To believe, or not to believe....?

[Ana.J]

Hello Guys,

Just a few thoughts on the faith in God.....

So do you agree that a person who believes in God and the one who doesn't live a different lives? I am not talking about fanatical dogmatic religious followers. Just a person who believes in supreme being/ the Creator and afterlife? Because most religions do imply the existence of afterlife.

So if we live our life believing in God and in the end we will find our that there is no afterlife, we will not care because we will cease to exist. No disappointment

But what if we live our life not believing in God (After us the deluge) and in the end we will find out that there is afterlife and you shall reap what you sow? Won't that be devastating?

So is it better to have faith then?

 

[4M17]

better be on the safe side ;-) lol
I think we should have faith in GOD.. coz GOD is not a belief as many thinks but HE's a fact...
Having Faith in GOD and living a righteous life will keep us on the safe side...since even if it falls in the second possibility u mentioned it'll be cool lol

 

[sun rise]

That's known as Pascal's wager. The basic premise is that belief in God determines one's fate after death and thus says something about the nature of God. Your signature itself contradicts that - if love is all you need then belief in God is not necessary - love is sufficient because a loving God forgives mistakes. It follows that if one tries to become more loving then one is on the path toward God whether one believes in God or not.

 

[Ana.J]

That's known as Pascal's wager. The basic premise is that belief in God determines one's fate after death and thus says something about the nature of God. Your signature itself contradicts that - if love is all you need then belief in God is not necessary - love is sufficient because a loving God forgives mistakes. It follows that if one tries to become more loving then one is on the path toward God whether one believes in God or not.

Some say that God is love. If God = love then we can say that my signature can be read as "God is all you need".

 

[Ana.J]

better be on the safe side ;-) lol
I think we should have faith in GOD.. coz GOD is not a belief as many thinks but HE's a fact...
Having Faith in GOD and living a righteous life will keep us on the safe side...since even if it falls in the second possibility u mentioned it'll be cool lol

Agree that it is better to be on the safe side. However, you mentioned that He is a fact? Did I miss any solid proof that He exists?

 

[Tumah]

This is called Pascal's Wagers. I don't think its a very helpful philosophical question. Hedging your bets by believing in G-d implies that:
1. Belief in G-d is the only thing G-d expects from a person and this method will help with something.
2. That this method evokes a sufficient degree of belief in G-d as to be effective.

There's no reason inherent in this concept that implies the first one is true. And I sincerely doubt the second one is true.

 

[LuisDantas]

So do you agree that a person who believes in God and the one who doesn't live a different lives?

If they do, there is something fishy about that form of belief.

I am not talking about fanatical dogmatic religious followers. Just a person who believes in supreme being/ the Creator and afterlife? Because most religions do imply the existence of afterlife.

Do they? I honestly stand unconvinced. Afterlives strike me as too odd a belief to be lent much importance. I always thought of them as a fable of sorts, poetic license even.

Religion is not supposed to overvalue such figures of speech, in my understanding. It is not healthy.

So if we live our life believing in God and in the end we will find our that there is no afterlife, we will not care because we will cease to exist. No disappointment

Even that is giving the idea far too much importance, IMO.

But what if we live our life not believing in God (After us the deluge) and in the end we will find out that there is afterlife and you shall reap what you sow? Won't that be devastating?

Uh, no. Why would that possibly be devastating? Puzzling or even disorienting, perhaps.

So is it better to have faith then?

Faith has nothing whatsoever to do with belief in afterlives. Not healthy faith, anyway.

 

[Ana.J]

This is called Pascal's Wagers. I don't think its a very helpful philosophical question. Hedging your bets by believing in G-d implies that:
1. Belief in G-d is the only thing G-d expects from a person and this method will help with something.
2. That this method evokes a sufficient degree of belief in G-d as to be effective.

There's no reason inherent in this concept that implies the first one is true. And I sincerely doubt the second one is true.

1) Of course God does not care if you believe in him or not. It is you and your actions that differ depending on your faith.
2) Not to be effective, but to live a righteous and fulfilling life and not to be disappointed in the end.

 

[Ana.J]

Uh, no. Why would that possibly be devastating? Puzzling or even disorienting, perhaps.

Just because you might regret what you have done if you will have to correct those mistakes in the next life..

 

[Tumah]

1) Of course God does not care if you believe in him or not. It is you and your actions that differ depending on your faith.

Does it? There seem to be plenty of fairly moral atheists around the forums here. So I'm not sure if I agree with you on that point.

2) Not to be effective, but to live a righteous and fulfilling life and not to be disappointed in the end.

I don't see how there would be enough impetus for a person to live a more righteous life by believing in G-d through hedging his bets, then because he legitimately believes in G-d.

