What if you're wrong??

What If You're Wrong???

(Let's say hypothetically, if humans were to somehow in the future be able to prove, without any doubt one of the "whats if's" below.)

Atheists - What if you're wrong, and The Christian God, Allah Etc. truly does exist??? Will you accept this outcome, or continue believing that God does not exist???

The Religious - What if you're wrong, and The Christian God, Allah Etc. truly does not exist??? Will you accept this outcome, or continue believing that God does exist???

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I as an atheist would not care, in fact I wish I could believe in a God like I used to. But I guess if it was proven that he existed, I wouldn't have to believe because I would know. Just like I know that it is sunny right now.





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[edit on 10/22/2008 by kinglizard]

Besides looking up "Pascal's Wager"
I would just say that as a Christian, if I am wrong, I lose nothing, if an athiest is wrong, they lose everything.
Which side would you wager on ?

reply to post by JustTheFacts


well, if you are Christian and the Muslims were right, then wouldn't you be wrong? You have just as much uncertainty as the atheist as to where you are headed.

Originally posted by JustTheFacts
Besides looking up "Pascal's Wager"
I would just say that as a Christian, if I am wrong, I lose nothing, if an athiest is wrong, they lose everything.
Which side would you wager on ?

You missed the point... At the beginning I said hypothetically, if humans were able to somehow prove without doubt that either of the claims were true, how would you react. If it was proven that God exists, then an atheist would not go to hell, because he would know that God exists.

But since you brought it up, that is only one more reason for someone such as myself to not believe in God. Because if God is somebody who would condemn someone to an eternity of suffering only because that someone didn't believe he existed, I would not wanna be a associated with him. Why would a being who can create stars thousands of time bigger than our Sun, or an entire universe be concerned with whether a petty human believes in him or not, so much so that he would damn him to an eternity of suffering.

You basically told me that even though I'm a good person, even though I've never killed, or raped anybody, I will go to hell simply for not believing in something that I have no reason to believe in.

[edit on 17-10-2008 by AlexG141989]

What if I personally chose to disregard the entire ideology of theology all together.

So much to the point where as i needn't speak of it or have it impact my daily life.

What if i was to say that we are all interconnected not one atom excluded and that this entity called god is merely just a simplified flawed concept of universal connectivity.

What if
the universe is something as abstract as a movement of some greater abstraction.

What if
We are in reality something so abstract such as a stream in the universal river and our institutions are really just survival techniques to make sure humanity doesn't get wiped out

To say something as simplified as "would you like to wager on that" is not only idiotic its a disgrace to human advancement

To wager yes or no
and to assume the ethics moralities and beliefs of a religion just on the whim that you might be wrong and would like to have cosmic insurance to save your souls ass wouldn't that doesn't defeat the purpose? Seems to me like it might possibly be a survival technique to hope you save your immortal ass

I am on neither side because in reality we have no way of proving any of this
To have blind faith is just as that its blind

To deny the possibility of a greater power albeit not as simplified as current religious ideologies is ignorant

You cannot know in the current time we preside
But should we stop wondering and questioning?
No, the only way to advance as a species is to use our minds and imaginations and determine what ideologies are necessary to survival

It really does come down to the bacterial level

Survive
Survive
Survive

Ofcourse as someone who believes in god you have much to loose would it be proved no god exists. You believed in something wich was entirely based on someone who didn't exist. As an atheist you have less to lose, if god was proved to exist, as an almighty being he would understand he was unbelievable and would forgive you for that.

For many many religious people, the idea of religion is for comfort, moral guidance and the need to believe in something that has control over what we do not... which is human nature.

For this reason alone.. if someone proved to me without a doubt that God didn't exist in the way that most currently perceive him, even though i am an non practicing catholic, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

I would still believe what i believe.. because it makes me feel better.

And im sure many others would do the same.

This is what gets me about people who slate religions and those who promote it profusely - i don't see the point in either because it will alway be offensive on some level to someone. If even simply because of the disregard of that persons ideals.

Originally posted by AlexG141989
What If You're Wrong???

(Let's say hypothetically, if humans were to somehow in the future be able to prove, without any doubt one of the "whats if's" below.)

Atheists - What if you're wrong, and The Christian God, Allah Etc. truly does exist??? Will you accept this outcome, or continue believing that God does not exist???

