Is it better to live your life believing in god or not?

Question

the reason im asking is becasue in most cases if you beleive in god you belive in a religion and most releigions basically have re-incarnation or a heaven or something else after this life rather. at the end of the day i hope that there is something else after this life but what if there is not? if you believe in something after this and there turns out to be nothing you probly would have lived your life differently here. knowing there isnt anything after this life you would live differently knowing you only get this one chance to do things. so do you belive its better just to believe this is all you get ( your time here on earth) or believe that there is more and whatever you dont do here you can do later on? which is the better outlook. i personally belive that if we belived that this is all we get we would all cherish life and others lives more becase we know once you or someone is dead that is it. life is all we get in this world. maybe it would stop alot of the violence

Answer 1

Not. I live my life for me and my family, not for an ungrateful god. I know that once this life is over, that's it. I treasure everyday like it is my last because it could be. I don't try to buy my way into heaven, I am a good person because I choose to be. I don't live in fear that I will screw up and go to hell. I do my best and trust myself that I make good decisions for my family. I don't fear death, though I want to live for as good and as long as I can. Believing in god just gives people false hope. They can make poor decisions and think that they will be rewarded in the next life.

Answer 2

It is easy to think that if this was all we get, that when we die we die and there is nothing more then we will cherish life, stop the violence, etc. etc. Then the other side of that you can rational that if a person were to believe in an afterlife etc. they might not care about this life because they will get a chance to correct it, etc. etc. But I think you are also forgetting something. There are already a lot of people right now who think as you do. They believe this is the only life they get and there is nothing more. Because of this they live a selfish and greedy life caring about no one else but themselves. They have a total disregard for others as long as they can live a happy and fulfilling life whatever that may be for them. Think about it...if they die and thats all there is to it then who do they have to answer to in the end for the way they lived? Couldn't they live however they want or do whatever they want? You might say, "but if they break the law then they will have to answer to the law and be held accountable to the law", right? How many criminals do you know who have been caught, expected it? To my knowledge most people either believe ahead of time they can commit a crime without ever being caught -OR- commit a crime and don't care if they are going to be caught, which to me the latter happens more often than not. Point being is they believe they can live their life however they want with no consequences.

You might point out the crimes a religious person commits either in general or in the name of their religion. Yes this is true, but then you can't also forget the crimes an atheist commits. Since they have no higher being they believe in or religion, what motivates their crimes? Selfishness? Survival? Does it matter? Can the crime be justified? Who determines right or wrong?

Atheists are capable and able to commit crimes and violence just as much as some one who has religious beliefs. So the question is...if there was nothing more than this life and this was all we got....would things really be different? Would we as humans cherish life more than we do now? Would the violence cease to exist?

I can't argue with your beliefs, but I would ask do you really believe that because you only have one life to live that you cherish life more than some one who is "religious" and has been brought up to love life and cherish and respect their fellow man. (Yes I know there are extremes and that there are exceptions to the rule and that you can bring up examples of religious people who have not done this, but I would stress those are exceptions) I personally believe and would hope that no matter what I believe, albeit atheist or theist, that I would cherish life and others. That just because I am Christian and believe in God I will still live a fulfilling life. One that I know I will be answerable for when I die and face God.

Hopefully in all this rambling you will get the point I am trying to make. I think that this view, although optimistic and altruistic as it is, has some incorrect assumptions or simplistic generalizations and rational to it. I don't think its true that you can say if you believe in one life and nothing more that automatically equates cherishing life and others. I would say that the rational and logical thing to believe is that if this is my only life, there is no God, therefore there is no higher being to answer to then I can live my life however I choose that would be most fulfilling to me whichever way I personally define that to be. Everyone is going to have their own idea, and potentially no two could be the same.

Answer 3

I know this isn't what you're looking for, but I think it's irrelevant. That is just one piece of a giant puzzle that creates your overall outlook. I suppose maybe it would make things easier, particularly for a child with the questions they tend to ask (both on the subjects of death and morality), but I honestly believe that people will do good or bad and sleep at night or not sleep at night depending on a lot more factors than just that. I have friends who are and were raised in households of both persuasions and I was raised in the middle (basically I decided pretty early that I had to put the pieces together myself and wasn't pushed into any directions "maybe there's a God and maybe it's something else and maybe it's nothing"). We all turned out just fine.

Answer 4

Belief in G-d does not equal religion. Faith is imbued in you. Following a religion is a choice that comforts and structures life, as does choosing a partner, job, etc. Our Church (RC) is very active and sociable. I know many others that are more and less so. Persons attracted to one religion or another are comforted more by the ones they choose. False following is not good for anyone.
That said, religions (generally) don't exist to create a false sense of security ("Go ahead and mess things up here, we're saved anyway!"). Rather, the community of the church gathers together to bring positive change/ Little by little, the world becomes a better place (it is hoped).

Answer 5

Why do people spend so much time worrying about that AFTER life instead of LIFE.
The fact is we can all only speculate. Sure I hope I go to my ancestors. But that will not make this life any more of less important. I live for NOW. My children, my family, my gods. I'll learn about the afterlife when I get there.

Answer 6

I agree with you, and I think it's clear that atheists in general value life more than do believers in general, and for exactly the reason you give.

Are you familiar with Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia's comments on this? He also supports your idea, as he said,

"For the believing Christian, death is no big deal. Intentionally killing an innocent person is a big deal, a grave sin which causes one to lose his soul," he said. "For the non-believer, on the other hand, to deprive a man of his life is to end his existence--what a horrible act."

He said this in the context of defending his pro-death penalty stance on the basis of his own religious belief in life after death.
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Er, folks?
Read the question: it's not Pascal's Wager.

I know 99 out of 100 questions begining this way wind up as yet another believer who doesn't see the flaws in Pascal's Wager, but this one has nothing to do with that. It's the remaining 1 out of 100.

Answer 7

In my opinion, believing in God is far better. I understand your point but unfortunately, that's not the way most people think. Instead of living their lives to the fullest in a positive way, many would live negatively because they have neither a heavenly reward to look forward to nor a hellish consequence to avoid. If we are to live our lives as godly as possible, doing as He teaches us in His word, we will surely be the best people we can be and have absolutely nothing to regret. Often, recognizing the presence of a higher power improves the quality of life we desire.

Answer 8

Ahhh, the first Pascal's Wager of the week...

*Drink*

Atheist's Wager:
You should live your life and try to make the world a better place for your being in it, whether or not you believe in God. If there is no God, you have lost nothing and will be remembered fondly by those you left behind. If there is a benevolent God, he may judge you on your merits coupled with your commitments, and not just on whether or not you believed in him.

Answer 9

I think it's a question of "what works for you, gives you hope and solace, and helps you get through the days."

So for some folks, that includes belief in a Higher Power. For some, it doesn't. To each their own.

Not all of us who believe in a Higher Power believe in an afterlife, so some of us who believe in the Divine still live each day of our life to the fullest, because this is all we get so we need to make the most of it while we're here.

Answer 10

I wish I believed in God. Then I might have enough of a sense of purpose to make it through another ****ing Monday...

Other than that, I'm glad I'm atheist, because I can focus on making this life better for the sake of THIS LIFE...not focusing on greedily making my NEXT life better. And I agree, the world could potentially be a much better place if people didn't think that it was transitory and therefore largely irrelevant to the greater scheme.