You must assume 2 things:
1. Assume you fall into the category of you believe God exists and there is an afterlife OR you do not believe God exists and there is no afterlife.
2. Now that you've categorized yourself, answer this question assuming the category you believed in ends up being wrong.
Which is worse? Believing God/afterlife exists and it really doesn't Or not believing God/afterlife exists and it really does.
Why do you feel one is worse over the other?
What are the consequences, if any, that what you believed was wrong?
2007-03-06 10:31:12 · 27 answers · asked by Greenwood 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Oh, and the 10 point winner for best answer has to defend their answer. You can't just say because God exists or God doesn't exist. Good Luck.
2007-03-06 10:31:57 · update #1
There are more categories that the two you have listed, but I shall go with Number Two (even thought I think there is the possibility of an afterlife).
I think it would be a much greater tragedy if I dedicated my one and only life to a non-existent God in the hope that he MIGHT exist.
I would much rather live my life and enjoy it as much as possible, in case it is the only one I will ever have.
If it turns out I am wrong, then God should forgive me for my honest mistake. After all, it would have been his fault for not showing me enough proof to make me believe.
Now, if He does not forgive me, then he must not love me because love is about forgivness. And if He does not love me, then I do not want to be with Him in Heaven and I would be glad to be sent to Hell.
Can you imagine what a huge waste it would be to dedicate your one & only life to something that doesn't even exist??? What a waste!
2007-03-06 13:11:39 · answer #1 · answered by God Fears Me 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The way I figure it is that if I am wrong and God exists as the loving and all seeing being that Christians somehow came to believe in, then wouldn't he understand that I had to think the way I do? Is not my brain a "gift from god", do I not have free will as a blessing of the almighty? Why would he allow me the ability to think as I do if my thoughts go against his wishes?
Hmmm which is worse? Neither is worse. If there is an afterlife and I believe in God then I am a happy heavenly camper, if in life I believe there is no god and it turns out that there is no afterlife - I'm dead - it's over - I wouldn't know the difference or feel a loss.
Here's a thought? What if the evangelical American christian find out that god is really the god of the old testament and Jesus wasn't the messiah? Hmmm? Gentiles are not acceptable in the eyes of that version of the same god worshiped by gentiles...who's sorry now?!
What ifs and what's worse are just questions humans have to ask.
2007-03-06 19:04:59 · answer #2 · answered by Lee 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mistakenly not believing is the more prudent course. If a believer is mistaken, he will have wasted a substantial portion of his life in pointless worship and superstitious practices. If an unbeliever is mistaken about the afterlife, one of two things can happen. Either God and the afterlife will be unlike what the believers claim and the otherwise virtuous unbeliever will be accepted without a profession of faith, or God will be exactly as described. Of course such a God, whose existence cannot be empirically or logically verified yet rewards and punishes based on such belief, would be quite insane. Eternal torment would be preferable to his endless, terrifying company.
2007-03-06 19:03:17 · answer #3 · answered by skepsis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God does not exist and there is no afterlife. It really doesn't help you much to believe in such nonsense. It is a great waste of life to plan for after you are dead.
On the other hand, if I'm wrong, I don't know what, if any consequence there would be. That would depend on which of the infinite different possible gods exist. I would think that a god who has any smarts at all would respect an atheist who doesn't believe something in the absence of evidence.
2007-03-06 18:34:29 · answer #4 · answered by nondescript 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Ok. I tend to think there is no god or afterlife. If i'm wrong i go to hell for being an infidel. If I believe that there is a god and afterlife and I'm wrong I'll never know because when I die that will just be it. It's definately better to not believe and be wrong than it is to believe and be wrong. But somehow I'm still not convinced...
2007-03-06 18:54:38 · answer #5 · answered by Andrea 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. I believe in God and an afterlife.
2. What is worse is not believing in the afterlife and then having it really exist, because then you will go to Hell. If you believe and it doesn't exist, I guess you will never find out about it, because you are dead, so you won't care. You will also have a better life believing, in my opinion, because you can be involved in a Church community. It will make you less stressed out about dying and death, if you are looking to there being more. If you don't believe it's just pessimistic.
2007-03-06 18:37:20 · answer #6 · answered by iLoveCats 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Glug glug. Pascal's Wager yet again.
The safe bet is to not believe in God, and then find out that there is an afterlife, because then you get to spend eternity in Heaven, your reward for not believing in God. If you believe that God exists, and then there isn't any afterlife, you wind up returning to life and then going to hell for all of eternity. The worst thing though is to believe in God and then find out that there IS an afterlife, because then you and your entire family, and all of their ancestors get sent to a place far worse than hell for all of eternity.
See? Anyone can make up whatever rules they want to have their version seem better.
2007-03-06 18:35:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
To live your life under a watchful god who is always disappointed in you, but promises you wonderous things in the end without proof. Or live your life to your own design, and free to be as you are, no disappointment to a fictional being, but in the end worm food. Both have the +'s and there -'s, the real question is would you put someone you love into that sort of situation. If you do however choose ok there is a god, which one? Now you are just playing the lottery.
2007-03-06 18:38:04 · answer #8 · answered by Magus 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I love all the god people wanting proof that god doesnt exist but need no proof that he does exist. Just faith. Well I have faith he doesn't exist. I can prove he doesn't about as well as I can prove thier are no invisible flying elves all around us. Its very hard to disprove somethings existence. Especially when all we are given is "you must have faith"
I clearly do not beleive in god. Wasting ones life is a horrible thing. I see so many people doing it. Most of our wars and violent history can be traced back to religon. My invisible omnipotent man is better than yours. So I am gonna kill you.
We better belive in god because if not we go to hell. But I thot god loved us. No he doesn't, only if we stroke his ego and worship him. Make sure you choose correctly. God doesnt like it when you worship the wrong invisible fairy tale. Religion is a horrbile cruel joke. It wastes life. Causes people to be violent and kill in his name. It causes people to be closed minded. Stops our progress in Science and Medicine (stem cells). It causes a debate about about history (dinosaurs and how old earth is). It would be a horrible thing to waste my life and others on such a stupid notion.
If there is a god and I am wrong at least I know MOST if not ALL the world is wrong because even if you do beleive in god you will most likely pick the wrong one. So I guess i'll either be dead and rotting in the ground or seeing you all in Hell.
2007-03-06 18:53:41 · answer #9 · answered by chris42050 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, if I don't believe in God and eternal life after death and it is true, then I would be in great trouble because I'd be going to hell. If I believed in God and afterlife, and it wasn't true, there would be nothing to worry about, because my life would end right then and there. No purpose for living at all.
2007-03-06 18:36:14 · answer #10 · answered by VW 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