It's not for me to judge, but honestly if someone is an evil person who makes no effort to ask God for forgiveness, or change his, or her evil ways then that person has kinda brought it on his, or herself. All a person has to do to avoid eternal damnation is to accept Jesus as their Lord, and savior, and repent of their sins.
If you're afraid of Hell then maybe you ought to rethink your beliefs, because you sound awfully afraid of a place that atheists don't believe exists.
That's ridiculous! The burden of proof is on the people who assert that there IS a God, not on the people who don't assert that. I mean, I take it you don't beileve in leprechauns, pixies, etc., but can you prove they definitely don't exist? No, but the burden of proof is on the people who assert they DO exist. The same goes for God.
Nope, I'm sorry you think that I owe it to you to prove the existence of God in way that suits you, but I don't think so. I believe in God, because I have faith in him, and that's good enough for me in my life. You have the freewill to decide what you're going to believe. I'm not interested in arguing about this.
This whole business of not believing in God, but being afraid of Hell is your personal journey, and no can take that journey for you. It's your job to seek out these answers for yourself.
"I'm sorry you think that I owe it to you to prove the existence of God"
I don't think you owe me anything. All I'm saying is that the burden of proof is on people who assert stuff (like the existence of God, for example). I'm not saying there definitely is no God, but until it's proven that he/she/it exists, it just isn't reasonable to believe that he/she/it does.
"I believe in God, because I have faith in him"
You can believe anything you want; it doesn't concern me in the least. I will say, however, that "faith" is just another word for "gullibility." After all, is there ANYTHING one couldn't believe on faith? No, there isn't.
"You have the freewill to decide what you're going to believe."
I'm not sure you can decide what you're going to believe. I'd say that you're either convinced of something or you're not. As for free will, I've already told you that that, according to many people, is an illusion. I have also provided a link to a video explaining it, but you've refused to look at it. Pretty weird, since you explicitly asked me in what way these people say we don't have free will.
"This whole business of not believing in God, but being afraid of Hell is your personal journey"
True. I'm far less afraid of Hell now, though, because I've come to realize that there is just as much (or as little) reason to fear the Hell's of all the other religions out there. Also, if I believed in the Christian God, it would purely be out of fear, which, of course, wouldn't be sincere. Moreover, I couldn't even worship the Christian God, because, according to the Bible, he's an evil monster. My conscience simply won't allow it. I believe in being a kind person, which I think I generally am. I think that's enough.
"if someone is an evil person who makes no effort to ask God for forgiveness, or change his, or her evil ways then that person has kinda brought it on his, or herself."
I'm not evil, but it seems to me that even people who ARE evil, still don't deserve infinite torture for finite crimes. That just doesn't make sense. Speaking of evil, do you know who creates it according to the Bible? God. Just read Isaiah 45:7.
"All a person has to do to avoid eternal damnation is to accept Jesus as their Lord, and savior, and repent of their sins."
So, if you don't accept Jesus, you'll be damned, huh? That seems like pure blackmail to me. Also, what if Christianity isn't the answer and there is some other God? How would they respond to you?
"If you're afraid of Hell then maybe you ought to rethink your beliefs, because you sound awfully afraid of a place that atheists don't believe exists."
I've come to realize that there is just as much (or as little) reason to fear the Hell of Christianity, than it is to fear all the Hells of all the other religions. In any case, God can't expect me to believe in him, if he doesn't provide any evidence. I'll just try to be a decent and kind human being and that should be enough if it turns out there is a God.
Well, I'm not an evil person. While I've done some really shitty things, I think I'm generally a kind person. Even IF you are truly evil, though, I STILL don't think you deserve eternal torment. Temporary, yes, but not eternal. Finite deeds don't warant infinite punishment.
I've tried very hard to believe, but I just can't. I honestly think Yahweh (were he to exist) is a vile monster. One of the MANY examples of this is the story of the Egyptian firstborn in Exodus. I can't possibly worship such an utterly disgusting bully. My conscience and morality simply won't allow it. I don't see how anyone can worship this celestial thug. If I were to believe, it would be exclusively out of fear, which wouldn't, of course, be sincere in the least.
However, weird as it sounds, I, as an atheist, am indeed awfully afraid of Hell. A lot of atheists actually have this fear. Why? The guy in the following video explains it very well.
Well, the only solution I have to get rid of a fear of Hell is to have faith in Jesus Christ, and accept him as your Lord, and Savior. Jesus loves you! We're all children of God, and made in his image.
You are free to believe in whatever you want to believe in, if you can't bring yourself to believe in a Judeo-Christian God at least try to be the best person you can be.
