What do atheists believe happens when you die?

[Mr Spinkles]

Hmmm....good question. Now I have one for you--please read it carefully.

Suppose that we do not know whether or not there is an afterlife. However, suppose we know two things: 1.) heaven is a domain for those who lived a sinful life in rejection of god, and hell is a domain for those who had faith in god. 2.) There is a 99% chance that god does exist and there is heaven and hell in existence, and a 1% chance that god does not exist, nor heaven and hell (heaven in its absolute serenity and luxury in reward for not believing in god, and hell in its absolute despair and punishment for believing).

Question: Knowing what we know from the above (because none can be 100% sure that there is a god and so forth), would you logically live a life of faith and worship of god, knowing that you have a 99% chance of being off the hook, but risking even a small 1% chance of spending eternity in hell, that is, a second life trillions of times longer than our lifetime in perpetual misery? Or would you play it safe and live a life rejecting god and abstaining from worship, just for the sake of that 1% chance of going to heaven where all of your desires are fullfilled?

Sure, you might be 99% sure that there is a god for you to worship...but are you willing to take that chance?? My motto is, "Be an Atheist, Just in Case"

 

[Helios]

Your reply is eaten in and out with errors its hard to begin, but I will. First off, you say, "There is a 99% chance that god does exist and there is heaven and hell in existence." Your question is already flawed because you say if god exists so does heaven and hell, but according to atheists, which I am assuming you are, you cant have a heaven and hell, which I would supposedly go to for believing in god, and at the same time not believe in god yourself, or else the whole problem is flawed because heaven and hell would not exist, and if it did and you say yourself that there is a "99% chance that god does exist and there is heaven and hell" then you would be in hell too. Second mistake: If I believe in god and end up paying for it by going to your 'heaven' which coincidently has the punishment of hell, how would I be going to hell or 'heaven' if god doesnt exist in the first place? According to you, there is this god that if you worship, 99% of the time you go to hell or your 'heaven', and if you dont believe in god and are an atheist, then you are rewarded by going to heaven or 'hell'.. and that's where mistake no. 3 comes in. Through this whole ridiculous puzzle of believing and not believing, you are still ultimately admitting that you can only go to this 'new good hell' for not believing in god, and that is the reward for doing so, but in doing so, you are conceding to the fact that god does exist or else you would not be rewarded for not believing in him. Which brings us back to mistake no.1 , then 2, 3, then 1, then 2 then 3... and so forth. Your "puzzle" is an attempt to make my puzzle seem false and illogical, which clearly by your fumbling and seemingly insignificant remarks, isnt. Your reply has turned into a paradox of incohesiveness, and deserves no further interpretation. But there is one more problem to be addressed, my puzzle is based off of centuries of historical data and cultural information where yours isnt. I do not believe there has ever been a god that punished its believers for believing in him, as you so put it. That is all I bid you well.

Helios has spoken.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

I fear you did not read my post very carefully. In my 'puzzle' the odds of a certain god existing is 99%, but this is no ordinary god. This is the god of Atheism. This god punishes those who believe god exists. This god probably exists, but we get punished for believing that which is most probable, and rewarded for beleiving the improbable. Therefore, the 'safest bet' is to believe god does not exist....that way, if god doesn't exist, nothing happens. If god does exist, you go to heaven and all the believers go to hell.

Does my puzzle sound ridiculous to you? It should. The puzzle from which it was derived is equally ridiculous. In your puzzle you give God's existence an extremely generous 1% probability, and fail to take into account the further unlikelihoods that heaven and hell exist and that God sends unbelievers to hell. You also suggest the preposterous notion that one can 'bet' with one's own beliefs, despite the fact that one knows perfectly well the odds of God existing are so incredibly small. If you KNOW that God's existence is a mere 1%, you don't believe in God--you just go around saying you do because it's a 'safe bet'. If God existed he would, in all likelihood, know that you thought his existence was improbable. The only recourse is complete self-deception and a denial of reality to please this irrational God's wishes.

Here's a simpler example: If you don't believe I, Mr Spinkles, am God, I will send you to hell. If you believe I am God, I will send you to heaven. The odds that I am God are remote...but they can't be 0%, so why risk eternal damnation? The only logical thing to do is to believe Mr Spinkles is God.

My point is no matter what you beleive (or claim to believe out of paranoia) you can't be 'safe'. For those who believe in God, there is always the 1% chance that it's really the God of Atheism who will send you to hell for believing. I don't know about you, but I'm just not willing to take that chance, however remote.

 

[Ceridwen018]

Helios, you copied and pasted, so I figured I would as well.

Lots and lots of problems.

There is a 99% chance that god does not exist and there is no such heaven or hell in existence, and a 1% chance that god does exist as does heaven and hell

"So you're telling me there's a chance!"
--Dumb and Dumber

), would you logically live a life of sin and vice in contempt and rejection of god for at most 100-120 years (if even that) knowing that you have a 99% chance of being of the hook, but risking even a small 1% chance of spending eternity in hell, that is, a second life trillions of times longer than our lifetime in perpetual misery?

Just because you're religious doesn't mean you're moral, and just because you're an Atheist doesn't make you 'sinful'. I don't believe in god, however I feel I live a very moral and healthy life.

Or would you play it safe and live a life worshipping god and abstaining from sin, just for the sake of that 1% chance of going to heaven where all of your desires are fullfilled?

