If there was no heaven, would you still want to be a Christian?

[returntosender]

More to the point
If you want to expound on your answer use this and or vote.
The vote on this one is important as you can answer honestly without judgment.
Even so, think on this as there could still be a Jesus or not.

 

[ewq1938]

Eternity is spent on the Earth, not heaven, so not going to heaven isn't a big deal

Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

 

[returntosender]

Eternity is spent on the Earth, not heaven, so not going to heaven isn't a big deal

Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Interesting, And there's that wrench that starts the debate, lol
There are people here that have said they want salvation because they want to go to heaven.

 

[Ceallaigh]

Yes. As a matter of fact I asked a similar question a couple of months ago. I got pushback saying the Bible would be a lie if there was no heaven etc.

My question (and I suppose yours as well) is essentially regardless of an afterlife and heaven, would you love and serve the Lord your God?

 

[Sabertooth]

God's (current) wisdom & ways would still be beneficial, but a Heaven-less universe sounds like an atheistic universe.* He wouldn't be present to lead us to His ideals.

The best Man could be was an apex predator (only). The ramifications get worse from there.

*Heaven is just abiding in His Presence, wherever it happens to be.

 

[disciple Clint]

More to the point
If you want to expound on your answer use this and or vote.
The vote on this one is important as you can answer honestly without judgment.
Even so, think on this as there could still be a Jesus or not.

God has blessed me in abundance in every way. He has never let me doubt Him or suffer because of Him. That is not to say that my life has been without tests, challenges or disappointments but Jesus has always picked me up, turned me around, provided for my needs and given me the courage and strength to overcome. If that was the only reward that I would ever get, I would do it all again without hesitation. Now having said that if we are loving Jesus only for what we get out of it we are cheating ourselves, there is so much more that I have difficulty putting into words, at times I have felt much as I did as a little child when I put my small hand in the huge ruff hand of my father, he did not need to tell me in words that I was loved and protected, his gentle touch said it all.

 

[Jeshu]

God has blessed me in abundance in every way. He has never let me doubt Him or suffer because of Him. That is not to say that my life has been without tests, challenges or disappointments but Jesus has always picked me up, turned me around, provided for my needs and given me the courage and strength to overcome. If that was the only reward that I would ever get, I would do it all again without hesitation. Now having said that if we are loving Jesus only for what we get out of it we are cheating ourselves, there is so much more that I have difficulty putting into words, at times I have felt much as I did as a little child when I put my small hand in the huge ruff hand of my father, he did not need to tell me in words that I was loved and protected, his gentle touch said it all.

Very much agree with this testimony.

Life without Jesus would not be worth living. Jesus is my all time hero.

 

[Paulomycin]

"No, I don't believe in 'if' anymore. . ."
C'mon, sing it with me. . .

- Roger Whittaker, 1970

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

The question is if virtue is its own reward, basically. Jesus was the ideal man, and thus your best self would be in emulation of Him. Further, if we all followed Jesus in compassion, the world would largely be paradise.

So it makes sense to remain a Christian, to follow Christ, even if there was no afterlife. On an individual level, people may think to act psychopathically for your own ends in such a case, but their friendships would be empty and their social interactions lacking trust and empathy. In short, such a life would remain deficient. Besides, the ancient Jews never considered a Heaven until perhaps the Second Temple period and the development of the idea of Sheol divided and the bosom of Abraham; yet their worship was undiminished. It is natural to worship God, once one realises He is there. Everything isn't just carrot or stick, although our modern psychological and biological theorising would have us frame it in that way.

 

[Victor in Christ]

Interesting, And there's that wrench that starts the debate, lol
There are people here that have said they want salvation because they want to go to heaven.

Matthew 6:33 'seek ye first the kingdom of God' (heaven)

Heaven comes down to earth after the earth and all things have passed away, the last being death itself, no more death. A Temple where Christ is the King of kings and Lord of Lords. A Temple not made with hands ie- (not made with human hands).

Acts 7:48-49 However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 49"'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the LORD. Or where will my resting place be?

Rev 21 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,.......

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it............

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

 

[Neostarwcc]

More to the point
If you want to expound on your answer use this and or vote.
The vote on this one is important as you can answer honestly without judgment.
Even so, think on this as there could still be a Jesus or not.

I fail to understand your question. If there is no Jesus how can it be called Christianity? Because Christ iantity. Do you mean would I still be religious?

I'm going to imagine you mean would I still love and be faithful to Christ or God if there was no rewards sitting for me after I die (Because Heaven and the New Earth are all blessings given by God). Yes I would still be a faithful Christian loyal to Christ doing his works. Why? I don't do works because God is going to bless me someday although, that's great icing on the cake. I do works for God because God tells me to. Because works make this fallen world a better place to live in. And because doing works makes me less lonely in a world where I am nothing but mostly lonely.

