Common Christian attitude which makes little sense?

Question

In an earlier question, the user Audax at Fidelis says:

"If there is a Heaven and a Hell and you refused to believe, you are the one that's going to be on the hook when you die, not me.

At least if I'm wrong, I haven't lost anything. I tried to make it to Heaven and so there is no Heaven. So what? What's the loss?"

What's the loss? How about the countless hours you spent praying, going to church, worshiping, holding back on doing FUN things because you thought it was sinful, reading the bible, not getting to know people because they aren't the same religion as you, arguing your belief, preaching....

Sounds like a huge loss. Sounds like a life not lived to it's full potential.
So therefore I have no idea how you can say " I haven't lost anything" because you've lost so much of your life.

Thoughts?

Answer 1

Christians are like weevils that think that the pot of beans they thrive in is the world, and the kitchen is the Universe.


Their minds are that feeble.

Answer 2

Not to mention going to Hell because ANOTHER religion is correct.

This Audax at Fidelis proposes Pascal's Wager. Pity the user does not realize how flawed the wager is.

While I acknowledge that there is a loss in what *could* have been done, I don't view it as an actual loss. For example, I have never skydived. I probably won't. I'm sure it probably is very fun. Is it a loss that I never enjoyed the skydiving? I filled my moments with other fun events that did not involve skydiving. So, I don't view it as a loss.

Same with praying, going to church, and holding back on sinful behavior. If people enjoy doing that, then it's not really a loss, even if it ultimately is useless.

Regardless, Pascal's Wager is broken for other reasons, not the least of which involve the absurdity of conveniently changing your belief, as well as the ridiculous notion that you can actually fool God.

Answer 3

Contrary to popular belief, the Christian life is not a dull, lonely life of reading the Bible and nothing else. We go to church, worship, pray because we enjoy it. We also do fun things, like watch movies, go bowling, go to restaurants, same as everyone else. We only try to avoid sinful things because usually sinful things are also harmful things, so I agree, that even if there is no heaven, we have not lost anything. We may miss out on some of what you call fun, but remember too much "fun" can lead to STD's, accidents, jail, even death.

Answer 4

I think that what you consider interesting and fun may not be everyone's idea of fun.

Just remember that for some people, going into a library and doing hours of research may be their idea of something enjoyable and rewarding.

So, does it not make sense that each of us has our own idea of what we like doing and what we don't like doing?

Do I feel it's a loss because I spend time reading the Bible? No, because it has taught me how to love others, and to think in a way that is supportive and encouraging. Do I get to know people of other religions? Absolutely. Do I condemn them, no? Do I agree with their beliefs? Absolutely not.

So, what may be a huge loss to you, may be something that others gain from the experience.

Answer 5

Ah, Pascal's wager.

The common misconception about Christians is that we lead these boring lives, in which all we do is pray for forgiveness all the time, and spend hours in church, being bored out of our minds. I can tell you, it's not true!

I have FUN. I may not go out and get drunk, I may not do drugs, and I don't sleep around, but who says a person can't have fun WITHOUT doing those things? And tell me, what IS fun about doing those things? Let's see:

If a person gets drunk they might have to face one or all of these:
A. Knowing that they did things while they were drunk that they NEVER would have done while sober. For example, I once picked a fight with someone I cared about simply because I was drunk on tequila and it made me violent.
B. LIVER DAMAGE.
C. HANGOVERS! You can't tell me those don't suck. In my drinking days, whenever I was hungover (which didn't happen often), it was HORRIBLE.
D. Getting drunk enough that vomiting follows. Gee, sounds like a real party.
E. Ever heard of this situation? "Who is this person in my bed and what are they doing here? OMGosh, we DIDN'T!"

How about drugs? Same things, with the added bonus of CRIMINAL PROSECUTION! Well, hooray!
What about sleeping around? Well, the sex may be good sometimes, but then you get to worry about STD's and unwanted pregnancies. Sounds great, where do I sign up?

The fact of the matter is, certain things are considered sinful because they're not beneficial to us, or because they have the potential to hurt others. Sounds reasonable to me. I'm not missing anything.

My church is ANYTHING but boring! We don't just sit there and listen to a preacher drone on and on. We laugh, we learn, we read, we have fellowship. It's WONDERFUL. And as an added bonus, we get to praise God in song. I LOVE to sing, especially when it's to God. And when our praise team really gets going...they rock the house! I'm not wasting my time in going; I would actually say that the time I spend in church is the BEST time!

And yes, I do have fun. I go shopping, hang out with friends, travel, go see movies, go bowling, go on wine-tastings, shop for antiques, read, sing, go dancing, go swimming, walk, AND I have a great relationship with my husband, in every way possible. Even the ways I don't talk about in public. :)

Anyway, my point is, if there is no God, and there's nothing after death, I haven't lost anything. I'm content, either way. On top of life being GOOD, if there is a God, I'll be with Him in heaven! It just doesn't get any better than this!

Answer 6

Countless hours of going to church, wasted? WE don't believe so . We get teachings that improve our moral character. We make friends who stand beside us through thick and thin. We learn to care about others and not just be concerned about our own welfare. Countless hours of reading The Bible, learning about a love for us that is so strong that nothing can separate us from it, learning wisdom, learning ways to develop Godly character. Holding back on doing fun thing.... I did those fun things for years and realized they really weren't fun at all and that there were plenty of fun things to do that aren't ungodly. I felt like I'd been eating poo and mistaking it for steak. I do preach sometimes, I'll give you that. My dad was a lifelong atheist. He is dying of cancer now and I watched him be baptized Sunday . Praise God . Don't feel my times been wasted there either.I haven't lost a thing. On the other hand if you don't do all these things and don't teach your children about their loving heavenly father and they look at you in hell and ask you why, what will you have lost?

Answer 7

Life is what you make it, whether you be Atheist, Christian, or any other religion.

But yes, I can see where you are coming from in relation to the more hardcore christians who follow the christian doctrine with a vehemency.

Answer 8

human beings freak out approximately witches and magic. in the event that they did no longer, a great variety of human beings could be out of the broom closet. i could desire to placed on my pentacle on the exterior of my shirt without venture approximately upsetting any remark. the important venture is to be worrying and in charge to this baby. i advise you in addition to could to purpose and tutor her somewhat that what human beings say approximately witches are not real. She could be sufficiently previous to observe the 1st Harry Potter; she's relatively sufficiently previous for the Wizard of oz, Mary Poppins, and fairy tale video clips during which you will casually point out that there is, in actuality, a distinctive between stable witches and undesirable witches, stable magic and undesirable magic. (She could be too youthful for somewhat some the extra precis concepts of magic, yet you may initiate via asserting that no longer all witches are a similar.) So purely gently attempt to describe your ingredient of issues, and as Allie grows up she could come to realize that how human beings behave is extra important than what their faith is. stable success to you.

Answer 9

Ah well, maybe you'll do better at thinking for yourself next time around.

Answer 10

It is pretty much Pascal's Wager.