If you live as if there is no God, you better hope there isn't one, amirite?

Pascal's Wager is a fool's bet.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

...how so?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

It states that if you believe in God, you have a mathematical advantage over atheists. However, since there have been hundreds of religions and gods throughout history, there is a high probability that most people are following the wrong god, therefore eliminating any statistical advantage for theists. You will almost surely pick the wrong "one true God."

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Pascal's Wager doesn't involved picking the "one true God," but just the fact that it's advantageous to believe in God in general. Not anything mathematical...simply the view that if you don't believe in God and then you die and there really isn't...whoop-de-doo for you. But if you don't believe in God and you die and there is a God...that might suck for you. So it's in your best interest to just believe.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

The perceived advantage is insignificant, to say the least. There is an infinite number of religions and gods. Believing and following one sect of religion/god out of an infinity of choices does not give you any real edge over choosing none.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Again, neither Pascal's Wager nor this post involves choosing one religion over the others.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yes, the Wager and this post deal with choosing to follow a religion over not choosing to follow a religion. I was using the infinite amount of other religions to show that there is no significant advantage in choosing to follow a religion, which is why I disagree with both this post and Pascal.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

In regards to the abundance of religions slimming the chance of choosing a "true religion:" yes, there are a lot of religions. And yes, this means if you're searching for a "true God," it may be difficult to find him. (Maybe they aren't different Gods, but many wrong ways of looking at God, but that's another topic.) However, even with this probability, the fact that if God exists in ANY form, it's best to believe in God rather than assume there isn't one...is still correct. In regards to this post: the subject is whether you should "hope" for the existence of a God, not whether you should actually believe in one. In this sense, Pascal's Wager remains logical.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I honestly do not see the advantage of belief in a form of a god. The marginal benefit of choosing the correct god is negated by the high probability that your life was spent following a form of god that does not exist. Regarding the post, I still do not agree that atheists should hope that they are correct. I believe that, even if there was a God, He would be accepting of anyone who lived as a genuinely good person. I appreciate the intelligent debating, but I think it's time to call a truce...deal?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZpJ7yUPwdU

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Not really, cuz I don't think there's any reason whatsoever to believe in one, but whatever.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You're just pissed that Noah left without you guys being on the ark!

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I thought this amazing God loves all his children no matter what and excepts all their sins and what not...

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yeah he loves all his children no matter what. But, children have to be punished for their bad deeds, and those who do not commit themselves and thank God every day that they have a life, need to be punished.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Haha that sounds ridiculous but it's your religion, I'll respect that

by Anonymous 13 years ago

An eternal punishment for a ternal crime isn't right by any standards

by Anonymous 13 years ago

a sin is a ternal choice. But accepting God is an eternal choice. A sin can be forgiven, the slate wiped clean... But refusing to believe in God is an eternal choice.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Accepting god isn't an eternal choice. I accepted him at one point

by Anonymous 13 years ago

the consequences of sin are not eternal. But the consequences of that one choice is. You can change your answer on the quiz, but once you turn that quiz in... you get the grade for the answer

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Sounds harsh. I'll stay neutral.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

There is no neutral. God says anyone who does not believe in him is his enemy.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

A parent may love their child and want the very best for him/her, but in the end, the child must make decisions for themselves. If the child makes the decision to drink and drive, they will suffer the consequences of that decision. Is it the parents fault? No. The parent still loves the child, but the child has to go to prison for a DUI.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Dude, that has to be one of the best arguments for God I have ever heard, seriously, haha.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yes, but in that case the police are throwing the children in jail. In the case of God, you're saying he throws his own children in a hell hole to rot because they kept an open mind and wondered of other possibilities.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Keeping an open mind is good. But in the end you have to make a choice... you cant stay on the fence for the rest of your life. God won't make your choice for you... because if he does, then we are robots. No, he wants us to choose him for ourselves. And if we dont... thats our fault, not his.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

this is prolly my favourite post.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

