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What if there's no God?

vanshan

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St. Isaac the Syrian said, "This life is given for repentance, do not waste it in vain pursuits."

I don't think living for the moment is good advice in education, politics, economics, and certainly not regarding the health and welfare of our souls. The short-sighted man, doesn't see the cliff before him until it's too late and tumbles to his death.

Psalm 14:1
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.

Basil
 
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Hungry Hungry Hippo

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If there is no God, then we must assume that something other than God is uncaused, not that difficult for me to do.

I don't think there are any valid reasons to believe in a soul. You suffer from a concussion, you lose your memories, the soul doesn't remember them for you. You get alzheimer's disease, you become a different person, the soul doesn't preserve any former part of your consciousness. You are not a static being, one day you may believe in God, one day you may not (the case with me). What does the eternal soul do, believe both things at the same time?

Without a soul, what is the mechanism to enter an after-life?
 
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Hungry Hungry Hippo

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vanshan said:
If there were no God, I would rather live my life quite differently. I would rather spend my time pursuing things that pleasure me, rather than trying to become selfless and obedient to Christ. Goodness is not its own reward.

Without God, I would want to live like an American.

Aren't you just a humble little drop of sunshine, insulting all Americans while patting yourself on the back.
 
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vanshan

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Hungry Hungry Hippo said:
Aren't you just a humble little drop of sunshine, insulting all Americans while patting yourself on the back.


No, I am an American too. I just think our culture admires the opposite of what is good and right and runs over the humble and godly. It's a weird phenomenon.

Basil
 
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angela 2

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Hungry Hungry Hippo said:
If there is no God, then we must assume that something other than God is uncaused, not that difficult for me to do.

I don't think there are any valid reasons to believe in a soul. You suffer from a concussion, you lose your memories, the soul doesn't remember them for you. You get alzheimer's disease, you become a different person, the soul doesn't preserve any former part of your consciousness. You are not a static being, one day you may believe in God, one day you may not (the case with me). What does the eternal soul do, believe both things at the same time?

Without a soul, what is the mechanism to enter an after-life?
So if I lost an arm in this life, my resurrection body would be one-armed?

BTW, most Chrsitians do not teach that the soul is immortal. We die and are buried just as the humanity of Jesus did/was. Then God who raises us from the dead. When scripture says "dead," it means "dead."
 
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Quijote

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angela 2 said:
BTW, most Chrsitians do not teach that the soul is immortal. We die and are buried just as the humanity of Jesus did/was. Then God who raises us from the dead. When scripture says "dead," it means "dead."

Did you mean to say most Christian denominations? Cause unless I'm mistaken, the Catholics, the Orthodoxes, and most of the Reformed Protestant churches do..which is most Christians.

cheers
 
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grateful heart

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To be able to call yourself a Christian, you must all be bias and know that God is God and God is there and have experience god's Glory. But just hypothetically, if at the end of your life, there is no God (assuming that is there's still another after life by no god), beside from being depress to the fact that you've
I would do nothing different, but saying that if there is no God we all go to the same place right? but if we are right and you are wrong we are going to heaven and you are going to hell right?

So i still would rather be 100% than 50/50
 
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sfd3492

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Diagoras said:
As far as I know, there is no verified account of a person returning from the grave and giving us a description of what was on the other side. Near death experiences don't count for various reasons.

No verified accounts at all? Ever? Are you sure about that?

And why don't NDE's "count"? What else wouldn't "count" and why?

Let me pose a couple of questions.

Do you believe that Aristotle existed?
How about Wm. Shakespere?
How about Albert Einstein?

Why do you believe that these people either did or did not exist? Do you believe that the writings from these people as we have them today are reasonably accurate representations of the original works? Why or why not?

Regards,

Scott
 
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truth_restorer

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Rocky582 said:
To be able to call yourself a Christian, you must all be bias and know that God is God and God is there and have experience god's Glory. But just hypothetically, if at the end of your life, there is no God (assuming that is there's still another after life by no god), beside from being depress to the fact that you've believe and have hope in something that didn't does not exist, will you regret dedicating your life to Christianity? Why and why not?

This thread if for Christian to reply and for non-Christian to read. Thx


God is real to a believer vis-a-vis a spiritual experience with Him. As real as it gets. To ask: What if, in the end, He really doesn't exist of me, is like me asking you what if at the end of your life you found out the world was all a mirage?

Answer that one and you will have answered your own question.