 

[Excaljnur]

So if we live our life believing in God and in the end we will find our that there is no afterlife, we will not care because we will cease to exist. No disappointment

But what if we live our life not believing in God (After us the deluge) and in the end we will find out that there is afterlife and you shall reap what you sow? Won't that be devastating?

So is it better to have faith then?

Your question is solely limited to the possibility of one god being the correct god. Suppose Zeus was who you met in the afterlife and he punished you for believing in Allah. So the question can also be posed: would you be better off justifying your faith in the wrong god or in justifying the withholding of faith in any god when you meet the correct god in the afterlife? It seems obvious now that taking your chances with any particular god is setting yourself up with an unlikely bet, given how many possible gods there could be.

Afterthought: Would an omnicient god accept your reason to believe in him/her (granted you believed in the correct god) on the grounds of possibly being wrong? Where is the conviction? Where does faith lie? It seems your faith rests on the rational of the bet. If so, this wouldn't be having faith to believe, it would be having a reason to believe.

 

[LuisDantas]

Just because you might regret what you have done if you will have to correct those mistakes in the next life..

I know that I do the best I can at each given opportunity. Perhaps for that, the idea is rather exotic to me.

 

[Ana.J]

I know that I do the best I can at each given opportunity. Perhaps for that, the idea is rather exotic to me.

So you do believe in afterlife and this faith helps you make choices that you will not regret? What is so exotic about it?

 

[Smart_Guy]

But what if we live our life not believing in God (After us the deluge) and in the end we will find out that there is afterlife and you shall reap what you sow? Won't that be devastating?

I talked about this before, and you have no idea what unbelievable responses I got. Some even say they would rather go to Hell if God is this and that. Geez, they don't even know what Hell is like.

As much as I know some people who I think don't even deserve to be born and have a soul in this life, I still worry for them if the Islamic view of Hell turns out to be how I know it. If there is any definition for true hell, it would be like Hell in the Islamic views. It has unspeakable things. On the other hand, I feel sorry for them if they don't go to the Heaven of the Islamic views.

Better safe than sorry.

Disclaimer:
This is not preaching. I merely replied to the OP.

 

[Ana.J]

I talked about this before, and you have no idea what unbelievable responses I got. Some even say they would rather go to Hell if God is this and that. Geez, they don't even know what Hell is like.

As much as I know some people who I think don't even deserve to be born and have a soul in this life, I still worry for them if the Islamic view of Hell turns out to be how I know it. If there is any definition for true hell, it would be like Hell in the Islamic views. It has unspeakable things. On the other hand, I feel sorry for them if they don't go to the Heaven of the Islamic views.

Better safe than sorry.

Disclaimer:
This is not preaching. I merely replied to the OP.

Where can read about Islamic views on heaven and hell? Do you believe that all non-Islamic people who live a non-righteous life will go to Islamic hell?

 

[Rick O'Shez]

So if we live our life believing in God and in the end we will find our that there is no afterlife, we will not care because we will cease to exist. No disappointment

Comfort v. truth?

Having the courage to accept uncertainty v. clutching at metaphysical straws?

 

[LuisDantas]

So you do believe in afterlife and this faith helps you make choices that you will not regret? What is so exotic about it?

It just makes no sense whatsoever to me.

It does not help that I have been raised in a culture that is obsessed with afterlives and saw firsthand how damaging such a belief can be.

 

[Ana.J]

Comfort v. truth?

Having the courage to accept uncertainty v. clutching at metaphysical straws?

There is no truth here as we are talking about metaphysical things. However, if there is a 50% chance that I can live my life better with faith than without it, I would be foolish enough to choose comfort...

 

[Rick O'Shez]

There is no truth here as we are talking about metaphysical things. However, if there is a 50% chance that I can live my life better with faith than without it, I would be foolish enough to choose comfort...

The "truth" on these metaphysical questions is that we simply can't be sure. There is then the option of taking on certain beliefs because they provide some comfort in an uncertain and transient existence.

 

[Smart_Guy]

Where can read about Islamic views on heaven and hell? Do you believe that all non-Islamic people who live a non-righteous life will go to Islamic hell?

I don't know of resources for that except the Quraan, unfortunately. For now I'll say that they are real physical places that can be felt exactly just like this life. It is not spiritual or a state of mind and one never dies there. Both are eternal in nature, but not everyone necessarily stays in Hell eternally. I had nightmares about Hell. Perhaps the Islam DIR could have such information.

As for the second part of the question; I believe not necessarily, but the descriptive default position (which is not necessarily the ultimate resolution) has it that yes they will. But that's just my belief in it. More of that too can be acquired in the Islam DIR.

God bless.