Should Christianity not worry so much about an afterlife?

[Booko]

I do believe that motivation based on an after life is very dangerous but I don't think that being a Christian means you believe this and also this problem exists outside of Christianity.

Yes, it would seem the problem exists outside of Christianity as well. Look at how misguided terrorists are led to kill innocents, because after all it will send them them to Paradise to "martyr" themselves that way.

I think the real problem is not over emphasis on the next life but the impact that this will have on the valuation of this life. It is really when people begin to believe that this life is relatively valueless that the potential for harm is created.

Yes, at the extreme you get "Kill them all -- let God sort them out."

Even before you get there, though, you get people like my neighbor lady who was so worried about getting into Heaven she though she had to read her Bible all the time -- so she got her 12 year old up at 4am to do her housework.

The notion of an afterlife need not be negative or devalue life, though. It depends on what else there is to balance things out.

Atheists suffer from this problem just as much as theists.

In what way?

 

[Charity]

Luke 17:20-21
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

Thank you for your reply . We can certainly quote scripture to support many different claims and I'm not trying to say who's right or who's wrong with anything. My point is that I feel Christianity should focus on the here and now. I want to encourage folks to leave the future up to God and be content with what we already have because it is a very great blessing to be here. And I'm sorry if I caused you any frustration.

Doesn't Christianity focus on the hear and now when we assemble ourselves to gather to worship our God, who is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. The future is up to God, but we shouldn't be content and complacent with what we have, we should strive to seek more of God. We should be striving each day to have a closer walk with God. Yes I agree we are blessed, for our families, for our friends, for our church family, there are so many things to be thankful for.

The bible says to have our mind on things above, and that this life is a vapour that will pass in a short while. I always thought that for a Christian the promise of Heaven is the thing that makes it all worth while. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Hallelujah! :bow:

 

[ericoh2]

Doesn't Christianity focus on the hear and now when we assemble ourselves to gather to worship our God, who is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. The future is up to God, but we shouldn't be content and complacent with what we have, we should strive to seek more of God. We should be striving each day to have a closer walk with God. Yes I agree we are blessed, for our families, for our friends, for our church family, there are so many things to be thankful for.

The bible says to have our mind on things above, and that this life is a vapour that will pass in a short while. I always thought that for a Christian the promise of Heaven is the thing that makes it all worth while. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Hallelujah! :bow:

You are right when you say that for many of Christians "the promise of Heaven is the thing that makes it all worth while." This is exactly what I brought this topic up for. A reward should not have any influence on how we live our lives, if it does than it can not be of a selfless nature because the self is expecting something in return. True love cannot exist until it is unconditional and that means indifferent to it's future or past.
I feel that instead of seeking this type of unconditional love, the Christian church has emphasized reward and punishment as its foundation. I am sad to see this because I feel it devaules the message of unconditional love that Jesus was trying get across. Thanks for your input it is greatly appreciated .

 

[Ringer]

why arent they the most pleasant people on earth?
because they unlike Buddhists, the Harikrishna and other such people they do not live with peace in their hearts they dont have the understanding that biengs are happiest when treated equally, have equal rights etc.

That's quite a generalization so I don't think I can address it adequately.

 

[logician]

"I am sad to see this because I feel it devaules the message of unconditional love that Jesus was trying get across"

Except the man never wrote anything, the authors of the gospels are unknown, and were written well after the time of the supposed jesus, i.e. he is a myth, like all god-men.

 

[ericoh2]

"I am sad to see this because I feel it devaules the message of unconditional love that Jesus was trying get across"

Except the man never wrote anything, the authors of the gospels are unknown, and were written well after the time of the supposed jesus, i.e. he is a myth, like all god-men.

No, he didn't write anything that we know of. But this statement is no more or less true than saying that Jesus did exist. People believe that he did exist with at least as much evidence that you have that he didn't, but this isn't the point of my post. The message is still here and "Jesus like" individuals have existed and do exist today (ie Meher Baba, Thich Nhat Hahn, Thomas Merton, Francis of Assisi.) It makes little difference to me which one you refer to. The message is there and it is eternal.

 

[logician]

No, he didn't write anything that we know of. But this statement is no more or less true than saying that Jesus did exist. People believe that he did exist with at least as much evidence that you have that he didn't, but this isn't the point of my post. The message is still here and "Jesus like" individuals have existed and do exist today (ie Meher Baba, Thich Nhat Hahn, Thomas Merton, Francis of Assisi.) It makes little difference to me which one you refer to. The message is there and it is eternal.

