Is Religious morals based on afterlife reward? Or is it based on the fear of the unknown?

Question

I mean your supposed to follow all these rules so that you get rewarded after death? Isn't it a bit selfish in the end?

Answer 1

yes and yes and yes, and the sheep just keep following with their heads down experiencing nothing but the back end of the sheep in front of them. thomas

Answer 2

No, you are far away.

Religious morals are based upon the law of God which He has implanted into every person - or soul - conveniently referred to as the conscience.

You may sin against your conscience and so injure and pervert and deaden its operation in this life as to render it ineffective. It doesn't always work, you may try to do this and become overwhelmed with guilt.

But when the body is taken away then conscience will be exposed to the searing light of God - Let there be light. Unless it has been cleansed by God then it will burn with such intensity and cannot be quenched. At that point even God will not be able to cleanse it because it will be part of your spirit.

Your conscience is God's mercy to you.

It has nothing to do with an afterlife reward for none can live without offending against it. If it were obeyed perfectly it would be a this life reward.

Neither is it based on the fear of the unknown for conscience knows. We stifle that knowledge as unbearable.

It is hardly a case of following rules, since you cannot anyway as mentioned above, and certainly not for a "reward." The "reward" is negative in nature. If you don't offend against it you will not suffer guilt and it will not burn. It is more like an alarm. If it doesn't go off you are safe.

Is it selfish not to kill yourself? Is it selfish not to throw yourself off a high cliff onto the rocks below? Hardly.

Answer 3

If your reason for doing good deeds is solely to score brownie points with a God so you can get VIP seating in the afterlife, then yes you would be being very selfish, dishonorable, and cowardly.

I do believe that the mainstream religions base their morality on fear of going to hell. I've had Christians ask me questions like, if there is no hell then why shouldn't I go out and rape and murder. If fear of eternal torment is the only thing keeping some of these people from going on a murder spree, then I fear for humankind.

Answer 4

It is most definitely not mean to be followed for a reward..moral rules are to be followed because we love the 'rule maker'. If people follow them out of genuine fear or to get something and have no love..God sees right through that. He knows our heart, and some can follow all the rules they like..all the rituals they like and expect to be rewarded all they like..but if they do not have GENUINE love for God, it will all be in vain. God's rules are about LOVE..loving one another and loving God..all his "rules" are within those 2.

Answer 5

Morals have NOTHING to do with the after life. I am
amazed how people reach these far out conclusions.
Morals have nothing to do with fear. Morals actually
have nothing to do with religion. Morals are the
way we treat ourselves and others. Most any person
on this earth knows it is not right to steal, to kill,
to cheat on your husband,to tell lies, etc. I can put
it in the frame-work of kharma (I'm a christian,but most of the world's religions teach about the same
thing as far as "morals") Kharma teaches that what-
ever you put out into the atmosphere will come back
to you--and it usually does--good or bad. We're
saying it today as," what goes around, comes around." Morals in a Christian context usually has
to do with sex sin. This is a deep subject, but one
biggee is sleeping with anyone elses' wife. Why?
A marriage between man/woman is holy and
sanctified and should never be betrayed.

Answer 6

reward? well, it's definitely not a guarantee now is it. Can i choose none of the above? i think the only rule you are supposed to follow is love and respect others. show compassion, empathy, kindness, respect, acknowledgement of human dignity. don't judge others, try to understand them. help others. you live your life for others and for the good of humanity....that's not selfish. what is to come after is not the point. it is not the goal. it is not the purpose. right now is the point, goal, and purpose. and although i believe what i do, i still fear the unknown. it terrifies me. but that is why i focus on what is known. right now and what my actions are right now.

Answer 7

Unbelievers I am discovering think more about the afterlife than we Christians. We follow Jesus, because we love Him. It is like a child tries to do well for the parents. Same thing, in a sense. If you love someone you want to make them happy. Christ is for us in the here and now, not just the sweet bye and bye. Real joy in life comes from walking with Jesus everyday. When life ends we just keep walking with Him only in a different place.

Answer 8

Book-based religious systems use fear as a tool for getting people to convert. They'll tell you it's about "love," but as long as the possibility of punishment hangs over your head, you're basing your spiritual beliefs on fear.

Answer 9

I think all morals are based on our conscience. Sometimes religion can cause us to ignore our conscience, though, for the sake of the afterlife reward.

Answer 10

My morals are based on God's book the Bible. He grieves when one of his children sin. The Heavenly rewards are just an extra. His Book says that "none of us will be disappointed".

Answer 11

No sir, you have a misunderstanding. Religious morals are based on the fact that following them is the only way to a true good life on earth.