Would you believe in God if there was no promise of an afterlife?

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

I don’t think the two are connected.

We believe God loves us and wants our salvation.

However, He also created rocks and bugs and things that aren’t promised eternal life.

 

[SeekSalvation]

Would you believe in God if there was no afterlife?

He wouldn’t be God.

 

[drac16]

I would still spend my life following Him. Regardless of whether there is or is not an afterlife, God has given me so much. He is still worthy of worship even without an afterlife. I don’t serve Him because I want something from Him – I worship Him because I love Him and He deserves my devotion.

 

[Freddy]

Would you believe in God if there was no afterlife?

The question makes no sense to me. You either believe in God or you don’t. It’s not like there is a list of items to tick and if you get 100 points you believe.

 

[Shakuhachi]

Sure. In fact I think many OT Jews did not believe in afterlife.

 

[Pattylt]

Would you believe in God if there was no afterlife?

The Jews did!

 

[ralfyman]

Perhaps that may seen in light of the Paschal Mystery.

 

[lelinator]

nicholasG:

Would you believe in God if there was no afterlife?

The Jews did!

I’d be interested in @meltzerboy2’s opinion on this one.

 

[Thom18]

I’d be a Sadducee.

 

[BornInMarch]

To answer the heart of the OP’s question…we shouldn’t love God for the benefits that might accrue to us, we should love God for the purpose of love: because God is good and holy and deserving of our love, and to be united with God is awesome.

Goodness isn’t an inherent quality, but is a measure of one’s actions and intentions. If you were asked “is this person or that person good?”, your answer would probably be informed by the actions and intentions of the person.

Saying we shouldn’t love God for the promise of Heaven is like saying we shouldn’t love God for dying on the cross to save us, or like saying we shouldn’t love our mothers for nurturing and caring for us. Attributing our love for someone to something they did or do isn’t transactional, it’s giving that person credit for their good deeds and good intent.

The Sadducees had the belief that there was neither afterlife nor resurrection, that the souls of humans vanished on death, and yet they still outwardly honored God. The early Christians did not consider the Sadducees pious or humble - St. John the Baptist called them a brood of vipers.

 

[meltzerboy2]

Yes, the Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife yet they still believed in G-d. The Pharisees, however, believed in both G-d and an afterlife. And there were about 20 other Jewish sects of that time. I suppose at least some of them were similar to the Sadducees with regard to their non-belief in an afterlife. Even today, there are Jews who believe in G-d but not an afterlife.

 

[MarkRome]

There was a group of people that believed in God without believing the afterlife, the Sadducees.

Wait for it…

And that’s why they were sad, you see. Bwahahahaha!

Someone had to do it…

 

[goout]

goout:

To answer the heart of the OP’s question…we shouldn’t love God for the benefits that might accrue to us, we should love God for the purpose of love: because God is good and holy and deserving of our love, and to be united with God is awesome.

Goodness isn’t an inherent quality, but is a measure of one’s actions and intentions. If you were asked “is this person or that person good?”, your answer would probably be informed by the actions and intentions of the person.

Saying we shouldn’t love God for the promise of Heaven is like saying we shouldn’t love God for dying on the cross to save us, or like saying we shouldn’t love our mothers for nurturing and caring for us. Attributing our love for someone to something they did or do isn’t transactional, it’s giving that person credit for their good deeds and good intent.

The Sadducees had the belief that there was neither afterlife nor resurrection, that the souls of humans vanished on death, and yet they still outwardly honored God. The early Christians did not consider the Sadducees pious or humble - St. John the Baptist called them a brood of vipers.

There is a resurrection. And the kingdom of God is here now, it is not a benefit that accrues to us, like a paycheck. We are incorporated into it, to the degree that we cooperate with God’s grace.
My intent was to address the mercenary point of view that is so common.

 

[IWantGod]

Would you believe in God if there was no afterlife?

If there is no promise of an eternal relationship with God, then our being here is a bit pointless. If you was expendable in any relationship you would hardly see the point of them.

The whole point of Christianity is that God is our natural end, our ultimate existential fulfilment. God is the point and purpose and the fulfilment of meaning to our existence. That’s why we worship God.

It comes down to value. What is my value to God. If i am existentially expendable then God does not intend a unique relationship with me, he might as well be indifferent, and there would not be much point in having a relationship with him on the basis that he is God. To me he would just be another person among other persons.

Belief in the idea that there is a God is a rational premise for me. I think it’s rational to believe that there is a God. But would i worship God if God was indifferent to my destiny as a person? The answer is no.

 

[nicholasG]

If there is no promise of an eternal relationship with God, then our being here is a bit pointless. If you was expendable in any relationship you would hardly see the point of them.

The whole point of Christianity is that God is our natural end, our ultimate existential fulfilment. God is the point and purpose and the fulfilment of meaning to our existence

It comes down to value. What is my value to God. If i am existentially expendable then God does not intend a unique relationship with me, he might as well be indifferent, and there would not be much point in having a relationship with him on the basis that he is God. To me he would just be another person among other persons.

Belief in the idea that there is a God is a rational premise for me. I think it’s rational to believe that there is a God. But would i worship God if God was indifferent to my destiny? The answer is no .

Very well said. I hadn’t thought about it in this way but your answer does makes a sense.
Thank You.

 

[lelinator]

Belief in the idea that there is a God is a rational premise for me. I think it’s rational to believe that there is a God.

But would i worship God if God was indifferent to my destiny as a person? The answer is no .

You do see the glaring conflict of interest in these two statements…right?

 

[IWantGod]

You do see the glaring conflict of interest in these two statements…right?

No…I don’t. You can believe that something exists without having any relationship with it.

Secondly, i don’t believe that God is existentially indifferent to us. I am merely explaining how i would relate to him if he was.

 

[lelinator]

lelinator:

You do see the glaring conflict of interest in these two statements…right?

No…I don’t.

Ah…well there’s the problem in a nutshell.

 

[IWantGod]

Ah…well there’s the problem in a nutshell.

You have failed to identify and demonstrate that there is a problem in the first place so i will just put this down to immaturity on your part and ignore it.

 

[lelinator]

You have failed to identify and demonstrate that there is a problem in the first place so i will just put this down to immaturity on your part and ignore it.

As you wish. As I often say, people believe what they want to believe, or maybe they simply believe what they’re preconditioned to believe, by nature and nurture, . So there are certain things that you simply want to believe…the perplexing question is…why?

And this is why your two statements above represent a conflict of interest, because believing one, makes you highly motivated to believe the other.