heaven or nothing

[can-not-escape]

WHAT IS THE POINT OF RELIGION? Why does God want us to believe in him? Why do we need it? Why can't people love each other without religion? Why is it either heaven or hell after we die, what a horrible thing to think of! So what if god created humans! We were not asked if we wanted to be made, but we have to be his servants. THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM GOD'S KINGDOM. I JUST WANT TO LIVE. I DONT CARE ABOUT GOING TO HEAVEN, BUT I DONT WANT TO SUFFER FOR ETERNITY. This is a dictatorship. We can't just live. We have to worry. How is God a positive thing? Is it because he created us? Well what if i didnt want to be created. (not that i dont, i love life) but if i decide that i dont want to live, and i commited suicide i go to hell. YOU CANT ESCAPE THIS DICTATORSHIP!

People are always telling me that "being good does not save you. you have to believe in god". WHY! I DONT WANT TO SUFFER. I DONT CARE ABOUT ETERNAL PARADICE! I WANT TO LIVE NOW! Is that all religion is about: getting into heaven.

 

[Lemming3k]

Not totally a dictatorship, it is all 'do as i say or else' but that doesnt mean you cant choose the 'or else', then again he knew when he created you what you would choose, and everybody else, therefore he knew how big to make heaven and hell as he'd know how many people where to go there, im sure hells bigger as plenty of people couldnt be saved as they lived before christianity was invented.
Watch out for the christians that say you are suffering and therefore need god, you only need what you feel you need not what somebody else tells you you need, whether they are god or not is irrelevent.

 

[Dreamwalker]

Rather unfair that seems, just going to hell because christianity was not yet invented. You can somehow doubt it. From a biblical point of view, the first humans up and around should have had a better understanding and relationship with god than the later generations. After all, the first people lived directly under god in eden and even communicated with him. So why did their ascendants not get the right idea but some people thousands of years later have the right of it? Strange...

But I would rather suffer in hell than spend eternity with an egomaniac god who only creates things to get worshipped.
But who knows, perhaps Satan created christianity to make us stray from gods path I would not place my bets on anything the bible says.

 

[Q25]

WHAT IS THE POINT OF RELIGION?

to control people.

Why does God want us to believe in him?

did God told you that?

Why do we need it?

some people feel better with belief in heaven/afterlife.

Why can't people love each other without religion?

they can and do!

Why is it either heaven or hell after we die, what a horrible thing to think of!

in reality death is the end,no souls,spirits etc,doesnt that makes life all the more worthwhile,enjoyable!?
see www.atheists.org click on atheism,soul,mind

THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM GOD'S KINGDOM.

sure there is,God is only a thought in your mind,and very contradictory at that,read here
www.geocities.com/inquisitive79/index.html

 

[bonemeal]

Religion is inevitable, one of the most fundemental instincts of humanity is to find common ground, cause and objective as the basis on which to form groups, we are social creatures and stronger in this fashion.

Perhaps we are entering an age where people can begin to identify themselves as human or earthling if you'll escuse the term, rather than the member of some particular faction or race. Maybe even soon religion will become obsolete in the same way but for a long time it has provided people with the answer to one admitadly broad but important question for humanity: 'Why?'. Sciences and classical study/academia tells us more and more about how things happen, the means by which actions in nature occur but people crave for the why answers; why are we here? why do we exists? etc. Undoubtedly many religions began as an early explaination, it's no miracle that religions pervaded every continent almost simultaneously where they could have little to no connection.

I believe that there is also some truth in the general feeling among atheists(of which i am not one, I consider myself agnostic) that religion has grown into a method of control, but not nessecarily in a pejorative sense. For example it instills order and enforces many of the values we would even term virtues, simple rules which are present in every law and unspoken moral code. Some methods such as the invention of heaven and hell are not a good means of control, as you mentioned it does scare people and fear can suspend and destroy our rational mind. If religion is almost past its expiry date perhaps it will be the end to a large source of conflict.

Also to be honest Q25 a lot of people enjoy their religion, and most are a peacable people, as far as i can tell they have a great family and a great life, they have their chosen book of god to thank for that and for that reason they don't care if it's all made up. being an asshole isn't freedom man, let people believe what they want. (by the way that was semi-qouted from south park but it says what i was trying to say better than i could have in my own words lol)

Here's a qoute to think about, and a good note to end my post on a i think: "If god had looked in to our minds he would not have been able to see there whom we were speaking of" ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein.

 

[JustARide]

I think the posters question was not so much "why must religion exist?" but "why must it always be inescapable?" I suppose life itself is inescapable, in at least one sense. Consider that no gets a choice in the pre-birth spirit realm; one of God's secretaries doesn't show up with a clipboard and ask, "Would you like to be born? Who would you like your parents to be? Where would you prefer to come into the world?" etc., etc.

And with life comes responsibilities. Since none of us asked for life, it follows that none of us asked for these responsibilities either. Bit of a bum deal. We never got the option of saying, "No, I don't want to exist because existing requires X, Y, and Z (fill in with whatever your religion tells you)." Of course, you could take the point of view of some early gnostics and say that every one of us <i>did</i> in fact request our own birth, in a manner of speaking. But strangely, this compact with this before-life God/Whomever requires complete amnesia the second we pop out of our mother's womb. Again, we get a raw deal.

This is why I prefer philosophy over religion. Religious debates always have this eternal, damning cloud looming right above them -- as if every decision, every conceded point, and every theory carries with it hugely important implications, depending on whether or not one chooses to "believe" them. Thus religious folk often take themselves and their corresponding theories quite seriously. That's not to say philosophers do not -- but there is no immediate requirement that philosophers pin their theories to grand afterlife visions or demand that acceptance of their ideas somehow increases the chances one will sit in the great spa in the clouds rather than roast in the nether-flames. Religious debate has an added intensity to it because of this -- after all, religionists are in a hurry to find the truth (wouldn't want to die without it, eh?) whereas philosophers may or may not be that intent on figuring everything out and drawing the line in the sands of truth so quickly. Also, philosophers are free to simultaneously disagree <i>and</i> not believe their adversary is hellbound. It's fun. This allows philosophers to be playful with their ideas and beliefs -- religionists not so much.

My only advice would be: if the inescapability of religion's claims bothers you, simply do not believe them. This won't, however, alleviate all worries since religionists are bent on trying to implant the idea that acceptance of their doctrines is crucial to your well-being in the next life. But hey, people can be idiots.

In fact, always remind yourself of that. I find it helps me a great deal.

Josh