Easy Life of an Atheist

[steve-b]

I’m glad someone brought hell up. Can we have a show of hands of all those who have no doubt that they are going to avoid hell?

No-one? Great.

Imagine if someone said there was a one in a thousand chance that you were going to be kidnapped and tortured for a month. Imagine if it was one in a million but it would be your child. You would be insane with worry. It might drive you mad.

Now consider the chances of you suffering torment for…eternity. It would drive you mad. But I see no evidence of this. So what conclusions can we draw?

An atheist, or anyone for that matter, wishing hell doesn’t exist, doesn’t make that so. Especially considering, the one who created us, and incarnated, lived, died to save us from that possibility of hell, (providing we obey Him). Then he’s seen again alive, resurrected from the dead, and seen ascending back to heaven…where we would like to be some day

Using a secular argument, Betting on your view, there’s 2 possibilities. Either you are right or you’re wrong. If you’re right then there is no Jesus, no story to go along with it, and there is no existence after death. Bottom line, there’s no harm no foul then, No consequences either good or bad for our life, Jesus and hell don’t exist and we’re dead for eternity.

But if you’re wrong, well there is no changing your mind after you’re dead.

You aren’t leaving yourself any options.

 

[Autumn-Smoke]

I was only saying that the Psalmist was wondering the same things as the OP was wondering: Why a servant of the Lord does not fare better in this life than others who do not serve God. The answer, as the Psalmist said, is that the Servant of the Lord gets his/her reward in the life to come.

But I’m getting ready to leave the country for 2 weeks, so I won’t be back on this thread and won’t be addressing any more comments. So I hope the OP finds the answers to the original question.

 

[Inquisitor85]

Pascal’s Wager? The problem with that is it equally applies to any deity from history. Essentially the only way to win that game is to believe in every god from every religion that has ever been created or will be created, and then to follow all of their rules exactly to the letter, while simultaneously praying to all of them.

 

[steve-b]

Pascal’s Wager?

yes

The problem with that is it equally applies to any deity from history. Essentially the only way to win that game is to believe in every god from every religion that has ever been created or will be created, and then to follow all of their rules exactly to the letter, while simultaneously praying to all of them.

The “wager” works because we aren’t talking about mixing falsehood with truth. We’re separating falsehood from truth. Only one is true.

 

[Bradskii]

Bradskii:

I’m glad someone brought hell up. Can we have a show of hands of all those who have no doubt that they are going to avoid hell?

No-one? Great.

Imagine if someone said there was a one in a thousand chance that you were going to be kidnapped and tortured for a month. Imagine if it was one in a million but it would be your child. You would be insane with worry. It might drive you mad.

Now consider the chances of you suffering torment for…eternity. It would drive you mad. But I see no evidence of this. So what conclusions can we draw?

An atheist, or anyone for that matter, wishing hell doesn’t exist, doesn’t make that so. Especially considering, the one who created us, and incarnated, lived, died to save us from that possibility of hell, (providing we obey Him). Then he’s seen again alive, resurrected from the dead, and seen ascending back to heaven…where we would like to be some day

Using a secular argument, Betting on your view, there’s 2 possibilities. Either you are right or you’re wrong. If you’re right then there is no Jesus, no story to go along with it, and there is no existence after death. Bottom line, there’s no harm no foul then, No consequences either good or bad for our life, Jesus and hell don’t exist and we’re dead for eternity.

But if you’re wrong, well there is no changing your mind after you’re dead.

You aren’t leaving yourself any options.

I’m not wishing hell doesn’t exist. Nor do I claim that it doesn’t.

I’m simply bemused by the attitudes of those who do believe it exists, will deny that they think they are holy enough to avoid it, yet seem totally nonplussed by the fact that they are facing the prospect.of ETERNAL punishment.

That makes no sense.

 

[steve-b]

I’m not wishing hell doesn’t exist. Nor do I claim that it doesn’t.

