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If there is no afterlife, is there a point to living a moral, selfless life?

Manc Skipper said:
Near death experiences are the result of the brain beginning shutdown. It's not death. The experiences are always culturally related, and highly redacted by the individual concerned. Nobody meets Allah to be told they've been praying to the wrong god. (Or vice versa)

As to living a moral life, if this is the only life I've got, then I want it to be the best it can be. In order for that to happen I need to be the best I can be, and spread it around to make my friends and family's lives the best they can be too.
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I think, according to Scripture, that is correct...when we die, we are, in a sense, sleeping, until the resurrection, just as in the account of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus...John 11:1-44...only with God's beckoning, will we live again...
 
spud_meister said:
Yet all the good Christian soldiers that carried out the Holocaust for Hitler are in Heaven, because they repented.
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Says who?



"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." - Matthew 7:21-23
 
Renae said:
I ask this in all sincerity, if it's your born, you live, you die and return to a state of utter oblivion... what's the point of living for anyone but yourself? Do the hedonist have the right of it? Is the real bit of life to get what you can, live wild and die when life isn't worth it anymore? After all, the moment you "cease" it won't matter if you were Mother Teresa or the most wild party kid.

I've struggled with that question, as a believer, "what if I'm wrong". Was my mothers death more tragic at such a young age, or a blessing to her not to deal with the crap of life? As an example.

If there is an afterlife, be it the "Heaven for the good, Hell for the bad" or some other post-death existence, does that make the injustices of the world less in the end, the actions of your life have more meaning?
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Overall in life, I've probably got a foot in both heaven and hell. Personally, I don't think we end here. I think it's just a jumping off point.
 
Renae said:
I believe that is the case, but.. there is always that hanging out there. What if I am wrong?
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I don't believe you are. The historical accounts of Jesus and what he said are rock solid. He's the best authority on the afterlife of anyone in history. But if you need to worry, worry about falling away from faith in Christ.

God bless!
 
spud_meister said:
Yet all the good Christian soldiers that carried out the Holocaust for Hitler are in Heaven, because they repented. Your God is unjust.
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Nonsense. If they have truly repented and are in Christ, then they're ok. They'll miss some great rewards in heaven, but they're still saved.

Christ paid for their sins at Calvary.
 
Rogue Valley said:
I'm an agnostic but decided long ago to live my life on the premise ... that there is something after this life. No regrets.
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You'll find the best evidence of the afterlife in Jesus and the New Testament.
 
I don't believe in an afterlife...but I have no desire to kill or rape or lead a bad life.

Religion <> morality
 
There are many people not led by religious beliefs in an afterlife who choose to live the one life they have as best they can...as a matter of pride, or a deep belief in the power of humanity. Personally I find some affinity with the Native American idea of a web of life, and each person's responsibility within.
 
Logicman said:
I don't believe you are. The historical accounts of Jesus and what he said are rock solid. He's the best authority on the afterlife of anyone in history. But if you need to worry, worry about falling away from faith in Christ.

God bless!
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History is written by men
 
beefheart said:
I don't believe in an afterlife...but I have no desire to kill or rape or lead a bad life.

Religion <> morality
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Is it a bad life if you look after yourself, take what you can and live large?
 
Renae said:
Is it a bad life if you look after yourself, take what you can and live large?
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Wow, you really are making some really large assumptions.

You know what happens when you assume?
 
Renae said:
I ask this in all sincerity, if it's your born, you live, you die and return to a state of utter oblivion... what's the point of living for anyone but yourself? Do the hedonist have the right of it? Is the real bit of life to get what you can, live wild and die when life isn't worth it anymore? After all, the moment you "cease" it won't matter if you were Mother Teresa or the most wild party kid.

I've struggled with that question, as a believer, "what if I'm wrong". Was my mothers death more tragic at such a young age, or a blessing to her not to deal with the crap of life? As an example.

If there is an afterlife, be it the "Heaven for the good, Hell for the bad" or some other post-death existence, does that make the injustices of the world less in the end, the actions of your life have more meaning?
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We are social creatures and as such there is an innate understanding of empathy and altruism. We do good because for most of us it makes us feel good to do good. It has nothing to do with a belief in some fake god or what moralities are written in a very badly written book.

All your doing here is another silly attempt at trying to say that only those who live by a religion can understand morality. That atheists lack morality because they lack a god. To which the reply is to ask that if it was not written in your bible that you should not kill then is it a case that you would go around killing people simply because you could?
 
Renae said:
History is written by men
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So? The accounts of Jesus were written by multiple individuals and share the same basic story. All four Gospels confirm the resurrection, as do a number of the epistles.

Have you ever done any serious, in-depth research on the historicity of Jesus? Most doubters haven't. I have some 40 years of study on it, and it's solid as a rock. Here's an excellent work by a well-respected scholar. You will find out that it's not just the Bible that talks about Jesus, but other ancient sources as well. Recommend you read it so you can put your doubts to rest.

