What would happen to me?

I consider myself an agnostic atheist. That is to say that I have no belief in a god or gods, but I don't reject the possibility of their existence, although I do find it unlikely. However, that is certainly not what I wish to believe. I would much rather believe in a higher power, and that life continued after death. It's much more appealing to me. It's just that I cannot consciously choose to believe this. I even tried going back to believing in god once, but it just felt like I was living a lie. I don't think it is possible for me to choose to believe something that I don't.

So my question is, if I died right now and it turned out that my belief was wrong and yours (assuming you believe in god/s) was right, what would happen to me? I've seen a fair number of posts recently saying that all unbelievers will automatically go to hell, and I'm curious to see if that a well held position.

You pretty much exactly describe my beliefs, and it also used to bother me, both the concept of ceasing to exist and there not being some higher purpose to life. This is why the hatred and distrust of atheists (the crazies think it's the same as satanism or nihilism) is stupefying, when most probably wish they were not, yet can't bring themselves to believe in the flying spaghetti monster.

I have to agree with Dawkins when he says he would answer to said deity with "Well why did you take such pains to hide yourself?" Any rational and compassionate person would find this an acceptable response, not that I find the concept of eternal torment for flawed and short-lived humans remotely palatable. It might help you to consider how unbelievably cruel such a prospect is, then you can reach a point where you just laugh it off whenever some nut thinks they can condemn you.

I find it hard to believe that a loving God would send someone to hell for all of eternity for not believing the right thing. Especially since the people who are supposed to learn said religion from is humans, and we all know we are extremely fallible.

Anagram said:

I consider myself an agnostic atheist. That is to say that I have no belief in a god or gods, but I don't reject the possibility of their existence, although I do find it unlikely. However, that is certainly not what I wish to believe. I would much rather believe in a higher power, and that life continued after death. It's much more appealing to me. It's just that I cannot consciously choose to believe this. I even tried going back to believing in god once, but it just felt like I was living a lie. I don't think it is possible for me to choose to believe something that I don't.

So my question is, if I died right now and it turned out that my belief was wrong and yours (assuming you believe in god/s) was right, what would happen to me? I've seen a fair number of posts recently saying that all unbelievers will automatically go to hell, and I'm curious to see if that a well held position.

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no one knows. my opinion is that there isn't an afterlife, so i assume you'll blink out into nonexistence like every other machine does when the power is cut off. i do believe in God, but i think that the afterlife story was invented by humans to make death less scary.

if i had a choice, i'd go back to believing in heaven. at least that would make the inevitable end more palatable. or, at the very least, less terrifying.

Anagram said:

I consider myself an agnostic atheist. That is to say that I have no belief in a god or gods, but I don't reject the possibility of their existence, although I do find it unlikely. However, that is certainly not what I wish to believe. I would much rather believe in a higher power, and that life continued after death. It's much more appealing to me. It's just that I cannot consciously choose to believe this. I even tried going back to believing in god once, but it just felt like I was living a lie. I don't think it is possible for me to choose to believe something that I don't.

So my question is, if I died right now and it turned out that my belief was wrong and yours (assuming you believe in god/s) was right, what would happen to me? I've seen a fair number of posts recently saying that all unbelievers will automatically go to hell, and I'm curious to see if that a well held position.

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To the bolded: this is a part of why it is called faith.

As for your second paragraph: Nobody knows with certainty, as religion is always based on belief and faith. I have run the gamut of religious persuasion, and found none of them satisfying or "real" to me. Same with agnosticism, and I consider that I was probably what you would call an uncommitted atheist for a few years. What it has boiled down to, at this point in my life, is that I am okay with whatever is actually reality, and my tendency is to view God as more of a creative impulse and mental energy, than as any type of judgemental authority figure. My religious belief is now my own, and is not dependent on anyone else's approval. It's a way of being, perceiving, and viewing life, as opposed to being based on fear of an afterlife, or lack thereof. Best wishes in your endeavor, as it is truly a road wrought with confusion, occasional fear, and doubt.

I am also an atheist so I don't believe in an afterlife. But if it turned out you were wrong there are still too many variable to your question. Which religion is right? The problem with Pascal's Wager is you can use it in support of believing in any religion that proposes a heaven and hell.

As for fearing death, I agree with Mark Twain when he said "I do not fear death, in view of the fact that I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it."