The Religious - What if you're wrong, and The Christian God, Allah Etc. truly does not exist??? Will you accept this outcome, or continue believing that God does exist???

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I as an atheist would not care, in fact I wish I could believe in a God like I used to. But I guess if it was proven that he existed, I wouldn't have to believe because I would know. Just like I know that it is sunny right now.

That is why it is called faith and hope

faith=belief that is not based on proof:

hope=to feel that something desired may happen

belief=confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof

[edit on 063131p://bFriday2008 by Stormdancer777]

reply to post by JustTheFacts

I would just say that as a Christian, if I am wrong, I lose nothing, if an athiest is wrong, they lose everything. Which side would you wager on ?

Going through life with the blinders off is worth the wager...your beliefs may work for you, and good...

But committing one's life to include mind, body as well as the loss of free-will, not too mention monetary contributions and the underlying guilt, hypocrisy, associated with most religions, is more than enough to roll the dice...

OP:

If it turned out that goD really existed and scripture was spot on...I'd be the first to jump on the bus! Hell, I'd drive...

How's that for consistency..?





content edit!




[edit on 10/17/2008 by chapter29]

If humans could somehow prove the God of the Abrahamic religions(Christianity, Judaism, Islam) did exist, I would revert to the strawman position Evangelical Christians like to make the Atheist position to be. I would hate God and defile his name as much as I can because that God is one of the worst villians of any book I've ever read.

Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
belief
confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof

[edit on 073131p://bFriday2008 by Stormdancer777]

Originally posted by JustTheFacts
Besides looking up "Pascal's Wager"
I would just say that as a Christian, if I am wrong, I lose nothing, if an athiest is wrong, they lose everything.
Which side would you wager on ?

Surely Pascals wager is a loaded dice as it presupposes there is NOT over 5000+ different other gods or goddesses out there to choose from.

What if neither atheist,christian or muslim is right.

What if Polynesian,Rastafarian or Eskimo religion is the right one?

What if none are correct as god (if he,she,they,it exists at all) is completely beyond the realm of human understanding?

[edit on 02/10/08 by karl 12]

reply to post by karl 12



karl, I have come to understand it this way, where there is love, there is god.


[edit on 073131p://bFriday2008 by Stormdancer777]

reply to post by AlexG141989


Now you have hit the nail on the head...LOL

The problem is that Human Primates have a little problem in that they can't accept the Truth No Matter What it may be.

Again I think the whole world including myself have to empty out the BS in us all and honestly try to find a way to Know and Accept the Truth, instead of arguing over superstitious beliefs and fear from both sides.

There will be a way if only we would try..

It is The Third Option.

How would we react? Well does it really matter to know?

I think it is more important to discover the Third Option, Truth.....

Now matter what we believe or theorise about, The Truth shall always be....

So lets have the Courage and do something about taking
The Third Option....

You never know what we may find ????

Good thread it will be interesting to watch.....

What if Im wrong? I cant be, I dont believe in anything at all. I play along with hypothetical ideas of perceptions for the sake of the temporary experience.

I am not anything. but I believe in god. Thats the only thing I believe in. no scripture, no dogma, just %100 hypothetical thought forms for the sake of experience. God is all there really is, everything else has to be illusions created by god to experience itself subjectively.
It seems, when people say God, everyone interprets it in their own way, to me, god is merely a "scientific" term for the source of everything, or the essence that allows any of anything to occur in the first place, as well as obviously being everything that supposedly "happens"; the ineffable, IS.

I dont understand why people think god is a being, god IS being. Actually, I do. In exactly the same way a prism works... man I love this dimension...

Very well put psychedeliack....

I don't believe that there is anything beyond this life.

If, however, the Ultimate DeadBeat Dad was to show his/her/it self to the world as a real god, you know, all knowing, all powerful, all that god-like stuff and wrote all his/her/it's rules by his/her/it self without relying on some poor schmuck to do it for him/her/it, then I may believe. But I would never bow before him/her/it.

I agree with whoever it was that said ..one would have to first accept the truth.
And no one wants to accept the truth even if it was put in their face .

How many of us get mad when someone presents us with the truth ?
All of us .And then we just toss it away as dung ...because we couldnt face the truth .

