To believe or not to believe?

Question

i just realized something.........

lets say you believe in God, and then when you die theres actually no such thing as God. no biggy youre dead.

lets say you dont believe in God, and then when you die you realize that there is a God. Eternity in Hell.

so, i think its safer to believe in God. its a win win situation.
Dont take this to seriusly, its just a though.

Answer 1

Shamara said the same thing.
"I'd rather believe in God, only to realise I was wrong than to not believe in God, only to realise he existed."

Answer 2

Pascal's Wager again.

Those aren't the only two possibilities.

If you believe in the Christian god:

1) You believe in the Christian God, and the Christian God exists: Then if you interpretted the Bible right, you go to Heaven, otherwise you might end up in Hell anyway.

2) You believe in the Christian God and some other god exists: That god might love or hate or be neutral to Christians. Therefore, you may be eternally rewarded, eternally punished or just dead.

3) You believe in the Christian God and no god exists: Then you've wasted much of this very short life we have on a superstition.

And if you don't believe in any gods:

1) You are an atheist and the Christian God exists: Then if the Christians are right, you are eternally punished. If their interpretation is wrong, anything is possible.

2) You are an athiest and a different god exists: Then you are eternally rewarded if the god likes people who try to reason, eternally punished if the god is a spoiled child who gets mad when humans don't bow to him, or you're just dead.

3) You are an atheist and no god exists: Then you spend your life actually living your life and not be distracted by superstitions.

There is much evidence that gods are all man-made and no real evidence that any gods exist. So, the atheist position is, by far, the most likely true. However, if there is a god, then it's a toss up whether you get rewarded or punished, no matter what you believe about gods.

Also, if I were a god, I'd punish all the dweebs who just believed in me just to get rewarded and avoid punishment.

Answer 3

Many problems with this wager - Suppose you picked the wrong god. Suppose god values honest disbelief over hedging your bets. Suppose god is malevolent and prefers to roast believers as their anguish is that much the greater. etc...

Any genuinely religious person would spend their lives eternally tormented by the possibility of believing in the wrong god and ending up in some other hell, or offending the Christian god and ending up in his. If you don't feel this way, then you can't be a genuine believer.

Atheists, of course, have no such worries, since we know that when we die, we cease to exist. You spend your life sweating over the prospect of burning in hell, and we'll live comfortable lives without fear of what might happen in the next life, because we know there is no such thing.

Answer 4

Sorry, there are a couple of flaws in your statement. First of all you can't believe something just to be safe. You believe what your intelligence tells you to believe. If I tell myself I'd better believe in order to be safe, so I go through all the motions of the church, but my mind tells me it's all foolishness, of what value is that ?
Next, are you playing it safe ? Okay, you pray and do all that your church teaches, but are you safe ? What if you're praying to the wrong "god" ? Millions of people pray to Rama and Vishnu. Do you pray to them to be on the safe side ? What if some of the old discarded gods were the real thing, like Jupiter, or Woden, or Mitras . and you pay them no attention ? Why not be safe and pray to each of them ?
Praying to all the present and past "gods" equally is a win win situation. Why don't you try it ?

Answer 5

Sure, but do people actually think it is as black and white as this?

Let's say I'm an athiest and I read this question and realize that you have a good point. So, I sit and think for awhile and suddenly "decide" that I will believe in God, just as an insurance policy against my being wrong. Okay, now I "believe."

Did this get me to heaven?

Answer 6

Taste some nectar from the humble bumble bee, feel the
soft fur of a playful puppy, smell the essence of a rose,
or maybe see the stars and hear the rolling thunder -- what
an awesome power of creation is displayed. ---------------
safer ? safer ?, use your senses, it's a logical conclusion.



does BANG make more sense to you ?
take this seriously, it's just a belief

Answer 7

No, because belief in god causes you to waste time praying, in church, hating other groups because the don't believe in the same things you believe, sometimes actively discriminate against groups (homosexuals seem popular), and bothering other people not of your faith to believe in the same things you do.

And there are many gods, which one to choose from? Zeus, Allah, Ra, Vishnu, Odin? They all have different attributes and you have to do different things to get into their version of heaven.

So all in all, it is better by your line of thought to not believe in any god, live your life as best as you can, and hope whatever god is waiting for you will see that you did your best.

Answer 8

Which god? There are thousands to pick from so just picking one isn't going to increase your odds much.

So you want to waste the one life you do have on what is probably a lie?

There are about twenty others. just Google Pascal's Wager
and you will see.

Answer 9

Wow, you are right. I still don't believe in God, but it would be safer to.
Another thought, I have been told that God loves everyone. Why are non-believers an exception?

Answer 10

Anyone for Pascal?

And what if you die and you find out that god is the devil and you burn in hell forever because you believed god is good? So you see, Pascal is flawed.