Anagram said:

I consider myself an agnostic atheist. That is to say that I have no belief in a god or gods, but I don't reject the possibility of their existence, although I do find it unlikely. However, that is certainly not what I wish to believe. I would much rather believe in a higher power, and that life continued after death. It's much more appealing to me. It's just that I cannot consciously choose to believe this. I even tried going back to believing in god once, but it just felt like I was living a lie. I don't think it is possible for me to choose to believe something that I don't.

So my question is, if I died right now and it turned out that my belief was wrong and yours (assuming you believe in god/s) was right, what would happen to me? I've seen a fair number of posts recently saying that all unbelievers will automatically go to hell, and I'm curious to see if that a well held position.

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Heaven is a place created by God for those who believe in Him. So if you dont believe, you dont get to go. So you dont get to reject God but be welcomed into Heaven. That is one of the benefits of being God: you get to make the rules.

According to Genesis, we are all already in Heaven.

I think Hell is when you fail to recognize that.

Fletch said:

Heaven is a place created by God for those who believe in Him. So if you dont believe, you dont get to go. So you dont get to reject God but be welcomed into Heaven. That is one of the benefits of being God: you get to make the rules.

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That is extremely unfair in a historical context. It was physically impossible for someone living in South America during the 1300's to have even been aware of the existence of Christianity, Islam or Hinduism. How could they be judged according to rules that they never learned?

The other problem is that there is no logical way to choose between religions. The Bible, Torah, Koran and Vedas all claim to be holy books and have large groups of followers who support them. If one needs faith to believe, what method can you use to figure out which religion you should have faith in? Most people simply follow the religion their parents taught them as a child, but since that is hardly a choice, it would be unfair to use such a biased metric to pass judgement.

rathi said:

That is extremely unfair in a historical context. It was physically impossible for someone living in South America during the 1300's to have even been aware of the existence of Christianity, Islam or Hinduism. How could they be judged according to rules that they never learned?

The other problem is that there is no logical way to choose between religions. The Bible, Torah, Koran and Vedas all claim to be holy books and have large groups of followers who support them. If one needs faith to believe, what method can you use to figure out which religion you should have faith in? Most people simply follow the religion their parents taught them as a child, but since that is hardly a choice, it would be unfair to use such a biased metric to pass judgement.

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Unfair? What does fairness have to do with anything? Heaven is an issue of faith not reason, and certainly not fairness. According the Christianity, the way to heaven is through Christ. If you think there is another entrance, you are free to look for it. Just dont be pissed when you find all the other doors locked.

Humans just can't accept the permanence of death so clever authors have created various Bibles, Korans, whatever and used them as a vehicle to peddle salvation and eternal life. What a racket!

My guess is that if you live an ethical life, then you will be quite safe if a magical god appears at the end of the tunnel.

Fletch said:

Heaven is a place created by God for those who believe in Him. So if you dont believe, you dont get to go. So you dont get to reject God but be welcomed into Heaven. That is one of the benefits of being God: you get to make the rules.

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Churches that would refuse non-members from their heaven are no more than a mutual admiration society, with little about them to be admired....

specklebang said:

Humans just can't accept the permanence of death so clever authors have created various Bibles, Korans, whatever and used them as a vehicle to peddle salvation and eternal life. What a racket!

My guess is that if you live an ethical life, then you will be quite safe if a magical god appears at the end of the tunnel.

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Sounds like you have created a salvation vehicle of your own.

UtahBill said:

Churches that would refuse non-members from their heaven are no more than a mutual admiration society, with little about them to be admired....

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I suspect that they are not looking for admiration. If you dont wish to follow them, dont. But what you dont get to do is demand that they accept your vision for how their religion should be practiced.

Fletch said:

Unfair? What does fairness have to do with anything? Heaven is an issue of faith not reason, and certainly not fairness. According the Christianity, the way to heaven is through Christ. If you think there is another entrance, you are free to look for it. Just dont be pissed when you find all the other doors locked.

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Would you consider it moral to punish someone for failing to do something that wasn't physically possible for them to accomplish? If you want to say that biblical judgement isn't fair, then you are also logically saying that the Christian god is a callous tyrant who certainly doesn't love humanity. Are you willing to accept all the consequences of claiming that fairness has no part in judgement?

Anagram said:

I consider myself an agnostic atheist. That is to say that I have no belief in a god or gods, but I don't reject the possibility of their existence, although I do find it unlikely. However, that is certainly not what I wish to believe. I would much rather believe in a higher power, and that life continued after death. It's much more appealing to me. It's just that I cannot consciously choose to believe this. I even tried going back to believing in god once, but it just felt like I was living a lie. I don't think it is possible for me to choose to believe something that I don't.

