Part 3, 9/30/05

And the parade of belief goes on. Here's a particularly desperate one:

The Afterlife

This life must be a preparation for a life to come. In this life, it is often so hard to do what's right, so easy and tempting to do what's wrong. Good is not necessarily rewarded, and evil often goes unpunished. If there's any justice in the universe, then there must be life after death. And if there is justice in the universe... the implications are unfathomable. I have to believe in God, because in spite of modern science, I don't see how life could have arisen from non-life. I believe there are too many inexplicable occurrences, too many answers to prayer, for God not to exist. There's enough evidence of miracles, of an afterlife, of a spiritual plane to convince me that the physical world is not the only reality. And God must be just -- if God were unjust, then this world would be unspeakably more horrible than it is; existence would truly be meaningless.

This person is referring to right and wrong as defined by his beliefs; therefore his logic is circular. If indeed God decides what's "right and wrong," then yes, it would seem to make sense that He would reward or punish us for following His rules. Unfortunately, this God doesn't have to play by those rules. If He decides that right and wrong is different, then we're screwed regardless. But what if God doesn't decide what's right and what's wrong? What if morality is organic to human beings and organic to simply interacting successfully with one another? Would not life be its own reward for living well? We can then decide if this "God" is unjust. There is a lot of unecessary evil in this world, and I see that the writer can see that. His God must have ultimate justice. He must make things "right" in the end, or else a world with God is truly horrifying and meaningless, isn't it? But what if the unecessary evils aren't caused consciously, but simply happen through natural means, as we already know of hurricanes and tsunamis? Then we deal with nature as we always have: by using our wits, our resiliency, and our natural tendencies to help one another. That world doesn't sound so horrible. Scary, indeed. But not meaningless and horrifying, as if something had done that on pupose.

He says "I can't see how life arose from non-life" and decides there must be a god. Thankfully, scientists don't give up quite so easily. We are on the road to learning how this occurred. The day we learn this fact, I wonder how many people will be honest enough to cease believing in a Creator?

"Too many miracles!" he announces. How many miracles are required? Shouldn't one miracle be enough? If there are other answers to one miracle, there can be more answers to "too many" miracles,

"Too many answers to prayers!" If God is just, then we shouldn't have to pray at all. Why pray if you believe God can justify the evils He commits? God must know what's in store for you. "Thy Kingdome come, Thy Will be done." If God wants something to happen, it will happen whether you like it or not. "Too many answers to prayer!" He says. Assuming that so many have been answered, it's the ones that weren't answered that I'd worry about. What of the orphaned children? The men and women that lost their spouses and children? heir homes? Didn't they pray? Or is it another case of "Noah's Ark Syndrome:" "They were all wicked."

This one's short and sweet:

I have to believe in God, because if I do not, then there can't be a hell. My anger is so great sometimes. There has to be justice in the end.

"MY ANGER IS SO GREAT! THERE MUST BE A HELL!" This one should win a caption contest for sure. He goes on, after some concern from the other posters:

I was spouting of at the mouth really. I was having such a bad day the other day. I have cancer and sometimes people are so ignorant. The most prestigious people in town, to me happen to be the most evil. Also, my pharmacy, and health insurance can rott if you know what I mean.

I really hope that there is a heaven and a hell. Sometimes this world is sooo wacked. I don't want to be sitting in heaven with child molesters either.

This is probably what most people mean when they talk about their beliefs. It relates to their personal struggles. As the person above, so many bad things happen, there has to be justification for it. But if you don't believe in God inthe first place, you don't have to think that way. What if it's a consequence of nature? That way, there's no one using mysterious reasons to inflict horror upon you--mysterious reasons they promise you get to find out after you die. That's a great cult/scam tactic. The secrets will be revealed. What if you can actually find out for yourself?

From reading the bible and listening to theologians, sitting in heaven with child molesters is great. That's because so many secrets are revealed to you, you will know exacly why a child molester can give a death-bed confession and end up "sitting next to you." Besides: you will be too busy looking at God and singing His praises to notice. Hey: if your best friend is having his testicles branded in Hell and you don't notice, why in God's name would you be bothered by a child molester? WTF? You're in heaven and you're complaining about the neighbors Maybe it's just that some people can't be happy unless they can complain. You have to know some people like that. Maybe, for them, heaven is a place where you get to complain all day and finally get listened to!

Originally posted by chicklover
I think what dyermaker is an important issue that we see nowadays. I believe in something for some good but it doesn't actually matter if it really exists.
It is like: I love in god just because it calms me , it doesn't matter it really exists or not.

So true! I feel like sometimes I have to believe in God because that's the only thing that gives me hope and calms my anxiety about what's awaiting me in the future.--Naive (no kidding, that's really his/her post name!)

What if your anxiety about what's waiting for you in the future comes from the very religion you think you have to believe in for comfort? Some religions don't have hell. What if you believed in those? Perhaps you wouldn't have that anxiety? In that sense, it doesn't matter if it exists or not: if you don't believe in it, that should calm you down for good! Hell, it works for me!