Heaven or Hell-??

[aseeker]

I would like to pose a question in two parts:

1) Atheists and Agnostics:

IF you found out for SURE that there is a Hell that is even worse than we have heard and a Heaven that is even better than we have heard, would you change anything that you are doing in your life?

2) Christians and other Believers:

IF you found out for SURE that there is NO Hell after life and No Heaven after life - (when we are dead, we are dead), would you change anything that you are doing in your life?

I used to be 1) and now am 2) and have some comments, but I want to hold them to see if there are any other comments on this.

Remember I said IF - I am not arguing the existence or non-existence of either.

[Jack]

As an atheist I'll say sure, I'd be foolish to choose suffering over reward. The same way I'd behave if it were proven that not smoking and eating a healthy diet exclusively could absolutely guarantee living to 150. I have no desire to make my life miserable if it's within my control to make it pleasant without sacrificing my intelligence and knowledge.

[B.Lev]

As an atheist I'll say sure, I'd be foolish to choose suffering over reward. The same way I'd behave if it were proven that not smoking and eating a healthy diet exclusively could absolutely guarantee living to 150. I have no desire to make my life miserable if it's within my control to make it pleasant without sacrificing my intelligence and knowledge.

I agree with your reasoning on this one mate. That being said, I think this is something of a meaningless question as it involves knowing fundamentally unknowable things. I think the real question that this thread is asking of atheists and agnostics (I find myself somewhere in the latter category) is: would you change your life if it could insure that you do not experience eternal suffering, and I can only imagine that no one would say no to that.

I think the much more interesting discussion will arise when some more concretely religious individuals then myself reply, as I think the more interesting question is that posed to them: If you found out that you don't have to worry about any punishment after death, would you change how you act?

After all, it was not without reason that Nietzsche called Christianity a hangman's metaphysics.

[Billingsley]

I'm a person of faith and I don't think I'd alter my actions all that much if I found out there was positively no afterlife. I'm a rather happy individual and I don't think I'm being held back in any respects as to how I live my life. I don't believe because I fear death; I believe because a pursuit of the Christian path has completely changed my life for the better.


Billingsley.

[B.Lev]

I'm a person of faith and I don't think I'd alter my actions all that much if I found out there was positively no afterlife. I'm a rather happy individual and I don't think I'm being held back in any respects as to how I live my life. I don't believe because I fear death; I believe because a pursuit of the Christian path has completely changed my life for the better.


Billingsley.

I applaud you sir. Your outlook on Christianity is, in my opinion, much more in line with the true purpose of any religion: trying to learn how to live a good life. I think the world would be a much better place if that were how more people addressed religion, not as an attempt to learn about, for example, astronomy (for surely the sun must not stand still!), but rather as an attempt to learn about our lives, and what we might do to make them good.

[aseeker]

I agree with your reasoning on this one mate. That being said, I think this is something of a meaningless question as it involves knowing fundamentally unknowable things. I think the real question that this thread is asking of atheists and agnostics (I find myself somewhere in the latter category) is: would you change your life if it could insure that you do not experience eternal suffering, and I can only imagine that no one would say no to that.

I think the much more interesting discussion will arise when some more concretely religious individuals then myself reply, as I think the more interesting question is that posed to them: If you found out that you don't have to worry about any punishment after death, would you change how you act?

After all, it was not without reason that Nietzsche called Christianity a hangman's metaphysics.

Thank you for rephrasing my question. I now understand it and will try to answer.
The answer, as a Christian, who does most of the common Christian things, is a Resounding NO! Personally I had made a very unpleasant little Hell for myself here on earth by over-indulgence in the types of "pleasures" the Christian life warns me against. I honestly am so much happier now that I am not that concerned about the afterlife. Been there ("hell") done that, no thanks! Heaven would be nice, I guess, but we have to wait and see.

[aseeker]

I'm a person of faith and I don't think I'd alter my actions all that much if I found out there was positively no afterlife. I'm a rather happy individual and I don't think I'm being held back in any respects as to how I live my life. I don't believe because I fear death; I believe because a pursuit of the Christian path has completely changed my life for the better.


Billingsley.

Thanks - I feel pretty much the same way.

[aseeker]

I applaud you sir. Your outlook on Christianity is, in my opinion, much more in line with the true purpose of any religion: trying to learn how to live a good life. I think the world would be a much better place if that were how more people addressed religion, not as an attempt to learn about, for example, astronomy (for surely the sun must not stand still!), but rather as an attempt to learn about our lives, and what we might do to make them good.

Agree!!

[B.Lev]

Thank you for rephrasing my question. I now understand it and will try to answer.
The answer, as a Christian, who does most of the common Christian things, is a Resounding NO! Personally I had made a very unpleasant little Hell for myself here on earth by over-indulgence in the types of "pleasures" the Christian life warns me against. I honestly am so much happier now that I am not that concerned about the afterlife. Been there ("hell") done that, no thanks! Heaven would be nice, I guess, but we have to wait and see.

I'm glad to help . I know my way of writing is a bit pretentious and aloof at times, so I'm glad to hear that it actually helped instead of irritated .

[aseeker]

I'm glad to help . I know my way of writing is a bit pretentious and aloof at times, so I'm glad to hear that it actually helped instead of irritated .

Hey, thats cool - thanks for your reply!

[Jack]

Let's not forget Mark Twain's contribution to this topic, "Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company."

[RickSp]

This strikes me as a particularly silly question.

I am an atheist because I see no reason to believe in any of the various mythologies that are currently popular. If I found out that there was a reason to believe in any one god or gods, and knowing for sure about heaven or hell would qualify, then I would no longer be an atheist.

Would I change anything in my life? Probably not much. Other than spending time attempting to learn more about the newly discovered deity I would still try to live a moral life, which is what I am aiming for now.