Historical Jesus Habermas.jpg
 
Renae said:
I ask this in all sincerity, if it's your born, you live, you die and return to a state of utter oblivion... what's the point of living for anyone but yourself? Do the hedonist have the right of it? Is the real bit of life to get what you can, live wild and die when life isn't worth it anymore? After all, the moment you "cease" it won't matter if you were Mother Teresa or the most wild party kid.

I've struggled with that question, as a believer, "what if I'm wrong". Was my mothers death more tragic at such a young age, or a blessing to her not to deal with the crap of life? As an example.

If there is an afterlife, be it the "Heaven for the good, Hell for the bad" or some other post-death existence, does that make the injustices of the world less in the end, the actions of your life have more meaning?
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Being quality is reward enough.
 
I find the most enjoyable life is one with a healthy mix of selfishness AND selflessness. And we evolved empathy. Most people gain pleasure from performing acts of kindness.
 
Renae said:
I ask this in all sincerity, if it's your born, you live, you die and return to a state of utter oblivion... what's the point of living for anyone but yourself? Do the hedonist have the right of it? Is the real bit of life to get what you can, live wild and die when life isn't worth it anymore? After all, the moment you "cease" it won't matter if you were Mother Teresa or the most wild party kid.

I've struggled with that question, as a believer, "what if I'm wrong". Was my mothers death more tragic at such a young age, or a blessing to her not to deal with the crap of life? As an example.

If there is an afterlife, be it the "Heaven for the good, Hell for the bad" or some other post-death existence, does that make the injustices of the world less in the end, the actions of your life have more meaning?
Click to expand...



Thanks for the question.

I am a recovered addict. That allows me a perspective not otherwise available. You see, in order to keep my sobriety, I must do certain things or NOT DO certain things that will not cause me to use. Those things include being an asshole.
Further, I must be careful about things like intense anger, or intense anything as the loss of my step mother still aches. And real early I was told that if I got in a really bad mood, I should go and do a good deed for someone. I remember the first time I tried, I got angrier and angrier as the "good deed" went on. But I ended the day without using and even had a pretty woman smile at me at the store.
Since then doing a good deed is kind of a way of life. Today, my pharmacist told me I was the most patient customer they had and, what knocked me for a loop, that I was "an optimist." How the hell did that happen?
Being good requires work I have learned because nowadays I have what the medical profession calls "co-morbidities", a series of illnesses and conditions that require medication AND remaining stable. I have PTSD, hypertension, diabetes, Mennierre's disease, diabetes type two, a heart condition (tachycardia) and, to top off this cocktail - migraines.

Some days I just want to kill some people. But if I allow that negativity to continue, all my issues will get worse, more painful and to top it off will piss off all the people around me.

So I try to lead a moral life, not judge others, not inconvenience others, be of service to my fellow man, and have good cheer....for MY sake. I have been miserable over the long term, and don't need to go back there to know it's ugly. It may be painful for me at times, but any day that I do not succumb becomes a bonus as I know that somewhere along that day something good will happen that will make me smile.

It IS a good life when you treat it well
 
Nilly said:
I'm an atheist and a hedonist, but being a hedonist doesn't mean you do everything solely for yourself. I've always thought (I still do) that pursuing happiness is the only real 'meaning of life' and whilst it might be easy to dismiss hedonists as simple selfish pleasure seekers, that isn't necessarily the case. Many people achieve happiness, fulfillment or meaning through seeing others achieve and grow, through helping their community, through safeguarding nature, through applying their talents in art, through discovery of new places and things, or simply in being useful. You're living for yourself, but that isn't necessarily mutually exclusive with doing good for the world around you.

This is something I learnt recently when I went traveling for an extended period of time. The whole experience was one thrill inducing pleasure seeking hedonistic ride, but I found the most happiness and meaning out of the time I spent volunteering - contributing to something bigger than I am. The times partying and beach-going were fun but after a while left me a little empty.
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If there is no afterlife - pleasures are limited to our physical senses.


I suppose....those who've been born with disabilities - or, those who are suddenly stricken with illnesses, or those who languish in poverty - will just have to live with the fact that they can not pursue the sensual pleasures in this world. They are the "unlucky" ones.

To have their one shot at life, wasted. Too bad. Of course, that's how I imagine they must feel.
 
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beefheart said:
I don't believe in an afterlife...but I have no desire to kill or rape or lead a bad life.

Religion <> morality
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Generally speaking.....
I'd guess, it's because we've got societal laws that deter. Surely, to spend the rest of one's ONLY life in prison.....is not a good idea.

I wonder how it will be like if there's no consequence for crimes.
We see a brutal life in survivalist movies, a time when there are no longer any laws, or no one to enforce them.
 
I am an agnostic. I do believe in Karma and my own form of "religion" that doesn't follow a book. Be the best you can and do no harm to others. Simple, but works for me :)
 
tosca1 said:
But, why? Why kindness?
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We evolved that way. We are a social species. We are slow and weak and our children take years to mature. Humans wouldn’t have faired too well as individuals back in the day when we weren’t necessarily at the top of the food chain.
 
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