Atheists, God and the afterlife.

Interesting sentence.
Cause God, life and death has everything to do with each other.

If death shouldn't exist, nobody should search for God (or "a higher being").

 

There seems to be two things going on here. First, there is the ego/ cogito/ self-contained rational self [itself perhaps a product of history], and then there is this almost caricatured idea of Christianity which seems to be a mix of some concoction of Calvinism and whatever else that it has been dragged through down to the present time. In short, it is an ideologically informed anachronism that is either unable or unwilling to imaginatively engage with the substance of the past. It's actually a very impoverished and diminutive view of the world that can not get beyond the preconceptions and fashions of the present day. It's like a person thinking themselves locked within a dungeon, with their own little squalid candle as their only source for light, when all they need to do is take a walk outside to see the glory of God's green earth in the light of day.

 

I dont have enough faith to be a fat, fedora hat tipping atheist.

 

It seems to me that a lot of the counter arguments that non Christians use are linked to a faulty knowledge on what Christianity actually teaches. As @Buzz Lightyear mentioned, it's a mix of Calvinism and a mix of a literalistic interpretation of the bible.

The discussion of heaven and hell isn't something that we can simply over simplify and use as an excuse not to believe is something. It's the same as stating that I do not believe in a government because they send people to jail, therefore it isn't just or good. Over simplification can often times lead to many errors and poor judgment.

Now I'm not advocating for everyone to convert.. hell I could care less what you believe in. However if you're going to make an argument against any particular belief, it has to be logical and well researched. Simply judging a religion based on the mere image that is presented by society is simple ignorance.

If you really are genuinely interested in knowing what exactly do Christians believe, than talk to a Christian. Sit down with him/her and have a genuine conversation with them and try to keep an open mind, as well as putting effort into researching on what various church's hold to be true.

The topic of heaven and hell ranges dramatically from Protestantism to Orthodoxy.

I suggest to anyone reading this, to read a book called "Can a loving God be Wrathful". It takes this exact issue and breaks it down in the sense of what we actually believe on hell.

 

Its sad that we don't understand this.
We are all slaves to something. It might be your own needs(like PMO), money, family, fame, technology, some people(wife/husband/famous people) .. you name it.

The reality is that men(we) are made like this.

First of all God doesn't need us. There was no one and He was praisworthy. There will be no one and He will be praisworthy.
He is independent from everthing. If all the beings on earth would disbelieve in Him He would still be praisworthy, The King, The Lord of Majesty and Bounty. His kingdom wouldn't be lessened by it, just like the sahara dessert is not lessend by taking a grain of sand from it.

God created men, and made men like such that men need God.
Men wants to be free of god and be a slave to everything else how hypocrite is he? Men was granted the biggest gift, freedom. Freedom to choose to believe in Him who created him or deny Him.

 

There are descriptions in the Bible of orchards. Wouldn't you burn a bad tree in your orchard? Just because a tree is an apple tree doesn't mean you will keep a tree growing that doesn't bear fruit. You will chop it down and burn it. Nothing against the tree. Such it is with the kingdom of heaven. We qualify to occupy space in the mansions above as we have a pure heart and bear good fruit.

 

I agree. Although consider that concept of afterlife has existed before formal religion. Death does not have to be related to god.

Buddhism for example has nothing to do with deities yet believe there is life after death as only the "body" dies, not the life within the body. You "died" but you still live on. This concept has been there for some 10k years, way before formal religion.

 

It's exactly the other way around.
God sais: I love you, no matter how your circumstances are.
And because of that love, these circumstances will be bearable.

That's Godly

 

Let me ask you, do you love your parents? Are you obedient to them?

 

define freedom?!

you are free to do whatever you want right now? you can say what you want, do what you want and even don't do what you don't wanna do...
How can you still have no freedom ?

The fact that you hold that opinion is the proof of this