I love God and I do what God commands me to do because he told me to do such. That's what being a follower of Christ is about. It is the doers of the word that love God.

 

[Friedrich Rubinstein]

As much as I would like to say "yes", I am afraid my human nature would not agree with that. If there is nothing after death then this life would be all we have. Human egocentricity would tell me to get as much out of it as possible, and it would seem like a waste of time to care about an invisible being or even be obedient to him - just like so many people think today who don't believe that the Bible is the truth.

God's justice is a major factor in the Bible, and if there was nothing after death then there was no justice. How could I happily honor a God who allows so much evil in this world if He doesn't wipe away the tears afterwards?
It might be a shock to some of you but I don't honor God for existing, I honor Him because He promised to bring a pattern out of it all.
Without an afterlife salvation would be meaningless.

 

[Direct Driver]

More to the point
If you want to expound on your answer use this and or vote.
The vote on this one is important as you can answer honestly without judgment.
Even so, think on this as there could still be a Jesus or not.

I had to say know because, for me, the question is like saying "if there was no such thing as General Motors, would you still be a Corvette man. The answer is no, because there would be no such thing as Corvettes.

 

[Direct Driver]

Yes. As a matter of fact I asked a similar question a couple of months ago. I got pushback saying the Bible would be a lie if there was no heaven etc.

My question (and I suppose yours as well) is essentially regardless of an afterlife and heaven, would you love and serve the Lord your God?

Ah. The answer to that is "yes", though I answered "no" to the OP.

I see "heaven" as the "unseen realm" and God's spiritual realm that always has and always will exist. But he has a lot of "vacation homes" just like a lot of rich politicians/billionaires do. One of those was the Garden of Eden. And the new Jerusalem that comes down after the earth is utterly scorched with fire (solar flare?) will be the new one on this particular planet.

 

[Tinker Grey]

I had to say know because, for me, the question is like saying "if there was no such thing as General Motors, would you still be a Corvette man. The answer is no, because there would be no such thing as Corvettes.

I think that's backward. It's like "If there were no Corvettes would you still be a GM man."

 

[Direct Driver]

I think that's backward. It's like "If there were no Corvettes would you still be a GM man."

The difference is that that question makes sense. And that is exactly what I was driving at.

Haha! Get it?! Driving?!

I crack myself up.

 

[Direct Driver]

I think that's backward. It's like "If there were no Corvettes would you still be a GM man."

To use a better analogy, it's a bit like the question, "If there were no such thing as sex, would you still get married?" Fact is, if there were no such thing as sex, the concept of marriage would never enter anybody's head, just as so many concepts don't enter our heads because the premise on which they would be founded doesn't exist.

That's what makes Grace so special. Man made religions have no concept of grace because, well, it's all about Karma or whatever a particular culture chooses to call it. Mankind's sense of justice has no room for Grace - a concept coming straight from the mind of God alone, to be taught to mankind.

 

[Tinker Grey]

The difference is that that question makes sense. And that is exactly what I was driving at.

Haha! Get it?! Driving?!

I crack myself up.

Well, God makes heaven(s). If there were no heaven(s), would you be a God-follower (Christian in this case)? So my version is like the OP.

 

[Direct Driver]

Well, God makes heaven(s). If there were no heaven(s), would you be a God-follower (Christian in this case)? So my version is like the OP.

I'm trying not to make this more than it is. If the OP had said, "if there were no eternal reward and we all died when the body died, would you still be a Christian."

The answer is no, because it would mean that Christ's death is meaningless. Why would I follow such a man? And when someone mentions heaven, I always have to ask them what they mean by that single word. Same with "hell".

i.e. the question pulls the foundation right out of Christianity and asks if you would still be a Christian. Of course I wouldn't. But that is just my interpretation of the question. It all depends on the meaning of "heaven" in this context.

That's really all I have to say about it. This kind of thing can digress into arguing about angels dancing on the heads of pins real quick if we're not careful.

 

[Albion]

I fail to understand your question. If there is no Jesus how can it be called Christianity? Because Christ iantity. Do you mean would I still be religious?

I'm going to imagine you mean would I still love and be faithful to Christ or God if there was no rewards sitting for me after I die (Because Heaven and the New Earth are all blessings given by God).

You're right that the discussion wandered off-topic rather quickly. All that was asked in the OP was whether the absence of a heaven would change anything. It didn't posit that a bunch of other Christian beliefs would be jettisoned at the same time, such as the divinity of Christ, nor would the absence of a heaven require that.