If you don't believe in Hell what's the point of obeying God?

Question

Lately, I've been meeting many people who don't believe in Hell. I asked on individual what happens to sinners. He commented "Nothing. They just die". Oblivion is painless, so why would the religious take pains to obey the commands of God.

Answer 1

Because getting nothing in return to life is unsettling to them, and an eternal reward is satisfying enough.

Answer 2

the entire undertaking of whether a guy has a freewill or no longer is amazingly debatable. There are 2 sides to Christianity, the Calvinistic side which believes that guy would not have a unfastened will and the Arminian side which believes he does. I surely have asked many times on right here for all people who believes that guy has a freewill to easily supply one verse out of the Bible that states that guy has a freewill, and no person has ever given one. The Bible relatively teaches that people who're chosen with the help of God are people who will finally end up in heaven with him.

Answer 3

This is a reason many people don't believe in God.

They prefer to act like decent human beings, and treat other human beings kindly and humanely, for it's own sake.

Virtue is it's own reward, and vice has it's own consequences.

Hell was invented as a tool to manipulate people who otherwise wouldn't behave decently, & the fact that you asked the above question, attests to that fact.

Also, many power hungry people discovered that threat of hell could bring more money & power to their organizations AND that the threat of hell could make decent people do HORRIBLE things. Just look at all the horrible things done in the name of God, the Crusades, witch burnings, 9/11, honor killings, etc. You can bet the people behind that used the threat of hell and the promise of heaven to persuade people to do these crimes against humanity.

Answer 4

Because i don't believe in good or evil either.

I merely believe in 'Good decisions' and 'Bad decisions'.

What makes a decision Good or Bad depends on the individual's capability to perceive the ultimate outcome of his decisions.

As for the question of obeying God, well, one could say that would be a good decision, but that to obey God without realising why it is so important to obey him would be a Bad decision.

If you can understand that much without believing in hell (and still make that kind of CHOICE), then there is truly nothing you can do that could be called a 'bad decision' in the long term.

Answer 5

I do not belive in Hell. I do believe that if you compromise your personal integrity you will feel like youare in hell for you will judge yourself to no end, until you forgive you and all involved.
When you obey your personal integrity, you ARE obeying God, regardless of which church you believe in.
Churches are just places of study and not the ends to a means.

Answer 6

i don't believe in hell or god but even if i did believe in god i wouldn't need a threat of hell to make me do the right thing.You are basically saying that you only obey your god because you fear hell,you don't obey because you want to or you know its the right thing to do but because you don't want to go to hell.That seems pretty screwed up to me.Shouldn't you want to obey god out of love instead of fear.

Answer 7

When your thought realizes exactly what it is that needs to be overcome rather than submitted to, then the heart turns all the way and progress starts.

Answer 8

Because to be in communion with God after death is much better than just dying and having it all end.

Answer 9

Because, God loves us and if this is felt by the person who is doing things in his/her life then he/she will change his attitude no matter what.

If there were no jails, would you go and kill people?

Answer 10

Seems that without fear as motivation...it'd have to be love. We'd be obeying God simply 'cause we love him.
What a notion.