I’m simply bemused by the attitudes of those who do believe it exists, will deny that they think they are holy enough to avoid it, yet seem totally nonplussed by the fact that they are facing the prospect.of ETERNAL punishment.

That makes no sense.

Ah, I see your point, and I agree.

 

[Socrates92]

My Platoon Commander at Basic Training made the same point. “I guarantee the first time a bullet whizzes past your head, without even thinking the first words out of your mouth will be 'Oh my God, what have I done?”’ I enjoyed the mixed reactions of my comrades immensely.

 

[Nap66]

So I hope the OP finds the answers to the original question.

OP here. Unfortunately there is no answer to my original question, yet I keep asking it. Sad, huh? The only one that has the answer is God. Even Jesus didn’t have the answer to why nonbelievers seem to have blesssings more than believers, at least from a believer’s view. He said we would all have troubles and that God sends the rain on believers and nonbelievers alike. So what to take from that? Life on planet earth is one big crapola!

Still, for me, I guess what it comes down to is that with my troubles I have God to help me through it and the faith that I will have better things waiting for me after this life. For a nonbeliever, how do you get through troubles on this earth all by yourself with only other troubled-people to help you? Seems very hard and depressing. Or maybe you don’t have troubles - which proves my origin point (just kidding, I know you have troubles).

 

[Nap66]

I’m simply bemused by the attitudes of those who do believe it exists, will deny that they think they are holy enough to avoid it, yet seem totally nonplussed by the fact that they are facing the prospect.of ETERNAL punishment.

I can explain it, maybe. We seem nonplussed because we know it will be a just punishment. We did our best on planet earth, had faith and belief in God, and when we die if God says “uh, no not good enough, off to hell with you.” I guarantee you we will believe and agree with God’s assessment. It’s probably a hard thing for atheists to understand since how could a God of love do that? But it will all be made clear on the other side and all our actions and beliefs on this earth will make total sense, whether we go to hell or heaven or sit in purgatory. It’s all what it should be and everything will be ok.

 

[Nap66]

Off topic. The thread is about atheists, not about the wicked.

Back in the psalmist days nonbelievers were considered “the wicked” even if they didn’t go around murdering people. That’s the way the jewish psalmists saw life from the wicked gentiles. Not off topic.

 

[Gingersnaps4]

It’s still an easy life, even if you have morality, which I’m sure they do havea morality system. There is just no need to worry about your future in the same way.

 

[HerCrazierHalf]

I guess what it comes down to is that with my troubles I have God to help me through it and the faith that I will have better things waiting for me after this life. For a nonbeliever, how do you get through troubles on this earth all by yourself with only other troubled-people to help you? Seems very hard and depressing. Or maybe you don’t have troubles - which proves my origin point (just kidding, I know you have troubles).

I guess it’s all in how one views their situation. I suppose the best I can explain it is that in life bad things happen. It is up to us to deal with them, sometimes with the help of others as you also help others when able.

But within this is the understanding (and for me acceptance) that not everything is fixable. Perhaps the key difference is that a believer doesn’t accept anything is unfixable in that it’s either something to be worked out by God during or even after your earthly lifetime. There is a certain peace in accepting the limits of our ability to affect certain things.

 

[Bradskii]

Bradskii:

I’m simply bemused by the attitudes of those who do believe it exists, will deny that they think they are holy enough to avoid it, yet seem totally nonplussed by the fact that they are facing the prospect.of ETERNAL punishment.

I can explain it, maybe. We seem nonplussed because we know it will be a just punishment. We did our best on planet earth, had faith and belief in God, and when we die if God says “uh, no not good enough, off to hell with you.” I guarantee you we will believe and agree with God’s assessment. It’s probably a hard thing for atheists to understand since how could a God of love do that? But it will all be made clear on the other side and all our actions and beliefs on this earth will make total sense, whether we go to hell or heaven or sit in purgatory. It’s all what it should be and everything will be ok.

