Why do christians have such difficulty dealing with hypothetical questions?

Question

Is it down to stagnancy of belief or simple lack of imagination?

Ask any athiest how they would react if they found there was a god, and they can answer quite honestly. When facing christians with an opposite question however they almost always get defensive and simply claim it is not so.

Is it that they have shut down any ability to comprehend an existence outside their fantasy? Is the state of their beliefs so fragile that if they even think for an instant of any other way that the whole thing will crumble? Or is it just that the bible discourages them from questioning anything?

Primoa:~ Nothing you ever have to say is worth the pixels it is written in... so next time don't bother responding to my questions. You're just wasting bandwidth.

Scott:~ Finding things out comes from experimentation. Testing and hypothesising allows us to determine whether something is valid or invalid. Your very admission that you disapprove of such clearly indicates that you have not the slightest clue what "truth" even is.

Steve : You say it isn't hypothetical... but it is entirely so. But for the sake of humouring you, if that situation arose I would tell the guy quite blankly that he has nobody to blame but himself for my not believing in him, as all sense and reason dictates he doesn't exist... and without sense and reason we couldn't live.

Twila : Pascal's wager doesn't work. It assumes a binomial situation. What you're not accounting for is the possibility that both of us are wrong and that you are in fact worshipping the wrong god.... or doing it in the wrong way. The truth could be far worse than you could possibly imagine... and you could be setting yourself up for the worst of it without even knowing.

Answer 1

How true. I've read dozens of "what if you died and found out god is real" type questions. Most atheist respond frankly (often with a little extra cheek). The inverse gets replies mostly along the lines of "I know God is real and you better believe or you'll pay".

I think atheist by nature are rational and analytical. We question everything and look for the most logically consistent and probable conclusion regardless of what we would like the outcome to be.

Many Christians are just the opposite. They feel what they'd like to believe is proved through devotion alone. Because reason shows so many of their most fundamental beliefs to be utterly improbable, they avoid reason like the plaque.

Creationists arguing against evolution are a great example. Because they are unable to refute the hard science behind evolution, they disregard it, contrive their own "theories" based on impossible top-down logic, then rename their quackery "intelligent design theory".

Answer 2

I guess the simple answer is yes, but there would need be much more too it. He would have had to explain it more than just that the world was (when it is) overpopulated, like he would have to explain that he has done away with all the other commandments about procreation, marriage, not engaging in homosexual sex acts, etc. Also, based on your hypothetical it leaves it up to the follower to determine when the world is overpopulated and therefore the individual would pray to ask God when that would be. Because the world will never be overpopulated (99.9% likely to be the case), then it would be a frivilous or unnecessary commandment, which I would then ask God why He would give such a frivilous commandment. I'm sure His answer would be that He was really just testing people and seeing if they would use God and His teachings as an excuse for engaging in certain behavior (or not), which he had specifically forbidden. I guess there are just too many holes in thy hypothetical. But, to be clear, if God did ask that people in no unclear way that they should take someone of the same sex to be their partner, then I don't believe I could disobey, no matter how contrary it was to everthing He has ever taught and commanded.

Answer 3

I am a Christian and I have no problem with hypothetical questions. I don't the Bible discourages you from questioning things. I think it wants you to question and to study in the bible so you can give answers for what you believe.

So let's go with your hypothetical question....What if God wasn't real?

Well the worst thing that I can see happening is that I wasted some time in church when I could have been sleeping. Beyond that no big deal, I've just ceased to exist and so I wouldn't really care right. But along the way I have tried to be kind and tried to help people so at least after my death I would be remembered with fond thoughts. It's all good.

Now you get hypothetical, What if God is real?
what will you answer for yourself in the judgement day When God asked you why you led so many people astray when you told them he did not exist? Are you prepared to bet where you spend your entire eternal life on the chance that God isn't real? Man I don't have that kind of faith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

Ah Lucid, you touched a good point, but let me remind you that some Atheists will also say that "there is no god period." so therefore some Atheists will be the same as Christians. I really do not know the reason why Christians cann't apprantly do any sort of critical thinking on this matter, and I doubt I will find out either, because it seems to me that any and all Christians that I find will say the same thing that you said most will say (I'm not grouping people together, just stating my own findings) The Bible does discourage them from asking anyting, because it makes promises that blind faith will be rewarded, and free will is contradicted by worshipping a God that is supposed to love us, you don't see any parent saying, "Worship me my children" do you? (At least you normally don't at least...)

Answer 5

you ask an atheist whether there is a God and they honestly say no? atheist shut down any ability to comprehend an existence outside their fantasy. Is the state of their beliefs so fragile that if they even think for an instant of any other way, that their whole world would crumble? Or is it just that their high intellect discourages them from questioning anything ? When some one who speaks of a God, they get defensive and simply claim it is not so.

Answer 6

To your last paragraph... no. Questioning is totally encouraged. The problem with your hypothetical example is that it is similar to asking you "what if your mom didn't exist?" You know for sure that she does, so it's an irrelevant question.

I know that God is real, we interract regularly, so there is no way that I can, or need to, imagine that He isn't real. The flip side is more relevant. An athiest doesn't have that solid knowledge of God's existance, so imagining that He exists is possible. The two sides of the issue are not equal in how they are dealt with. The problem is that your belief is that God is imaginary. If that were true, your question might be more legitimate, but Christians have met God face to face, leaving your question moot.

Answer 7

Wow, way to pigeonhole every christian. You saying to "imagine if there isn't a God" is like saying imagine there isn't oxygen... it's not imaginitive, it's utterly useless to answer. There IS oxygen, there IS a God. I don't have to "comprehend an existence..." I've found the truth, the reality. Maybe if you spent less time hypothesising and fantasizing, you too would discover the truth. I know for certain you can't come up with anything better.
addendum: When you "test" and find the truth, do you "test" again? I've found the truth, so from my perspective, you don't understand.

Answer 8

Interesting question to some I guess. The atheist question is really simple to answer they dont believe in any god. So they can make up anything they want. They dont believe simple as that. Christian claim it not so because it is that way. We know there is a God the one and only true God. So dealing with hypothetical questions I think we can all deal with them with exception of anything related to God and the Bible etc. I guess it would be like saying we do have a doubt so we can answer it. I never make light of anything pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ who has set me free from the evil of this world. Repent and be baptized. Peace out.............

Answer 9

I've imagined everything under the sun but I still like learning facts, in this world assuming seems to be considered higher intelligence. Just because a person has the ability to think it doesn't make them smart.

Answer 10

Why do you assume that Christians have the corner on this? What? Atheists are just all gung-ho to answer hypothetical questions?

I put forth a question for you that is not hypothetical: When you stand before Him on the day of your judgment, what will be your answer to Him as to why you didn't believe in Him? Feel free to answer it hypothetically.