If you live as if there is a god. You may be disappointed when you die

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Why take chances?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

because I feel if there is a god then he would prefer me not to believe in him yet still do good in the world rather than lie to myself and to others telling them I believe in him 100% and waste my life proving to him I love him. To me believing in god is gambling my life. And I'm not willing to risk it on a hunch. Let's hope humanity is wrong about him and he takes this agnostic do gooder and not Catholics filled with horrendous yet forgiven sins Religion is corrupted and I apologize for the rant. It feels nice to let it out sometimes. I respect any religious person just not the religion itself

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Love that :D Best comment about religion I've read in awhile. (on amirite, the best)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Actually if there is no God, then there will probably no life after death....

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Are you following me?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Do you mean that figuratively or literally? If figuratively then yes. If literally then no, because this post just got homepaged and I happened to see it

by Anonymous 13 years ago

haha not really.. for a number of reasons. If we die, we die. Boom thats it. But i think people have the idea that believing in God means that you must have no fun in your life. And its actually not true.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I feel it limits those with greater potential. And that isn't true. You could be reincarnated. But the comment was exaggerated for effect.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

If you're reincarnated, you're not aware of your former life, you could be reincarnated right now and be going through the process and not even know it! Your previous life might have been completely dedicated to God. And you might have died as a martyr!

by Anonymous 13 years ago

How does believing in God limit people? Im not trying to be hostile i just really want to know your reasoning...

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I think that God would be forgiving. You'd just have to wait in purgatory until you are cleansed of your sins.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

What if right when you walked into a purgatory, the priest took out a gun and shot you (in the head or heart or head and heart)?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

i think that if have a remorseful heart about the sin you committed, and you are going to ask for forgiveness, the words dont need to be uttered. God already knows..

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Well yeah, but you know what I mean, d'arghhh. This person is talking about purposely sinning, just so they can be forgiven, in the last minute.... But if they get killed before they ask for the forgiveness, then they can't even say that they apologized

by Anonymous 13 years ago

God can see the heart, and he knows when we purposely mess up because we believe God will forgive us. God can see right through our schemes to beat the religious system. Honestly, i dont agree with any of that ^ ... If you mess up, and legitamitely feel sorry and guilty and you desire the forgiveness to life the guilt... then i believe God will forgive you!

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I agree with you on many points. But we are asked to confess and forsake our sins. Confessing you did something wrong is the first step in repenting. There's a reason you are required to say it out loud. It makes it harder to do. If repenting were easy then you could never become a better person which is the second part, forsaking your sins. Without the painful memory of the struggle you went through to repent you'd easily fall to temptation, and you'd be right back where you started. God is more than willing to forgive, but it is necessary for us to do it the right way.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You wouldn't "walk" into purgatory, because you'd be dead. It'd just be your soul going through the process of purification.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Oh right... well anyways THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT, it doesn't work like that!

by Anonymous 13 years ago

What point are you trying to make?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Arghh I dunno... you can't purposefully sin, just to take advantage of His forgiveness.... Besides if EVERYONE did that, then no one would be in Hell. I'm not saying people NEED to go to Hell, but it's obvious people are there (because people who have died and came back have said it)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

OH, I just read this post again and what you're saying makes sense. I was thinking of it as "if you live believing there is no God, you better hope there isn't one".

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Okay, cool. I was about to lose that argument....

by Anonymous 13 years ago

It's obvious that there are people in hell? What makes you say that? Or were you being sarcastic? also yes I am creeping your comment section hello

by Anonymous 13 years ago

STOP IT! STAY OUT OF MY LIFE AHHHH!!! I don't wanna have a religious debate :/

by Anonymous 13 years ago

If you live as though there won't be a zombie invasion, You better hope there isn't. If you live as though unicorns don't watch over you and decide what happens to you, you better hope there isn't. If you live your life as though bears can't get into your house through your pipes, you better hope they can't. By the end of the day, you realise you can't worry about everything