Excuse me being blunt, but that’s abject nonsense. To suggest that you would shrug your shoulders and think ‘Ah well, I’m getting what I deserve - move over Adolf and give me a little room. Sinner coming through! Watch your backs!’ Well, I don’t think you fully realise what eternal torment might comprise.

It’s this attitude that has me completely bemused. I mean, how more terrifying can eternal torment actually be? You act like you’re being sent to your room.

 

[Bradskii]

PickyPicky:

Off topic. The thread is about atheists, not about the wicked.

Back in the psalmist days nonbelievers were considered “the wicked” even if they didn’t go around murdering people. That’s the way the jewish psalmists saw life from the wicked gentiles. Not off topic.

So we can all agree that being an atheist in itself does not imply wickedness.

 

[Nap66]

Excuse me being blunt, but that’s abject nonsense.

That is your opinion. My opinion is that atheism is absolute nonsense. To think that all this came from nothing and will go to nothing is ridiculous. Everything is energy. This universe is energy and the energy continues on and on. God is energy. To think the complete opposite makes no sense to me.

It’s this attitude that has me completely bemused. I mean, how more terrifying can eternal torment actually be? You act like you’re being sent to your room.

Eternal damnation is the absence of God forever, so atheists should know what that is right now on earth. But atheists don’t know what it truly means because God is still in their lives, whether they choose to believe in him or or not. When you have made your choice to die as a nonbeliever willingly, then the real separation will occur. Will it matter to atheists then? Probably not since they have lived their entire lives in separation. The only difference is they will KNOW God exists for sure at that point. The separation will be acute then, and permanent, and God does not take joy in that fact.

 

[Inquisitor85]

You’ve basically restated the problem. The potential exists within the wager for both outcomes to lose, kind of like betting red or black on roulette and zero coming in.

 

[Bradskii]

Bradskii:

Excuse me being blunt, but that’s abject nonsense.

That is your opinion. My opinion is that atheism is absolute nonsense. To think that all this came from nothing and will go to nothing is ridiculous. Everything is energy. This universe is energy and the energy continues on and on. God is energy. To think the complete opposite makes no sense to me.

It’s this attitude that has me completely bemused. I mean, how more terrifying can eternal torment actually be? You act like you’re being sent to your room.

Eternal damnation is the absence of God forever, so atheists should know what that is right now on earth. But atheists don’t know what it truly means because God is still in their lives, whether they choose to believe in him or or not. When you have made your choice to die as a nonbeliever willingly, then the real separation will occur. Will it matter to atheists then? Probably not since they have lived their entire lives in separation. The only difference is they will KNOW God exists for sure at that point. The separation will be acute then, and permanent, and God does not take joy in that fact.

But you act as if you had no fear of hell. That if it comes, it comes.

Do you want to be separated from God for eternity? Is that the worstnpunishment you could conceive?

 

[Bradskii]

Everything is energy. This universe is energy and the energy continues on and on. God is energy.

Do you know the sum total of the energy in the universe?

 

[Lee1]

Does God lay off from atheists because he knows if he sends trials and tribulations to atheists it will not bring them closer to him since atheists do not believe in God?

No. Though I’ve never been a complete atheist, I have tasted the desolation of that illusion and it made every trial and tribulation far far worse and eventually led me to become Catholic.

Is that the worstnpunishment you could conceive?

I can conceive of being brought before the awesome piercing intellect of God like a molecule under a microscope, on my knees before The Almighty and feeling the immeasurably benign affection which impinges on every part of my tiny being and sensing the understanding of every word, action and thought that occurred in my brief existence on earth trembling with joy at the shear magnitude of unconditional positive regard for me…and then in the gentlest way slowly being turned away knowing I’d been rejected. My God, my only True love to be separated from my Creator, my Heavenly Father for eternity would be the worst and most terrible thing I can conceive of.
I quake to think of it.

 

[Lee1]

That’s a shame you think that. I quaked.