To atheists: What would you do?

Question

What would you do if the God of the Bible suddenly appeared, and let you give your reason why He should let you into Heaven? What would you say?

I should probably make some note that I don't want responses of stubborn, close-minded denial of God, like "It doesn't matter, he doen't exist." If that's your mind set, don't bother answering. I'm looking for a logical "If...then..." And don't turn it around on me, I'm not completely closed to atheism, this is just hypothetical. I know most of you can answer it correctly, but there are always some who will skip the question to defend their views on atheism. You don't have to tell me that, I will assume you are an atheist if you say you are. I also don't want the "1+1=3" logical reasoning, because God appearing is logically possible.

Anyway, what would you do if you had to "take the stand", tell God why, after all these years of denouncing Him, he should let you into Heaven?

I want to thank everybody for taking this seriously. This is the first post I've made with no stupid responses, or people attacking the question itself. It's going to be so hard to choose a best answer.

Answer 1

Someone asked this yesterday. I'll tell you what I told them.

If I am wrong about being an atheist, and I stand before god, I will hold my head up. I'll say "I looked for you harder than anybody I know. I read the bible in its original languages. I prayed for hours and hours. If you know all, you know how sincerely I looked. If you can chuck me into hell, knowing that, then I go with a clear conscience. Because I wouldn't want to share eternity with a being who could torment ANYone for eternity. Let alone someone who looked for him so hard."

I would rather go to hell with a clear conscience and a pure heart than go to heaven because I chose out of fear.

Answer 2

Good question.

I feel like I can't believe without proof. I know, I know, it is about faith not proof, but that is just the way I work. I have tried to just have faith and I just felt like I was living a lie or pretending. I thought even if God did exist He wouldn't want me to pretend to believe. So I'm sure that if He existed and wanted me to explain why I should be allowed into heaven He should understand. But if He never shows up I will be satisfied knowing that I have been true to myself.

I hope you get some real answers to this question. I tried to ask hypothetical questions kind of opposite yours and I got tons of answers not answering my question. Many times when people are confronted with questions about their beliefs, whatever they may be, they become extremely defensive.

Answer 3

I would ask, "Well did Thomas get in?"(humor) or I would tell God that I made a difference in the world through my actions and I contributed to his people, society. While I feel overwhelming that you do exist, please do not hold it against me. There was no proof that you existed. Only stories from the grapevine to make people respectful to others and be civil. A kind of Almighty and Power Court System. Where you WILL be punished for your actions. I can honestly say that in my life I have been civil and respectful based on my own belief and moral system, I just found it hard to people that there was actually someone up there.

Answer 4

Well I am not atheist cuz I do believe there is a God and if he appeared before me and asked me why I deserved to go to heaven I would not be able to give any logical reason why I should. If I had to defend my stance on why my beliefs changed with time I would explain because of the evil and destructiveness I witnessed due to fundamentalist philosophy. I would ask a ton of questions, like why did man's idea of heaven change with the time. where at one time only a select few could go to all those who accepted you? Why all the vague and double meanings in all religions that sometimes cause wars? If we are made in your image why is it impossible to prove your existence ( and clear up the whole why are we here and what was your reasoning behind it all, why am I screwed into going to hell?.... etc). If he answered these questions for me then I would feel better about going to hell :)

Answer 5

If he were God as described in the Christian Bible, then he shouldn't let me in. I've sinned by claiming he didn't exist, and I doubt very much whether I'd be able trick him into not realising that. I'd be a little annoyed with him for giving me the intelligence to see that the evidence supporting his existence was flawed, but ultimately he makes the rules and I broke them.
Also, just to clarify, am I dead when this is happening? You don't say that I am, but I think you're meant to be dead before you go to heaven. If I were still alive, and somehow knew that this was genuinely God and not a hallucination or a dream, then I'd probably just convert.

Answer 6

I'm not an atheist but I definately think the bible is full of bs. I don't think atheists would have to ask god to let them into heaven because god loves all even the non believers, murderers, rapists etc. Besides there are too many religions all of which believe in something, just different. As long as people live their life to the best they can and with what God supposedly gave to them , then who is god to judge them, even the murderers and rapists etc.

Answer 7

I guess I would say that I made the best decision I possibly could given the evidence available to me regarding my beliefs. I would say that all my life I've tried to treat everyone as I would want to be treated, and that based on that, I would like to be considered for admittance. I even follow the 10 Commandments, just because that's the right thing to do, with no prompting or fear of punishment if I don't!

Nice question, by the way.

Answer 8

I would tell him that I don't know why he should, but if he even considered it, I would be honored.

I grew up as a christian, and one of the things that turned me away was the attitude of "everyone who rejects what we believe is going to hell, and everyone who accepts is entitled." I believe that if there is a god, he is a loving being and he is better at seeing the grays between tne black and white and forgiving people for their lack of knowledge than the average christian organization likes to give him credit for.

For the record, though, after many, many years of bible study, I have come to the conclusion that the bible was written by men who know no more about god (if there is one) than I do. This being the case, I am not open to preaching, but thanks for the effort. If there is a god, I am sure he is glad he has people to speak for him (since it is obvious that an omnipotent being would not be able to speak for himself).

Answer 9

I'd have to ask God how he could be so petty, reducing salvation to a dogmatic trivia game. I'd rather be rewarded for what I do than for what or who I claim to know. Of course, that would likely be the God of YOUR Bible. There is another God, I understand, who is more concerned about whether people get fed, healed, clothed, released and treated decently than with being worshipped. So many Christians don't seem to believe in that God.

Answer 10

This is tough
You didn't say which god of an organized religion actually proved to be real.

But no matter which one proved to be the right one. I would say

I didn't worship you within the ways that your followers have written down but I have tried to treat people and myself in the most respectful way that I could. Though wrong I my have done it wasn't done with pure malicious reasons I'm only human so please have mercy on me.
My atheism wasn't cause a lack of love in humans but just a lack of a knowledge in the unknown.