is a way of life. It is adhering on a daily basis to a set of values (and morals) from people who have already experienced it. Though no one is perfect in this, we do our best to live by this model.

It is not about doing all the good work we can in the world, either. We are not perfect. That’s not worship. It is about how strong our faith is. I think for any Christian living a life in worship – that is the most fulfilling way to live. (I think I described it as best as I could).