I know you don't want to pray, because you're an atheist, and all that but you could always pray for the willingness to be willing. It literally takes only a few seconds to pray for that!
"the only solution I have to get rid of a fear of Hell is to have faith in Jesus Christ"
But what if it's actually a different religion that's true?
"Jesus loves you!"
How do you know? It's a nice thought, but I highly doubt it. Also, according to Matthew 15:24, Jesus said: "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." That doesn't seem to include me.
"We're all children of God, and made in his image."
Again, how do you know? And are people with Down's Syndrome made in God's image too?
"You are free to believe in whatever you want to believe in"
Not really, if the consequence of not believing in Jesus is burning forever. A truly free choice doesn't have negative consequences.
"if you can't bring yourself to believe in a Judeo-Christian God at least try to be the best person you can be."
Yes. But just out of curiosity, though, doesn't such a person go to Hell according to your religion, regardless of how nice, etc. they may have been?
"you could always pray for the willingness to be willing."
I've tried that many times, but to no avail. Nothing happened. Moreover, if everything happens according to God's plan anyway, prayer is useless (except for clearing your head maybe).
You have a decision to make. Which is greater your atheism, or your fear of Hell?
Okay, this is just a shot in the dark, but perhaps you should study Buddhism? A lot of people see Buddhism as more of a philosophy than a religion.
You have to find some way to reconcile your lack of belief with your fear of damnation. If one believes in God, dies and there's no God it's not a much of a loss. If one doesn't believe in God, dies and it turns out there is a God it's another story.
"If one doesn't believe in God, dies and it turns out there is a God it's another story."
In this story, it depends if God is good, or vengeful.
If you have lived a good life and God is good
then
.....He will reward you;
Else if you have lived a good life and God is vengeful
.....You will be glad you chose goodness and didn't fear a God that was a jerk;
End if;
It all seems pretty simple to me. Think ethically and don't get conned by emotional thinking.
Religion is frustrating
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It's not for me to judge, but honestly if someone is an evil person who makes no effort to ask God for forgiveness, or change his, or her evil ways then that person has kinda brought it on his, or herself. All a person has to do to avoid eternal damnation is to accept Jesus as their Lord, and savior, and repent of their sins.
If you're afraid of Hell then maybe you ought to rethink your beliefs, because you sound awfully afraid of a place that atheists don't believe exists.
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Hubbard
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But what if someone was a kind person who simply saw no evidence of God?
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RoseIsabella
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Well, there certainly isn't any evidence that I can see that disproves the existence of God either.
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BLAh81
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There also isn't any evidence that disproves the existence of the Easter Bunny. Is that a valid reason to believe it exists? The OP is 100% right.
That's ridiculous! The burden of proof is on the people who assert that there IS a God, not on the people who don't assert that. I mean, I take it you don't beileve in leprechauns, pixies, etc., but can you prove they definitely don't exist? No, but the burden of proof is on the people who assert they DO exist. The same goes for God.
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RoseIsabella
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Nope, I'm sorry you think that I owe it to you to prove the existence of God in way that suits you, but I don't think so. I believe in God, because I have faith in him, and that's good enough for me in my life. You have the freewill to decide what you're going to believe. I'm not interested in arguing about this.
This whole business of not believing in God, but being afraid of Hell is your personal journey, and no can take that journey for you. It's your job to seek out these answers for yourself.
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"I'm sorry you think that I owe it to you to prove the existence of God"
I don't think you owe me anything. All I'm saying is that the burden of proof is on people who assert stuff (like the existence of God, for example). I'm not saying there definitely is no God, but until it's proven that he/she/it exists, it just isn't reasonable to believe that he/she/it does.
"I believe in God, because I have faith in him"
You can believe anything you want; it doesn't concern me in the least. I will say, however, that "faith" is just another word for "gullibility." After all, is there ANYTHING one couldn't believe on faith? No, there isn't.
"You have the freewill to decide what you're going to believe."
I'm not sure you can decide what you're going to believe. I'd say that you're either convinced of something or you're not. As for free will, I've already told you that that, according to many people, is an illusion. I have also provided a link to a video explaining it, but you've refused to look at it. Pretty weird, since you explicitly asked me in what way these people say we don't have free will.
"This whole business of not believing in God, but being afraid of Hell is your personal journey"
True. I'm far less afraid of Hell now, though, because I've come to realize that there is just as much (or as little) reason to fear the Hell's of all the other religions out there. Also, if I believed in the Christian God, it would purely be out of fear, which, of course, wouldn't be sincere. Moreover, I couldn't even worship the Christian God, because, according to the Bible, he's an evil monster. My conscience simply won't allow it. I believe in being a kind person, which I think I generally am. I think that's enough.
