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Why is it necessary to believe?

nonbeliever_92

nonbeliever_92

Well-Known Member
Many religions claim that in order for you to ascend to heaven or whatever sacred paradise beyond the living world, you must believe and follow the word of god/allah/zeus/etc...

I just have a few questions.


1.) If someone lives in some remote part of the world and has never, ever heard of god or Jesus or any religion for that matter but lives their life with reverance for others and good morals, does that mean that that person would go to hell when they die? Wouldn't that be unnecessary? Unneeded?

2.) Wouldn't that god/supreme being(s) be cruel and unreasonable if they did this? Wouldn't that god be thought of as incredibly wrong to deal out eternal punishment just because you simply don't believe in him?

3.) Why is it imperative that we believe what god and his holy scriptures say? Why can't we just live a good life, live a moral life? Why won't god accept us if we're athiests yet we didn't kill, steal, rape, etc...?
 
Storm

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
Actually, the only religions that I know teach that you have to believe are Christianity and Islam.
 
nonbeliever_92

nonbeliever_92

Well-Known Member
Willamena said:
I'm already there. . . the way I understand it.
Click to expand...

not you in particular, i was speaking of the person in my hypothetical situation.
If they could not understand the aspects of "heaven" or "hell" does that not mean that they will not go anywhere? (As seen in the eyes of someone who believes that you need to "believe" to ascend to heaven)
 
Guitar's Cry

Guitar's Cry

Disciple of Pan
Not just believe, but put your whole being in believing.

And not just God, but any symbol for something beyond the mundane.

And not just Heaven, but the reconciliation of the conscious being and his awareness of death.

Existential issues are not contained within a single philosophical school, but are human-wide. Religion is a way of dealing with being conscious of ourselves as alive in an indifferent world and eventually dead. By believing in something above life and death, we reach the heaven of peace with our own non-existence.
 
nonbeliever_92

nonbeliever_92

Well-Known Member
Guitar's Cry said:
Not just believe, but put your whole being in believing.

And not just God, but any symbol for something beyond the mundane.

And not just Heaven, but the reconciliation of the conscious being and his awareness of death.

Existential issues are not contained within a single philosophical school, but are human-wide. Religion is a way of dealing with being conscious of ourselves as alive in an indifferent world and eventually dead. By believing in something above life and death, we reach the heaven of peace with our own non-existence.
Click to expand...


So you are saying that you believe that like love, god is a purely mental concept and that he is only "real" as an idea and not as an actual physical entity?
 
Paraprakrti

Paraprakrti

Custom User
nonbeliever_92 said:
Many religions claim that in order for you to ascend to heaven or whatever sacred paradise beyond the living world, you must believe and follow the word of god/allah/zeus/etc...

I just have a few questions.


1.) If someone lives in some remote part of the world and has never, ever heard of god or Jesus or any religion for that matter but lives their life with reverance for others and good morals, does that mean that that person would go to hell when they die? Wouldn't that be unnecessary? Unneeded?

2.) Wouldn't that god/supreme being(s) be cruel and unreasonable if they did this? Wouldn't that god be thought of as incredibly wrong to deal out eternal punishment just because you simply don't believe in him?

3.) Why is it imperative that we believe what god and his holy scriptures say? Why can't we just live a good life, live a moral life? Why won't god accept us if we're athiests yet we didn't kill, steal, rape, etc...?
Click to expand...

Undoubtedly, your questions pertain or are only significant to certain groups within the Abrahamic traditions since they (your questions) assume this idea that an individual has one lifespan to get saved or else eternal torment.

However, there are religions that promote belief in God or, better yet, God consciousness (i.e. being conscious of God) in order to achieve salvation or liberation but do not include the "one chance or eternal hell" idea. In these cases, why is it necessary to develop God consciousness? The answer I am familiar with is that one gravitates toward where one is most attached. If one is attached to sense gratification, then one will remain in the material world. If one is attached to God, then one will go to God. If one is attached to moralistic activities on the material platform, then one might take up some post suitable for that in the material world.
 
Guitar's Cry

Guitar's Cry

Disciple of Pan
nonbeliever_92 said:
So you are saying that you believe that like love, god is a purely mental concept and that he is only "real" as an idea and not as an actual physical entity?
Click to expand...

How is an idea or concept not a physical entity?

The "love" and "god" comparison is a good one, since both are concepts that describe something wholly indescribable and yet so powerful. But in the end, what is the difference between the experience of love and the experience of a rock? Both are multiple sensory experiences modeled into a single concept.
 
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