The grounds of worship

The grounds of worship

Although worship has a pivotal place in religious thought and practice, philosophers of religion have had remarkably little to say about it. In this paper we examine some of the many questions surrounding the notion of worship, focusing on the claim that human beings have obligations to worship God. We explore a number of attempts to ground our supposed duty to worship God, and argue that each ...

The grounds of worship again: a reply to Crowe

In this paper we respond to Benjamin Crowe’s criticisms in this issue of our discussion of the grounds of worship. We clarify our previous position, and examine Crowe’s account of what it is about God’s nature that might ground our obligation to worship Him. We find Crowe’s proposals no more persuasive than the accounts that we examined in our previous paper, and conclude that theists still owe...

Hero worship

This month, as the surest route to public embarassment, I decided to write about scientific heroes. Today’s world is full of talk of mentoring. Graduate students are told to find supervisors who will intellectually nourish them, emotionally support them, and teach them networking and grantspersonship. As I tap away, I can almost hear Uncle Syd muttering that the world is going to the dogs. In h...

Sacrificial Worship of the Old Testament

The Concept of Worship in Islam

The concept of worship in Islam differs from that found in other religions, and is therefore subject to misunderstanding. In general, worship is understood to mean the observance of certain rituals: praying, fasting, giving charity, and other "good" works. In Islam, however, worship is much more-it is one's entire life. As many Muslim scholars have said: "Worship is an all-inclusive term for th...