I'll be fair. If I found that there is no god, I would just live the way I want to, but still "try" to be a nice person to other people so that I would live as comfortably as possible. I would feel less guilt, but also no sense of purpose or hope. And if like got unpleasant, I would just end it because I would think there is no afterlife.
On the flip side for those who don't believe, if you were to, would you make any adjustments in your life if you were to accept that the Bible is true?
2006-11-02 07:58:51 · 16 answers · asked by Artie 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Whether I believed in God or not, my behavior would change very little. I believe that life is more pleasant when we treat each other with respect, compassion and generosity, and demand the same from our leaders. It is worse when we seek to comfort ourselves to the detriment of others. Promises of reward and threats of punishment are not necessary.
It's not a matter to me of whether I believe God exists but whether God, as presented, makes sense. If God created us to endure a series of tests or a rule-bound game, with an absolute reward/punishment outcome, I'd consider that God unworthy of the concept. If God is a co-witness and fellow traveller who values experience over obedience, whose concept of justice is based on compassion rather than rules, and who would never consider abandoning one of his creatures, I could buy into that.
God is supposed to be omniscient and omnipotent. They say knowledge is power, then they say power, especially absolute power, corrupts. Not quite true. As humans, we can never have absolute knowledge or power, only "more" of each. It is the remaining ignorance and fear that corrupts us because our grasp is tenuous. Were someone to have absolute control of all power and knowledge in the universe, that person would be invulnerable and would understand everything. That person would have no needs or threats, and no obligation to "settle" others' conflicts. That person would be free to either ignore the problems or to objectively show a better way out of them.
If you are a parent, you may have had an experience of children fighting among themselves, understanding both of them perfectly while realizing that their dispute is meaningless. Or you may have comforted a child facing a new experience, or cautioned a child incapable of recognizing a danger. That's what it would be like for God. Dispassion, wisdom, and patience would be God's attributes. Anger, revenge and score-keeping just don't fit the picture. These are the attributes of weak, fearful, childish humans.
The omniscience we lack is the reason we are in conflict, because we don't understand each other. The omnipotence we lack means some of us will be stronger than others and we would likely exploit that for the sake of our own security. God would transcend all that. Absolute knowledge is understanding. Absolute power is compassion.
If God were presented logically, as a loving creator who calls us out of fear into confidence and sympathy, I could go for it. The petty, capricious autocrat painted by Bible-thumpers doesn't make the grade.
2006-11-02 08:55:36 · answer #1 · answered by skepsis 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe Jesus lived but I do not need him to have a relationship with God. I am a good person regardless. There are lots of other religions besides Christianity that teach how to live right and how to be a good person, worthy of whatever joys you believe exist in the afterlife. It's hard for me to accept your basic premise that "the only way to heaven is through Jesus of the Bible". I believe in God no matter who or what the world's religions teach, therefore I do not rely on any religion to dictate to me how I should be right with God. I pray and ask God and I open myself to the truth. I am sure the "holy rollers" out there will tell me I am going to hell. That's o.k. too because I don't believe in heaven and hell! And I am STILL a good person!
2006-11-02 08:10:54 · answer #2 · answered by mustihearthis 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can honestly say no.
Even though we believe differently doesn't mean I'm miserable. I love my life I just don't feel that i need jesus. I for one don't want to be saved from my sins. God gave us freedom of choice. He wanted us to learn from the world that he "left for us"(according to your faith).
You can't know good if you don't know bad. You can't experience the world if your trapping yourself off in a building to learn about god because your escaping the world he left for you not trying to learn from it.
Me personally I'm glad i have made all of the mistakes, sin, whatever that I've made in my life because with out them I wouldn't be the strong person i am today. You make a mistake you pick yourself up and you grow from it. WHY DO YOU NEED TO BE SAVED FROM THAT? That's one question i have never and may never get the answer to.
I would find the world extremely boring if it was completely euphoric because there would be no challenges. I'm not a lazy person that would drive me nuts.So no thank you. Oh and by the way i am a good person without the religion. I guess some people need religion to help them become good people i guess i was just lucky enough to come out that way.
2006-11-02 08:16:21 · answer #3 · answered by kaluah96 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, I wouldn't. The god described in the Bible is a monster, a homicidal, genocidal maniac with serious power issues. Now, understanding his actions in light of Jewish theology, these things could be marginally excused as no one would be going to hell. But Jesus taught that hell was infinite punishment -- despite the crime being finite. What this means is that God's plan would have failed -- not all that he eminated would return to him. It would also go against the idea of an all-loving, all-just, and all-merciful god.
In short, the Christian God isn't even morally fit enough to clean up my dog's wastes, let alone be worshipped. *I* am more loving, just, and merciful than a being capable of inflicting infinite punishment for finite error. I could never render worship to such a being and still be morally correct, and my morals mean more to me than any being, divine or otherwise.
2006-11-02 08:03:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
yes i would belive in god because he can do anything in the worldhes the onlyone that has beautiful powers.hes a very stong man he keeps hes promisses and most off all he can make everything happen but its gonna take time to come it has to fall in place at the right time.good luck with goooooooooooooooooood.
2006-11-02 08:10:04 · answer #5 · answered by diana s 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the bible my friend are many stories written by several people.
some of the stories are meant to be historical, some anecdotal,
others to express "god' desire"..there is no "truth" just someone'
idea of the truth. many other religions have their truths too.
all paths eventually lead to enlightment and much better goal,then worring about getting to "heaven" a made up place. enlightment is real and you can achieve it at any moment.
2006-11-02 08:07:17 · answer #6 · answered by universalist49 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To be as God you are able to desire to know God in my view. there is not any longer something innately everlasting in human existence. As organic and organic creatures we live now and returned procreate, die and change to airborne dirt and dirt. it is it. in spite of the indisputable fact that for people who know God on the non-public point and know they know God the journey is amazingly distinctive. The organic and organic journey is incredibly a lot the comparable however the religious journey is distinctive. people who incredibly know God do no longer make a fuss approximately it they only say that a individual can know God in the event that they want too and each and each individual could desire to choose for themselves.
2016-10-21 04:04:20 · answer #7 · answered by freer 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I thought the bible was true I would have to believe that thousands of other man written books might be (all books), it would get very complicated.
2006-11-02 08:04:34 · answer #8 · answered by hog b 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No -- I don't want to spend eternity with a God that sends good men to Hell just because they are non-believers. That God would be evil, and not worthy of my worship.
2006-11-02 08:57:13 · answer #9 · answered by Ranto 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If somehow I was presented with irrefutable evidence of the existence of god, jesus, heaven, etc. then sure I would, it would be stupid not to. Thankfully, such things do not exist, so there is not and never will be such evidence.
2006-11-02 08:03:55 · answer #10 · answered by The Resurrectionist 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