"if someone is an evil person who makes no effort to ask God for forgiveness, or change his, or her evil ways then that person has kinda brought it on his, or herself."
I'm not evil, but it seems to me that even people who ARE evil, still don't deserve infinite torture for finite crimes. That just doesn't make sense. Speaking of evil, do you know who creates it according to the Bible? God. Just read Isaiah 45:7.
"All a person has to do to avoid eternal damnation is to accept Jesus as their Lord, and savior, and repent of their sins."
So, if you don't accept Jesus, you'll be damned, huh? That seems like pure blackmail to me. Also, what if Christianity isn't the answer and there is some other God? How would they respond to you?
"If you're afraid of Hell then maybe you ought to rethink your beliefs, because you sound awfully afraid of a place that atheists don't believe exists."
I've come to realize that there is just as much (or as little) reason to fear the Hell of Christianity, than it is to fear all the Hells of all the other religions. In any case, God can't expect me to believe in him, if he doesn't provide any evidence. I'll just try to be a decent and kind human being and that should be enough if it turns out there is a God.
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RoseIsabella
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Okay, good luck with that.
... and no, I'm not trying to be sarcastic.
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BLAh81
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Thank you.
Well, I'm not an evil person. While I've done some really shitty things, I think I'm generally a kind person. Even IF you are truly evil, though, I STILL don't think you deserve eternal torment. Temporary, yes, but not eternal. Finite deeds don't warant infinite punishment.
I've tried very hard to believe, but I just can't. I honestly think Yahweh (were he to exist) is a vile monster. One of the MANY examples of this is the story of the Egyptian firstborn in Exodus. I can't possibly worship such an utterly disgusting bully. My conscience and morality simply won't allow it. I don't see how anyone can worship this celestial thug. If I were to believe, it would be exclusively out of fear, which wouldn't, of course, be sincere in the least.
However, weird as it sounds, I, as an atheist, am indeed awfully afraid of Hell. A lot of atheists actually have this fear. Why? The guy in the following video explains it very well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrfBFZggqhg
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RoseIsabella
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Well, the only solution I have to get rid of a fear of Hell is to have faith in Jesus Christ, and accept him as your Lord, and Savior. Jesus loves you! We're all children of God, and made in his image.
You are free to believe in whatever you want to believe in, if you can't bring yourself to believe in a Judeo-Christian God at least try to be the best person you can be.
I know you don't want to pray, because you're an atheist, and all that but you could always pray for the willingness to be willing. It literally takes only a few seconds to pray for that!
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Anonymous Post Author
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"the only solution I have to get rid of a fear of Hell is to have faith in Jesus Christ"
But what if it's actually a different religion that's true?
"Jesus loves you!"
How do you know? It's a nice thought, but I highly doubt it. Also, according to Matthew 15:24, Jesus said: "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." That doesn't seem to include me.
"We're all children of God, and made in his image."
Again, how do you know? And are people with Down's Syndrome made in God's image too?
"You are free to believe in whatever you want to believe in"
Not really, if the consequence of not believing in Jesus is burning forever. A truly free choice doesn't have negative consequences.
"if you can't bring yourself to believe in a Judeo-Christian God at least try to be the best person you can be."
Yes. But just out of curiosity, though, doesn't such a person go to Hell according to your religion, regardless of how nice, etc. they may have been?
"you could always pray for the willingness to be willing."
I've tried that many times, but to no avail. Nothing happened. Moreover, if everything happens according to God's plan anyway, prayer is useless (except for clearing your head maybe).
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RoseIsabella
2 years ago
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Well, what do you want me to tell you, man?
You have a decision to make. Which is greater your atheism, or your fear of Hell?
Okay, this is just a shot in the dark, but perhaps you should study Buddhism? A lot of people see Buddhism as more of a philosophy than a religion.
You have to find some way to reconcile your lack of belief with your fear of damnation. If one believes in God, dies and there's no God it's not a much of a loss. If one doesn't believe in God, dies and it turns out there is a God it's another story.
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dude_Jones
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"If one doesn't believe in God, dies and it turns out there is a God it's another story."
In this story, it depends if God is good, or vengeful.
If you have lived a good life and God is good
then
.....He will reward you;
Else if you have lived a good life and God is vengeful
.....You will be glad you chose goodness and didn't fear a God that was a jerk;
End if;
It all seems pretty simple to me. Think ethically and don't get conned by emotional thinking.
--
BLAh81
2 years ago
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Well reasoned.