Shalom
 
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glo

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Assuming there is no god, and there is an afterlife, what would be the deciding factor as to who would go to the more "hell-like" place, and who would go to the more "heaven-like" place.
If we are all in the same place, and I have a conscious soul (assuming I have a soul to begin with), I would very much be wondering how I came about and who really is behind this afterlife system, and my very life in the first place.
I have to say that I would regret it... I am a person who doesn't like to be following lies and spun tales. I would be rather angry at those people who made up Christianity.
I would rather have been living a meaningless sad and cranky life than to have been following and giving up my life to some figure of the same reality as Santa Claus.
 
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WhiteTiger2999

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Interesting question. As far as an afterlife goes. i believe in many afterlifes, however all include the idea that God will be there along with me. I believe in the Buddhist (im not sure which religion it is, i have to look it up again) idea of afterlife, that we each get reincarnated over and over and over again, until we reach pure divinity to the Kingdom of God. Each reincarnation we will not remember what our past life is, but we must life that mortal life in accordance to will of God to seek salvation and until we reach pure divine love for God, then will our search for him end. My second thought on an afterlife would be one that is in the kingdom of heaven or in the kingdom of hell. This afterlife is eternal, where will we be tormented for our eternal after life or will we find solace in God loving arms.

If there is a God or not, as a Christian no i would not regret wasting my time and energy in loving something that ended up not being real. I would not regret living a life in striving to safe myself from sin. I would be happy i dont know why, because so far God has givin me happiness and sadness.
 
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Lucubratus

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What is Pascal's Wager? Somebody on the forum who made a bet, or something I can look up online?

So as for the What-If's...

I have no regrets now, regrets are a big waste of time - so I wouldn't have regrets upon death IF there were no Gods. Things that I have on my "to do" list aren't necessarily regarded as bad things to begin with and the things I have done now and in the present, aren't either. I'm pretty much balanced out as much I can possibly be as a human being. So in that case, I guess it would be the default Xtrian thing. ;-) I believe because I chose to and have experienced things that reinforce my beliedf, and if I didn't believe - I'd be the same kind of person I am in the now.

The What-If in regards to Reincarnation: Same thing. I haven't been over all immoral or "bad" so any reincarnation aspect of me, wouldn't be a slug. Though if such an option were presented to me, I think I'd rather be born as a man next time around. Life as a slug (though I don't think that is accurate in reincarntion) would be swift and easily dissolved via salt or somesuch poison so it wouldn't be a long life. lol

What If in regards to oblivion: Same thing as what if there was no God. At least in oblivion I'd finally get uninterrupted sleep and gauranteed nobody could wake me up because I'm late for work. :)

What If there was Odin or Zeus, etc: So what? I'd tell them it was their fault because they did nothing to indicate to me that they were real and backed it up for me, but the God I worshipped did and it seems they would have to take it up with Loki or Hades who tricked me.
 
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WhiteTiger2999

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"So what if there is no God." That's what i think. I'm happy. I don't want for anything. I'm happy and satisfied in what i believe. If @ the end it all turns out to be false, then i don't felt like i've lost anything in life......But what if there IS? Dum-Dum-Duuuuum.

hahaha exactly my thougt. Sure we can believe and if it was a waste of time, we lose nothing.. but what if God DOES exist??? those who didnt believe or love... what would happen to them.. DUM DUM DUUUUM i love your ending
 
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Rocky582 said:
To be able to call yourself a Christian, you must all be bias and know that God is God and God is there and have experience god's Glory. But just hypothetically, if at the end of your life, there is no God (assuming that is there's still another after life by no god), beside from being depress to the fact that you've believe and have hope in something that didn't does not exist, will you regret dedicating your life to Christianity? Why and why not?

This thread if for Christian to reply and for non-Christian to read. Thx

I would not regret living a gentle, kind, peacful, loving, self-controlled, giving, good, patient, joyful, faithful life.
 
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MQTA

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jsw_24 said:
"So what if there is no God." That's what i think. I'm happy. I don't want for anything. I'm happy and satisfied in what i believe. If @ the end it all turns out to be false, then i don't felt like i've lost anything in life......But what if there IS? Dum-Dum-Duuuuum.

I feel the same way. Is or isn't, I'm still, and have been, living the way I've been living all along. If there isn't, then there's no answers on the other side, if there is, I still got lots of questions.

NO dum-dum-duuuuum here. You choose what to spend your life doing.
 
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