Your logic is flawed, if the supposed Jesus taught unconditional love, why is his promise of eternal life conditional on belief in him?

 

[ericoh2]

Your logic is flawed, if the supposed Jesus taught unconditional love, why is his promise of eternal life conditional on belief in him?

I believe that the true message of Jesus was one of unconditional love. You made the mention about how the gospels accuracy could come in to question based on the authors and time that they were written and you may be right. I believe that a lot of his teachings have been misconstrued,misinterpreted and probably written down incorrectly. However if you study eastern philosophy/religion and you read The Bible afterward you might start to see a much different message in some of his teachings. Also you might want to read The Gospel of Thomas. Some speculate that it could be the earliest of the gospels and it paints a much different picture of what Jesus' message really was.

 

[Booko]

I believe that the true message of Jesus was one of unconditional love. You made the mention about how the gospels accuracy could come in to question based on the authors and time that they were written and you may be right. I believe that a lot of his teachings have been misconstrued,misinterpreted and probably written down incorrectly. However if you study eastern philosophy/religion and you read The Bible afterward you might start to see a much different message in some of his teachings. Also you might want to read The Gospel of Thomas. Some speculate that it could be the earliest of the gospels and it paints a much different picture of what Jesus' message really was.

Don't let logician bother you, ericoh2. His username is a misnomer, as you will soon discover for yourself.

 

[logician]

Don't let logician bother you, ericoh2. His username is a misnomer, as you will soon discover for yourself.

Says the illogical one. I must be illogical, to have majored in mathematics, and have been a programmer all these years.

BTW, no one addressed this problem,

"Your logic is flawed, if the supposed Jesus taught unconditional love, why is his promise of eternal life conditional on belief in him?"

i.e. god's love is not unconditional.

 

[ericoh2]

Says the illogical one. I must be illogical, to have majored in mathematics, and have been a programmer all these years.

BTW, no one addressed this problem,

"Your logic is flawed, if the supposed Jesus taught unconditional love, why is his promise of eternal life conditional on belief in him?"

i.e. god's love is not unconditional.

You already answered your question when you stated "IF" the supposed Jesus taught unconditional love, why is his promise of eternal life conditional on belief in him?" My last statement was letting you know that I believe the part of the Gospels ( his promise of eternal life conditional on belief in him) have been misinterpreted by the authors. That's why I mentioned the Gospel of Thomas, it paints a much different picture of Jesus' message than what modern Christianity does today.

 

[idea]

I'm just trying to get some opinions as to how people feel on this topic. If you really look at Christian motivation as a whole I think that way too much emphasis is put on what will happen to you when you die. The fear of burning in Hell or the pleasure of getting into Heaven has become of so much importance to the religion that I believe that the real message has been lost. The point of selfless service and love is not to receive some award or avoid some punishment. If that is the motivation it is neither selfless nor true love. The statement of "Your will not my will be done" from The Bible directly addresses this topic. If we focus on what going to happen to us in the future how can we submit to His? I think the church should focus it's attention on encouraging acceptance to what we already have. If we would open our eyes we would see that everything is already beautiful beyond description, what more can we ask for? Thank you for all of your input in advance it is already greatly appreciated and my love goes out to all. Please be aware of how blessed this day is!!!

The bliss of heaven is not mansions or gold streets - the bliss of Heaven is being able to be selfless and loving. People think it is some big painful sacrifice to be selfless and humble and love their neighbor. It is not a sacrifice, it is what sets you free. Becoming loving, letting go of yourself and your selfish desires - become free from yourself and living for others is heaven. Being loving is not a "means" to an end, it is the end goal. The bliss of heaven is being able to unconditionally love.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Finding heaven is conditional on learning how to love. No one can force you to love - if it is not freely given, it is not love, it is prostitution - so learning how to love others is conditional upon what you do.

 

[ericoh2]

The bliss of heaven is not mansions or gold streets - the bliss of Heaven is being able to be selfless and loving. People think it is some big painful sacrifice to be selfless and humble and love their neighbor. It is not a sacrifice, it is what sets you free. Becoming loving, letting go of yourself and your selfish desires - become free from yourself and living for others is heaven. Being loving is not a "means" to an end, it is the end goal. The bliss of heaven is being able to unconditionally love.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Finding heaven is conditional on learning how to love. No one can force you to love - if it is not freely given, it is not love, it is prostitution - so learning how to love others is conditional upon what you do.

Well said.