First of all, if I'm forcing myself to believe just to cover my own ***...that's not REAL belief. Secondly, if I'm gonna believe in god just so that I can cover all my bases, I'm going to have to believe in ALL gods. Thor, Zeus, Osiris, Allah--the works. What if one of them ends up being right and the Christian god (of whom I assume you are referring) wrong? I'll have forced myself to believe for nothing!

 

[retrorich]

I believe that when you die and are buried, you become part of the food chain. If you want to call that reincarnation, so be it.

 

[Faust]

This is a post made not to offend but to clear something up for me. What do you believe happens when you die?

I've posted this in another thread but can't remember where at this time, sorry.
At the risk of being redundant I will try to paraphrase my previous post.
When I sleep and either do not dream or have no recall of dreams I simply wake with no perception of myself during the time that I have slept. I can not lament this period of time that I did not, for all intent and purpose, exist there was simply no "me".
I consider death to be like that. Since I will have no perception of not being there is nothing to lament. Therefore I believe one should suck the marrow from the bone of life because this is all we have. But since this is all anyone else has, we should try our best not to infringe on anyone elses life in any negative manor so as not to mess it up for them either.

 

[Runt]

I believe when we die the arrangement of matter that I call "me" will begin to dismantle, so that each part of "me" returns to the universe. Some of "me" will go into the atmosphere, some will go into the soil, some will become food for other living creatures, and in becoming food for other creatures may actually become a PART of another creature. "I" never truly existed other than as these molecules, and when "I" die the only thing that changes is that these molecules that once formed human physiology--which supporeted human consciousness--begin to disassociate with one another and instead form bonds with other molecules. Everything that was once "me" still exists somewhere.... and has existed since long before I ever did.

 

[ramsay574]

the point of life is to be a good person. you know right from wrong becuase of the world around you. you shouldnt need a book to tell you how to live your life. and there is a bigger point in life. just because you dont believe in god and the bible and everything that i personally believe is made up, doesnt mean you dont have feelings. you can still hurt and love and bleed like the rest of the world. you know right from wrong and you dont need some book saying whether your a good person or not. make your own belifs, be independent. why live in fear of hell when there is probably no such place?

 

[anders]

I believe that when you die and are buried, you become part of the food chain. If you want to call that reincarnation, so be it.

Perfect!

Druidus,

You thought that karebear's believing in an afterlife wasn't Catholic. As k's notion wasn't detailed, I can't judge. I can only say that all Christians believe in an afterlife, in heaven or in hell.

One of the reasons I left the Christian fold was that I had rejected the South Asian reincarnation/rebirth theories, and suddenly realized that I believed in one. So, for the sake of consistency, I had to reject that as well.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Faust and Runt covered it perfectly for me. As soon as I get the ability to give out frubals again, I'm giving them some.

TVOR

 

[Druidus]

No, I meant that believing in the reincarnation (not incarnation or rebirth) is not Christian. Or, at least, in Catholicism (I was told by my Confirmation teacher).

 

[Godless Dave]

To most athiests your body is all there is - no god or a soul - and so your brain and organic operations are all there is to your life. When you die, that ends, your existence ends. You decompose and there is nothing else.

Yep, that's what I believe.

 

[Godless Dave]

How do athiests explain the 21.4 grams that are lost after death that is not accountable to water loss or gas loss, or any other observable cause.

Obviously whoever found my body stole my last bag of weed!

 

[non-duality]

Did you see „The live of Brian“?
“You come from nothing. You go into nothing. You’ve lost nothing”
One guy I knew who also was atheist and was going to die on cancer said: “I will continue to live in the thoughts of my friends.”
To me this way of thinking would not be satisfying. If they forget you, you are gone!
In my eyes it’s more difficult to die as an atheist.
But studies found out, that totally convinced atheists and totally convinced believers both have the least fear of death. The most fear have those who are not so sure.

 

[humm_bird]

Plant food.

 

[Snowbear]

the point of life is to be a good person.

Well, I guess my life is pointless.

I'm far from a good person. I'm a dispicable, selfish, useless, worthless excuse of anything that's ever wasted oxygen.

I'm too chicken to kill myself - care to do it for me??

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Well, I guess my life is pointless.

I'm far from a good person. I'm a dispicable, selfish, useless, worthless excuse of anything that's ever wasted oxygen.

I'm too chicken to kill myself - care to do it for me??

Easy there, Snowbear. I'm sure you've done a lot of good things in this life. At this point in time, you are simply dwelling on the negatives. I'm just curious - how old are you?

TVOR

 

[Majikthise]

Well, I guess my life is pointless.

I'm far from a good person. I'm a dispicable, selfish, useless, worthless excuse of anything that's ever wasted oxygen.

I'm too chicken to kill myself - care to do it for me??

Being a firefighter is a tough job, you see some really bad things.I was in Air Force fire protection for two years so I know.If you really feel this way you should discuss it with your super. You're part of a fraternity, talk to your brothers.

 

[Snowbear]

I'm sure you've done a lot of good things in this life.

Doing good things doesn't make me a good person.

I'm just curious - how old are you?

39.

 

[Snowbear]

If you really feel this way you should discuss it with your super.

My "super" is a battalion chief who I would never trust with personal information.

You're part of a fraternity, talk to your brothers.

I am a female among many "brothers."
It's difficult enough big a supervisor (captain) constantly being challenged to prove my competance.
Sharing personal difficulties would not help.