So my question is, if I died right now and it turned out that my belief was wrong and yours (assuming you believe in god/s) was right, what would happen to me? I've seen a fair number of posts recently saying that all unbelievers will automatically go to hell, and I'm curious to see if that a well held position.

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You truly have to believe in God....no matter what obstacles are thrown in your way, you gotta maintain, the course


Thats the whole idea

Fletch said:

Sounds like you have created a salvation vehicle of your own.

I suspect that they are not looking for admiration. If you dont wish to follow them, dont. But what you dont get to do is demand that they accept your vision for how their religion should be practiced.

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and where did I say that? most likely scenario is the religion wants to demand that we all accept their vision, or suffer hell in the afterlife....
IMO, there are NO religions suitable to the sharing of governance of a people, not as long as the religions are run by ordinary mortals like you and me...

Anagram said:

So my question is, if I died right now and it turned out that my belief was wrong and yours (assuming you believe in god/s) was right, what would happen to me?

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You would go through the same judgement process as the rest of us. As for a verdict, we don't even know what the outcome of the Zimmerman trial will be, and we know considerably less about you than Zimmerman.

Anagram said:

I consider myself an agnostic atheist. That is to say that I have no belief in a god or gods, but I don't reject the possibility of their existence, although I do find it unlikely. However, that is certainly not what I wish to believe. I would much rather believe in a higher power, and that life continued after death. It's much more appealing to me. It's just that I cannot consciously choose to believe this. I even tried going back to believing in god once, but it just felt like I was living a lie. I don't think it is possible for me to choose to believe something that I don't.

So my question is, if I died right now and it turned out that my belief was wrong and yours (assuming you believe in god/s) was right, what would happen to me? I've seen a fair number of posts recently saying that all unbelievers will automatically go to hell, and I'm curious to see if that a well held position.

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you would smoke a turd in purgatory. :lamo

seriously though, I find myself feeling much the same way. I would like to believe but I find it hard to get past many of the inconsistencies between what the bible says and what science has shown us to be true. I have been asked not to return to several churches because the questions I asked made them uncomfortable.

my question is: how much "doubt" would GOD allow a person and still let them into heaven?

ric27 said:

You truly have to believe in God....no matter what obstacles are thrown in your way, you gotta maintain, the course


Thats the whole idea

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in the movie Second Hand Lions, the statement is made that "a thing doesn't have to be true to be worth believing".

If a religion makes you a better person, and a happy person, it is good for you to believe.
If a religion is just being used to condemn others, it is a false religion, as they are judging, and that is not allowed in Christian churches....according to the book..

UtahBill said:

in the movie Second Hand Lions, the statement is made that "a thing doesn't have to be true to be worth believing".

If a religion makes you a better person, and a happy person, it is good for you to believe.
If a religion is just being used to condemn others, it is a false religion, as they are judging, and that is not allowed in Christian churches....according to the book..

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If you truly believe in your religion, then your God comes before anything else.

ric27 said:

If you truly believe in your religion, then your God comes before anything else.

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too ambiguous....what does Jesus say about it in Matthew, chap 25 I think....
what you do unto the least of these my brethren you do unto me...
if you are not willing to be of service to your fellow man, you aren't placing God first...

What's ambiguous about putting God first?

nota bene said:

What's ambiguous about putting God first?

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HOW you do it.....if all you do is vocalize intent, but never do anything for the less fortunate, you aren't putting anybody first.........I grew up in the southeast version of the bible belt, and a lot of people there are into the image of christianity, but not he substance...

Anagram said:

I consider myself an agnostic atheist. That is to say that I have no belief in a god or gods, but I don't reject the possibility of their existence, although I do find it unlikely. However, that is certainly not what I wish to believe. I would much rather believe in a higher power, and that life continued after death. It's much more appealing to me. It's just that I cannot consciously choose to believe this. I even tried going back to believing in god once, but it just felt like I was living a lie. I don't think it is possible for me to choose to believe something that I don't.

So my question is, if I died right now and it turned out that my belief was wrong and yours (assuming you believe in god/s) was right, what would happen to me? I've seen a fair number of posts recently saying that all unbelievers will automatically go to hell, and I'm curious to see if that a well held position.

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"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
............
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. " --- John Ch. 3 excerpted.


"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." - Luke 16

UtahBill said:

HOW you do it.....if all you do is vocalize intent, but never do anything for the less fortunate, you aren't putting anybody first.........I grew up in the southeast version of the bible belt, and a lot of people there are into the image of christianity, but not he substance...

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Ah, but here's the problem: You yourself are judging others when only our Father knows the hearts of His children.