I am seriously curious to know why someone would choose to not believe the Bible and live the way it says to. What if you are wrong? If christians are wrong, at least they have nothing to lose. We would die and that's it. But if a non-believer is wrong are you really ready to face an eternity of hell? Why not believe even if it might not be true? What if there is eternity for the soul after death? If we live every day for Christ and die and find out we are wrong, what have we lost? NOTHING! But a non-believer will suffer in hell for all of eternity. Who is willing to risk this? I am serious and I would appreciate it if the answers would be also!!!!
2007-03-23 12:49:13 · 37 answers · asked by lsutiger4god 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I remember asking for serious answers only, but thanks anyway.
2007-03-23 12:53:34 · update #1
Please read up on Blaise Pascal and Pascal's Wager.
If I had any booze handy I would have a drink.
And you got serious answers, this question has been asked in one form or another over 7,000 times. Honest.
That is why they are using it as a drinking game question.
2007-03-23 12:54:28 · answer #1 · answered by U-98 6 · 9⤊ 0⤋
Anyone wanna argue about this thought? Bet you can't!?
I am seriously curious to know why someone would choose to not believe the Quran and live the way it says to. What if you are wrong? If Muslims are wrong, at least they have nothing to lose. We would die and that's it. But if a non-Muslim is wrong are you really ready to face an eternity of hell? Why not believe even if it might not be true? What if there is eternity for the soul after death? If we live every day according to the Quran and die and find out we are wrong, what have we lost? NOTHING! But a non-Muslim will suffer in hell for all of eternity. Who is willing to risk this? I am serious and I would appreciate it if the answers would be also!!!!
2007-03-23 12:53:12 · answer #2 · answered by . 7 · 9⤊ 2⤋
Why don't you believe in the Quran? What if you go to Hell for being a Christian?
Just because you have one monotheism down doesn't mean that you're destined to go to Heaven automatically (assuming that there is one, of course). You can still be wrong, and you can still be sent to Hell.
Also, if I was God, I would be more annoyed with this who chose a false god than those who chose no god. What's worse than for your own creation to say, "oh, you're not good enough for me. Only Odin/Zeus/Ra is powerful enough for my tastes" and saunter off? Don't you think God would be a bit more lenient with those who choose a position of neutrality in this war between gods? (Sure, He/She/It might still send you to Hell or one of its varients, but you'd probably get a lesser punishment than someone who had an affair with a false god.) No, really. Look at the first commandment of the Bible. It declares that you should "have no other god but me." It never says that you can't NOT believe in any god.
No matter what you choose you risk suffering after life in a supposed afterlife. If you choose the Judeo-Christian God, you might find that Islam is the truth. Oh, you thought that Allah was the one, true God? Sorry. Shoulda gone for Yahweh.
Anyway, considering what evidence has got to say on the issue, I've gotta say that there most likely isn't even life after death let alone a Heaven and Hell. So, sorry, but I rather like atheism. Thanks for caring, though.
2007-03-23 13:00:10 · answer #3 · answered by Nanashi 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I had a dream. Ragnar Lodbrok appeared and asked me why I did not believe in Odin, Thor, and Valhalla. What if I am wrong? If a norseman is wrong, at least he has nothing to lose. He would die and that's it. But if a non-believer is wrong, are you really prepared to miss out an eternity of drinking in Valhalla at Odin's table? Why not believe even if it might not be true? ...
That gave me pause. I have been thinking about that for a long time now. I had other dreams where the hindu goddess Kali spat threats at me, where beautiful Aphrodite spoke of the Olympic bliss, where sinister Baal gave me a glimpse of his thunderous power, and once even a strange flying spaghetti monster turned up and offered unspeakable things to me.
There are so many risks I have to take. What shall I do? What shall I do ...?
2007-03-23 12:59:58 · answer #4 · answered by NaturalBornKieler 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
The wager assumes that Christianity is the only religion which claims that a person will be judged, condemned, and punished by God if that person does not believe. However, Christianity is not the only religion which makes such a claim. There are also other religions which also claim that God will judge, condemn, and punish people who do not believe in him and their religion. They include Islam and some denominations of Hinduism.
Pascal's Wager can be used to deduce that it is advisable to believe in any or all of a variety of gods. However, the beliefs and claims of many separate religions have mutual exclusivity to each other. This means that they cannot both be true, or at least not both be the "one true religion". Complicating matters further, the belief systems of monotheistic religions require exclusive belief in the god of that religion, so the Wager is invalid when applied to such religions. This is the basis of the argument from inconsistent revelations. However, this problem does not apply to Hinduism and other pantheistic religions. The vast majority of the world's religions have been polytheistic. In polytheistic religions there may or may not be a fixed pantheon of deities; many or most pagan religions are open to the addition of new deities to the pantheon (although these additions are sometimes cast as new aspects of deities that were already in the pantheon). The Jewish faith expects a Gentile only to obey the Noahide Laws in order to receive reward in afterlife. In addition, some religions, including Buddhism, do not require a focus on a deity. A "many-gods" version of Pascal's Wager is reported by the 10th century Persian chronicler Ibn Rustah to have been taken by a king in the Caucasus, who observed Muslim, Jewish, and Christian rites equally, declaring that "I have decided to hedge my bets."
I copied this, word for word from the below source:
2007-03-23 12:57:36 · answer #5 · answered by IW 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Pascal's Wager. You know there are lists of great arguments against it.
But what if you are wrong about Zeus, Odin, Thor, Osiris, Anubis, or any of the thousands of others. You make the same bet thousands of times and think nothing of it. I just make it one more time. See how pointless it is?
And yes there is a downside to your way. You have to follow that tyrant from the Old Testament all the way through the only life that you actually do have.
2007-03-23 12:55:48 · answer #6 · answered by Alex 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Fear is not an effective way of motivating...which is why the "what if you are wrong?" question does not generate conversions amongst atheists.
I'll tell you this much, if my belief in the bible was one of fear, I'd already be in hell. Fear is a hellish state of existence.
Perhaps if people would use the teachings of Christ to inspire and uplift, then people might be more interested in a thorough evaluation of the faith.
-Rob
2007-03-23 13:01:04 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Is that how you live your life? You ask yourself 'what if' at every possible intersection in life and try to tread both paths? It all comes down to this: you either believe, or you don't. If you're scared of Hell, you probably believe in it. I think the whole idea is preposterous, so obviously I don't believe in it. And it seems pretty silly to choose to pretend to believe.
Anyway, what kind of amateur God would fail to see through such a belief?
2007-03-23 13:08:50 · answer #8 · answered by ThePeter 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Should we also believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and unicorns on the basis that we have nothing to lose by believing? So why don't you pray to Zeus then if you have nothing to lose by believing? Surely you can only come up a winner if you pray to every deity ever invented. For that matter, you should pray to Satan, because he might be the actual ruler of the great beyond.
2007-03-23 12:58:18 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Frankly, if heaven is a bunch of homophobic bigoted people standing around loving Jesus, I'd rather be in hell, thank you.
And what about reincarnation? I believe that you just keep being reincarnated. And really, what kind of paradise is the Christian heaven if I could go to it just by proclaiming I'm a Christian on my death bed, after a life of killing or something?
2007-03-23 12:55:46 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Muslims could say the same thing to you.
Besides, only an evil god would send people to Hell simply for following the dictates of reason.
I'd RATHER go to Hell than worship and evil god.
Why do you serve such a morally questionable deity? Is it because you love to hate people who don't think like you? I bet it is.
Realizes its become a drinking game and takes a sip.
2007-03-23 12:54:12 · answer #11 · answered by Skippy 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