God in Your Bloodstream

How about a flip side to this query? Instead of no God how about He is irrefutably proven to exist? How would your life change?

 

Another point for discussion that deserves its own thread. :cheer2:

 

I already act like God doesn't exist, so it's a moot question for me. The one of "What if God was shown to definitely exist" is therefore more interesting. First, I'd have to find out which flavor of God it is (I hope it's the Hindu ones!) and then follow whatever rules she/he/it/they laid out.

 

hard to say for sure but i guess it would be survival of the fittest. evolution at it's best. do away with the weak and powerless. live for myself, what else would be the point? i don't understand why atheists are so desirous of helping others, i wasn't before Jesus called me.

 

I take the original question as being completely circular. Like asking "How would my life change if I were irrefutably proved not to exist?"

Or what would the universe be like if all objects on the right hand side of the universe were eliminated.

The original question makes an incredible number of hidden assumptions about God. It's those initial assumptions that allow only constrained answers.

 

Which one(s)?

 

Maybe because they're nice people, who are happy to give of themselves. Maybe they value good friends and neighbours, and are genuinely willing to help others in time of need. Maybe they're interested in making the world a better place.

I find the assumption that only the the god-centric can be good to be...disturbing. It's a viewpoint that's shallow, narrow-minded, and inaccurate. Atheists who help others do so from the goodness of their hearts, not from motivation that good acts might earn them a place in heaven, or the fear that bad acts will get them sent to hell.

 

What if God in Your Bloodstream Was Female...

Wouldn't that shake up a lot of thumpers...

 

Scandinavian countries get along just fine without the majority of the population being afraid of a magic man in the sky.

 

i reread my own post to try and figure out where your response came from. i don't see where i said they can't be good people. i said i don't understand why they want to be. but Jesus didn't come for the righteous, he came to save sinners like me. it's interesting to see how many people are more likely to respond to others posts instead of the original.

 

I said I would stop posting in these threads, but I can't let this one go unanswered. Non-theists do The Right Thing because it's the right thing to do. ie, just because we may not believe in Jesus(tm) Brand God doesn't mean we don't believe in The Golden Rule. It just makes sense - if everybody did whatever they wanted, it would be horrible for everybody. If everybody was good and nice and kind to each other, everybody would have a great life. You don't need some daddy figure threatening you to see that. Or maybe you do.

Some people eat their veggies because they're healthy and because, yes, maybe we like veggies.

Some people eat their veggies because they get threatened to be sent to their room without dessert if they don't eat them.

That pretty much sums up the ethical beliefs of non-theists vs. theists.

 

i understand and that makes sense for some people. but there are plenty who are evil and could use Jesus' influence in their lives. i can only speak for myself, but i see a lot of evil in the world and it's not all from professing Christians as some here would have us believe. and again, another response to a post instead of to the o.p's question. i wonder if airport kid actually intended this?

 

Didn't think you could let it go... likewise I think we will see D back sooner than later.

Anyway, good points. Just one question though. Where do you think this kind of thinking (doing the right thing) came from? Did we just evolve to come to know this?

 

In regards to the question: If there were proof God definitely does not exist - how would it affect you?

I'd be a lot more pessimistic, esp. as I approach the end of my life.

It's been observed that Americans tend to be more upbeat than Europeans...I partially attribute that to spirituality - belief in something bigger than one's self, that after you have done all you humanly can, there is still hope.

 

I can't really answer the OP question since I dont have "magic-man" either.

However, I really want to respond to:

There are people who are evil. And there are people that are nice. But doing the right thing should be done because it is the right thing.

Why and how does believing in an almighty being make you better. This is a serious and non-rhetorical question for you.

The majority of people that I know that are religious do "the right thing" because they fear hell, or they fear vengeance from their god. If it is not from fear, then perhaps it is because of the want of getting something better later, like karma. If I help this old hag cross the street, maybe god will smile on me and give me a new cell phone? That's greed. If it is because of the teachings of the 'good-book', then there is no reason why someone who doesn't believe in god or that same god cannot be as righteous as those that do. They are fables, stories of people's encounters supposed encounters with god that teach morals. And the proper procedure for selling your daughter as a sex-slave incase you were wondering... So basically they are Aesop's Fable's, and they teach morality. Anyone can be taught morality, it doesnt have to come from Book A or Book B.

There is a lot of evil, and it is not all christians, but what about those that are religious versus those that are aren't?

 

It's all about hope, belief and love

God doesn't have to be this vengeful, Biblical entity; for some of us, belief is a challenge that encourages hope and love and introspection.

It's a moment to be quiet and think and see if we can hear that little voice inside of us that's so easily drowned out by all the stuff we think we want and need.

Would people be unlawful if they didn't believe in God? Probably not.

Would it change the day-to-day of my life if I didn't at least try to believe? Probably.

 

Which GOD ???

 

I already answered the OP (it wouldn't effect me because I already act that way). Yes, there will always be jerks (which is why there is no perfect system of government - every one out there always forgets this fact). Also, "evil" is a relative term - you and I would consider flying an airplane into the World Trade Center to be evil, but obviously there are many who have so much faith they think it's an act of the ultimate goodness.

The thing about people who don't believe in any sort of afterlife is, like I said, it just makes more sense to act in everybody's best interest. However, because there ARE evil people out there, some things must be punished - that's why we have police, judges, and prisons.

The thing about Christianity is it encourages evil. "Yeah, I can murder, steal, do whatever I want but because I'm a Christian I have a Get Out Of Hell Free card." OK, I know these people are Christian in name only, but as far as they (and several theologists) are concerned, they got that one-way ticket to Heaven because they practiced ritualistic cannibalism.

Just because you don't have to fear Hell doesn't mean you don't have to fear jail. Also, it's parents', teachers', and society's job to instill in us how to do the right thing - again, simply because it makes the most sense in the long run.

The question you should ask is, why are people evil, selfish, greedy, etc.? THAT is evolution - whoever has the most stuff has the better chance to survive (note that I didn't put laziness on that list - that one is actually counter-productive from an evolutionary standpoint, but that's beside the point). But doing right, for most people, does NOT come naturally - it has to be taught.