For instance .....If someone told you you drink too much ...and maybe you drink every single day even on weekends .....you not only get drunk but you get mean and take it all out on family members etc ...
This is the truth ...yet when a friend tells you ..man you drink too much ..
The first thing someone guilty does is say ..I DO NOT >..the truth is I am not a drunk (he doesnt see the truth ) ...Then the drunk says the only reason I get mad at family is because they provoked me )justifys his actions in his own eyes) .(more than likely they called him a drunk ) ...
Then they get mad at you for telling them the truth ..then the drunk just walks away and does not even believe the truth that they are in fact a drunk.This is MOST DRUNKS reactions wouldnt you say ?
Thereby not quitting ..and not careing ..until the day your whole family walks out that door ...sometimes not even then ....or the day you lost everything (Your job ,your good name,your house etc) and sometimes not even then .


No one wants the truth ...and no one will believe the truth sometimes even if it slaps them in the face ....and if everyone really wanted THE TRUTH (not our own version of it which is always biased by the way ) you would find it.

You have to first see it for the truth ..in order to accept it as truth ..

Seems to me that if God could be undeniably proved to exist then he/she/it would merely assume the role of an all-powerful dictator. Hopefully a benevolent one. In that case though I'm pretty sure the Christian religions wouldn't survive, since they are so deeply predicated on the concept of faith. I also suspect, given our somewhat rebellious nature in the face of authority, that we would take every opportunity to try to escape from that situation. If God were proven to exist we would immediately start seeking a way to overthrow him.

On the other hand - if God were somehow proved to be a total delusion, with no basis in fact - we would also immediately have to invent him. I think we as a species have a need to strive towards something greater than ourselves, and God is the ultimate representation of that goal. We also need something to wonder about. To a certain extent I think science currently fills that role for many people. The wonders of that small fraction of the universe we are able to examine are sufficiently awesome to keep us busy for a long time I think. On the other hand - has anyone else noticed how fanatical many in the scientific community become about their belief in this or that pet theory (evolution anyone?)? Reminds me quite a bit of a religious response.


[edit on 17-10-2008 by total_slacker]

God is of no use to Christian's nor Atheist if he does nothing for you in your life. If you don't know who or what he is then you wouldn't recognize anything he was trying to say or do either.

Worrying about the afterlife is useless too because God will take you unless you tell him no thanks.

I use to love debating this God stuff back in the day when I just had faith to go on. No fun now because I know better and now it is more of a burden because I still hold on to my childhood norms or beliefs that I am suppose to "share" or "spread the word" but it is like trying to convince somebody you saw a UFO. Why bother trying to convince anyone. Your souls are not at risk, but I guess I could say just don't be retarded and tell God to go frack himself and that you want to just be allowed to die someday and not move on to anywhere else.

I can't even play along with a hypothetical since I know better now...but lets say I didn't....I, being a skeptic, would have no problem if someone either proved God existed or didn't exist. I can't think of how I would live a different life. I am still a selfish bastard but get great joy out of doing good deeds when ever I am not to lazy to do them.

....I hope this isn't that far off topic but if anyone was really interested in finding God this is how to do it.....1) forget everything you have ever been told about him through religion. 2) Create in your head what the most perfect loving being could ever be and imagine that your best friend or closest person was God and talk to him the exact same way....curse, say stupid stuff, be yourself.... 3) once you are able to do that then start listening and really paying attention to things around you.

Now if you are lucky you might get your ass kicked and it will be an embarrassing humbling experience because no matter how smart or enlightened you think you are (my case for sure) his capacity for love can make stone weep. 4) now how do you keep that connection? just like seeing a ufo, 2 weeks later you wonder if you even did see it.
I don't know how but I imagine you just keep the first 3 steps going but it takes more work than my lazyass could keep up, plus I didn't want to be told to do anything and if I mentally stuck my fingers in my ears and said, "blah, blah, blah, I can't hear you" then I could use the not hearing as an excuse.
So, knowing what I know, God's existence doesn't matter in your lives unless you let it and if you do then your days of playing it safe are over.
The wager thing is dumb too. Because your soul is not at risk unless you "choose" to reject him...then I have no idea what happens. By not believing you are just cheating yourself of your higher purpose and a happier life by not trying to hook up with him.