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yeah, but they didn't do anything to help you. God MADE you. Without him, there would be nothing. Unicorns and Zombies didn't do shit.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

We did so, screw you.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

He made us did he, explain Vestigial structures then.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

i was about to refute this, then realized that an internet debate probably won't make you see sense.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

None of those things are concerned with eternity. I know what you are trying to say... but God is an eternal matter.. zombies arent.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

They're walking dead. You might turn into one when you died. Seems eternal to me.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'd rather spend my life trying to help others and make a difference in their life than try to "save" myself and ask for forgiveness..

by Anonymous 13 years ago

The Bible says that you should make a difference in others lives, a lot like what Jesus did. And he made the ULTIMATE difference in others lives, by giving them eternal life.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You can do both at the same time! Thats the beauty of it... God wants you to help those in need. Its not like you have to choose one over the other.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

dude you kind of missed the entire point. YOU can't save yourself, that's what Jesus is there for. You ask for forgiveness ONCE and it's all forgiven. Then you can spend your life helping others and making a difference in their life.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You Christians can't even agree with each other on what's right or wrong. How is anybody else supposed to agree with you about your faith?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

What if you believe in God, but not in an afterlife?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

(KickAss)@1028451 (ender): What if you sang a song without a voice?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I don't think God and afterlife have to go hand in hand. What if our purpose is to serve God and contribute good to the world, and when you die you die? Why do our lives have to be based on judgements and promises of rewards?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

well i mean the bible teaches about an afterlife. You can't pick and choose what you like out of the bible

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Good thing I'm not Christian!

by Anonymous 13 years ago

so then what do you base your beliefs off of?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'm Jewish. So I guess the Old Testament. But there's not much emphasis on the afterlife in general in Judaism. A lot of my beliefs are just my perceptions of the world.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

the way i see it, why go day to day trying to please someone no one even knows for sure exists? why not just do what makes you happy (within reason) and if this god you all speak of that supposedly 'loves' everyone, he'll accept you into heaven (if there is one) if you were a good person. if this god will send me to hell just because i rejected him because he never did anything for me, why the hell would i want to believe in something like that?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

well you can't say the Christian God did nothing, if we are correct he died for your sins...

by Anonymous 13 years ago

thats not what i mean. i mean things i asked for, prayed for. reasonable things. didnt happen. i realized i wasted my time, so i stopped. and i realized my life is better now that i just get things done myself. that way i know it'll get done, in the time i want it done, not on someone else's time.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

no, he will not accept you when you get to heaven for "being a good person." and why the hell should God give you what you want? He is God, what does he owe you? and if you sat around waiting for God's thunder to come crashing out of heaven, no wonder you were wasting your time. he doesn't usually answer prayers that way. when you take the initiative to do something he can work through you subtly.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

if i cant get into heaven for just being a good person, why would i want to go there? id rather go to hell if it meant there would still be good people there, they just didnt believe in god. and isnt that what, as a christian, you're taught to do? pray for things you want? i found that when i prayed, nothing happened. so i take initiative now, and life is great, as I've said, because things I want actually happen. i'm still a good person. only now, i find i'm happier because i get things i want.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

i forgot that i was a terrible person with no morals for not believing in god. thanks for reminding me.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Nobody ever said that. This post is saying that i you live like God isn't real and do bad in the world, you better hope that god doesn't exist or else you will burn in a pit of sulfur forever.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'm sure God would love to see your profile pic. Why don't you stop trying to show as much of your chest as possible and start living like you say other people should.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Everybody sins. We are born into sin. I am not some Jesus freak, I was just sharing my beliefs. We all sin everyday, that is my sin. And my sin is nothing for you to judge. I am sure there is stuff in life that God would "Love" to see. But I am not judging you on it.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

interesting you say a pit of sulfur. why not gasoline? gasoline is very flammable after all. how could you know these things if you've never been there? these are the very trivial things in life.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

