(April 10, 2015 at 4:04 pm)Iroscato Wrote:datc Wrote:I find the premise implausible, again because "belief" is expressed in the process of living a life, not only morally but in its every other aspect (such as aesthetic). To the extent that it is granted, and both people are equally prepared, my opinion is that the unbeliever will gain eternal life.
So doesn't that negate the entire point of the argument right there? You literally just stated that morally good atheists are going to your heaven anyway, did you not?
If there are any atheists (i.e., in our wager, people who do not consciously aim for eternal life) sufficiently good (not just morally but overall) to fit themselves for such life (such as by becoming fit without explicitly trying), then they shall have it. I do not know how many such atheists there are, however.
Since I did not specify any precise conception of heaven, there is no definitive "my heaven" or "your heaven." For example, in many ways, "the kingdom of God is within you."
What I did rather is to suggest that heaven is characterized by never-ending gain in happiness. Upon entering the hereafter, we are both preserved and transcended. What in us will remain unchanged in heaven, and what will continuously improve I will not speculate. Perhaps, our personalities will be at least somewhat fixed, that is, we will not increase in either complexity or unity of character, for this soul-making happens only in this life; but our narrow happiness, defined as satisfaction of desires, whatever they are, will increase forever.
