What if after death you find God exists? Would you believe in him? As an atheist and humanist these are questions I often get from friends and always I answer them and it is kind of getting boring, anyway I am writing this post so I can direct them here next time. For the people who ask this question I will make a few statements that can in its totality give you the answer for this and other questions.
First to believe in god I do not need to die. You give me a proof that he exists now while I am living and I will not just believe; I will accept it as a fact. The timeline in your question “after death” just shows that you are sure that chances of getting such a proof in your lifetime or mine is quite bleak. Yet yes if you or anyone gives a proof, yes I will accept the fact.
Secondly, accepting the existence of God does not mean I will follow him. I think it is not morally correct to follow someone who punishes people because they do not follow a ritual or prayer or praise him. If the God who you say exists is the same megalomaniac, vindictive bully who creates all these havoc in our world, I think we should not follow him. So your proof will get my acceptance, but not my servitude.
Thirdly, If I am sent to hell (as you say it is) for being an atheist then I will feel I am morally superior than God…. The point is immaterial of whether God exists or not, being an atheist and a humanist is the right thing to do while you are alive. For me there is no other better correct way to live than that. You can differ in opinion, but since you asked the question, here is my answer.
Now for arguments sake think that God exists but not the way you think. Meaning this whole life is a game for him (God) to find people who will not believe in him unless there is a proof and want people to be a humanist and atheist and secularist and not religious, then you are going to be out there for a big surprise… Since you don’t have a proof of God’s existence or of his nature in clear terms, I guess this hypothesis should be equally valid even within the “God exists” realm. So it could happen that I am his favorite and not you. Heaven for me and hell to you…
But don’t worry, even if that happens as a humanist I will fight God to get you the same equal right as me, because I don’t think you should be punished for eternity for praying and believing in something that you don’t have proof for. I will not stand on the side and ridicule you for figuring godliness wrong…
And lastly if God is the all merciful, then you should be happy and not worry at all… just take care of the planet, the people, love others, be rational, not superstitious, not religious… You have just as much chance of heaven as any one who spends his entire life chanting or praying….
Now do you really want to know If I will believe once I figure out that God exists?
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Not trying to sway, but something that popped in my head as I browsed this.
If you found God waiting wouldn’t that mean all the creationist evidence was right and you didn’t accept it? Everybody tried to talk you out of it online and you insisted?
I’d think you’d have to admit he gave you a fair shake, and you say you won’t follow him if you did see him. So you won’t even think to ask him why for bad things, you’d just assume your superior.
You wouldn’t care what his goal was with a whole universe, your view or the highway from one species view.
No offense but it sounds like you and god in this article are the same person.
No offence taken 🙂 and thanks for posting the comment..
As a human being I guess for me a question ‘why?’ to God for the bad things that happen is irrelevant because all those I know who believe in God say this happens as per his/her (the gender of God is again debatable) plan… Irrelevant because for me I don’t think any of us would/should accept any reason for the misery of a innocent human being, however glorious the plan/goal is projected it… It is not my way or highway… it is how a religious person can reason with the misery of someone that I cannot… Haven’t you heard Mother Theresa tell an ailing man that his pain is because of God kissing him and he asking her to talk to her God and ask him to stop kissing so much 🙂 It is just irrational that’s all…. And for me I feel one need to be clear of the moral grounds as a human being before we debate even the existence of God 🙂
Well, Theresa was Catholic and they have a masochistic view of suffering saying here and in purgatory it purifies you. So they go and suffer on purpose > monks.
My school always questions the “innocent” aspect internally, but I think in general suffering is bad and normally pointless. I do wonder how much of it is “cool hand luke-ish” “I don’t like it any more than you do but that’s the way he wants it.”
But generally, the problem of evil is indeed very real, won’t lie.
Yet, if God raises everyone to a new life then death and “pointlessness” are different animals. In Christianity its not even improper to take Jesus as atoning for God to us by God taking a fair share, as sin is broken relationship in Jewish understandings (not moral like Greeks/ Latins).
My current way of thinking at it is that things have consequences, some unintended and unfair, but that God takes human action seriously enough to let it have effects. A world with no suffering is a world with no responsibility, and in some ways horribly boring… think how dull romance or a roller coaster would be!
As for reasoning with the misery, I don’t. I don’t say its for people’s good or that it’ll all just go away with faith. It’s more a matter not that it’s God’s need that you croak, it’s more that we trust him who started the work to bring it to completion.
What is taken away for Christians is the futility of it, and the frustration of it. That’s why in Rev. people carry things positive things into heaven to add to it.
At some level everyone wants Eden without the tree there, but that’s not what we get. We want a world without slavery, but we must break shackles or lock them tighter. etc.etc.
I think even an atheistic world view has a problem of evil, Socrates’ they just are ignorant doesn’t work. We live in a world with evil, and it’s a problem.
Personally, I plan to ask him to. But I think as a mortal there is some wisdom in the movie total recall, “Think? I don’t give you enough information to think!”
Von, Thanks again for coming and commenting.. So I think I get your point you are taking… what if the God is all good and great etc…. So since both the existence of Go as well has his nature or intention is all up to people’s imagination in my post I made two statements
“If the God who you say exists is the same megalomaniac, vindictive bully who creates all these havoc in our world, I think we should not follow him.”
AND
“if God is the all merciful, then you should be happy and not worry at all…”
The point is simple how do you take a rational stand on the various possibilities… And possibilities are immense
1. God does not exist; but something else exists
2. God does not exist; this is end of the road, Done
3. God exists; he created all; and is a bully with vengeance
4. God exists; he created all; and is a very good
5. God exists; he created all but not on purpose and it was an accident and the whole thing is out of control; he is lost
6. God is a more evolved human being but he cannot communicate backwards so he is waiting after the death point to talk to us
7. God is stuck post death and he is waiting for science to be evolved faster so post death we can explain things to him so the journey can continue
8. God good but he is praying to his God who is a bully..
this possibilities can go on and on and on….
For me I stand at a point where I know we don’t know everything, and as for the unknown I am fine to accept that the unknown need not necessarily have a “backward controlling’ end point (called God) that is looking back at me…. The main difference between a believer and an atheist in my opinion is how we see and rationalize this final end point.
When dead, ” You “, the ego is not there. So whether God exists or not , you will not know. Why go to that extend . Even in deep sleep the ” you ” , the ego , is not present. So it is clear that all your arguments are just the contents of your mind. Now ask yourself one question, ” Is the contents of my mind the truth ?”
The question is as it is asked…Since the question has a ‘you’ one has to answer it with a ‘you’ because the person who asked does not think beyond a you or accept the possibility that the you ends with death 🙂