In the last book in the bible; Revelation, it is a man's visions in which God had shown him. It was visions of Heaven and Hell. He saw what is going to happen in the end, read that book, it is very interesting, even for non-believers.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

What worries me most is-do I believe in God because I do, or because I'm afraid of hell? Obviously God will know, but what if I don't know? Non sequitor I suppose.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Why do you people think you can possibly have ANY idea of what Gods intentions are? Believing in a God is a huge step of faith in the first place, but pretending to know his motives and plans are is a completely asinine ideal. At some point you have to draw the line between faith, and arrogance.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

But where would I get my fear and shame?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Has anyone here ever seen God? The answer is no so why do you believe? oooh i know because you have been indoctrinated go think for yourself for a change

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Saul in the book of Romans. But the sight was so magnificent, he went blind.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

If you believe in evolution, buddy, I'm gonna laugh. and I'm wondering...where did you get this comment from? you certainly couldn't have been indoctrinated with it. some people leave another religion or the atheism of their parents to believe, which is utterly thinking for themselves. others take what they have been taught and examine it to see if it is really true and something they want to believe for themselves.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

My philosophy is to just be a good person and help others, just because. Not to get into a fancy party after you die. Religion just isn't my kind of thing. Sure, it helps some people, but I think I'm a fairly good person, and I shouldn't need to fear God to prove it.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

fearing God has nothing to do with proving you are a good person...and heaven is not a fancy party, that would be Islam you're thinking of

by Anonymous 13 years ago

if god isnt real then how does the sun orbit the earth?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

a cool website if your agnostic is carm.org it'll help you decide what Christianity is really all about

by Anonymous 13 years ago

or you could live like there isnt one, then if there is, rape his fucking face

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Good plan. If there is, I'll take the back while you get his face.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Damn straight, lets do it!!

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Allahu Akbar!

by Anonymous 13 years ago

The only God I believe in is myself.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

If there is a god, why would he make you so ugly?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

If you believed in God you'd be a little nicer.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

since anyone can believe anything they want, then there are an infinite amount of possibilities for belief as well as disbelief, thus whether someone believes in something or does not believe in something does not really matter. It is not advantageous either way. For example, one could believe that anyone who believes in a god is damned to eternal hell, and likewise someone who believes in a conventional god will believe that non believers are the ones who are damned. Anyways, you have the same exact probability for redemption and or damnation (whether either exist no one can hope to ever find out.) Why not get over this fact and actually LIVE A LIFE rather than worrying about death.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

This is what people who believe don't want to hear. Their arguments are unfalsifiable and therefore will never be able to be proven, but this, however, makes sense. For those who believe, replace the word "god" with "Invisible Pink Unicorn" for one straight day and tell me you still believe that although this unicorn is invisible you have faith that it is indeed pink.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Forgive me, but I honestly don't understand. Why would God be so angry at a person's disbelief to confine them to an eternity of suffering? Without keeping an open mind, the world would never move forward. So why wouldn't he praise that his children believed that there might be other possibilities, aside from assuming that everything was created by Him?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You don't understand because God is too complex for you, and if you ever did understand him, then he really wouldn't be an all powerful and all knowing God. It isn't about punishment. God is a holy God, so sin cannot be in his presence. When we choose to sin, we are choosing to leave God. It's totally our fault, not him getting pissed just because he wants to. the thing about "Keeping an open mind and God will praise me" is fucking retarded. if you ACTUALLY wanted to understand, you would read the Bible which clearly explains or talk to someone who does.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You're a bundle of joy, aren't you? You, sir or madam, are the reason defenders of the Bible and God get a bad rep. Honestly, there's a way to answer someone without being an ass. Also, just because someone doesn't agree with your point of view doesn't make them retarded. Maybe that's just too complex for you to understand, though. Sorry.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I feel like these comments and arguments are just making us go in circles. We aren't changing anyones mind about anything.

by Anonymous 13 years ago