Play it safe

[Saved]

Aren't you atheists frightened that you might be wrong and then when you die Jesus is going to be very angry with you for not being his friend and send you to hell for punishment, even if it isn't for ever?

Wouldn't it be better to accept Jesus as your friend and master even if you have trouble believing it because then you would have at least made an effort and tried and when you die he might not be so angry and look kindly on you because he does really love you after all?

[Darwinian]

Seriously?? :S

[Tiberius]

Wouldn't it be better to accept Jesus as your friend and master

I have no problems with the former. I have a great deal of problems with the latter.

[LastPoet]

Aren't you atheists frightened that you might be wrong and then when you die Jesus is going to be very angry with you for not being his friend and send you to hell for punishment, even if it isn't for ever?

Wouldn't it be better to accept Jesus as your friend and master even if you have trouble believing it because then you would have at least made an effort and tried and when you die he might not be so angry and look kindly on you because he does really love you after all?

Pascal's wager, its not like we never heard it before

What if the true god is allah and Muhammad is the true prophet? You'll be burning in hell with us MUAHAHHAHAHAHAH! *tetric laughter echoes through the hallways*

[Loading Please Wait]

Aren't you atheists frightened...

I'm not a scared pussy like you.

[Ace Otana]

Aren't you atheists frightened that you might be wrong and then when you die Jesus is going to be very angry with you for not being his friend and send you to hell for punishment, even if it isn't for ever?

Wouldn't it be better to accept Jesus as your friend and master even if you have trouble believing it because then you would have at least made an effort and tried and when you die he might not be so angry and look kindly on you because he does really love you after all?

That's like saying -

aren't you Christians frightened that you might be wrong and then when you die Hades/Thor/Zeus/Odin ect, is going to be very angry with you for not being his friend and send you to hell for punishment, even if it isn't for ever?

Wouldn't it be better to accept Hades/Thor/Zeus/Odin [add any character here] as your friend and master even if you have trouble believing it because then you would have at least made an effort and tried and when you die he might not be so angry and look kindly on you because he does really love you after all?

You could end up in hell for believing in the wrong god. We atheists could go to heaven regardless of our beliefs or lack of. The whole thing is entirely based on - what if? There is nothing to support the idea, no evidence to suggest that there is any afterlife and it has been ruled out.

No I'm not frightened of going to hell. It would be like me fearing aliens in giant flying scorers landing and kidnapping me. The very idea is completely ridiculous. Just as the idea of going to hell for simply rejecting a claim is also completely ridiculous. ALSO! An all knowing god and hell doesn't make any sense at all.

[Xcentric]

Am I the only one spotting the irony?

[Cyberman]

My powers of prophecy are growing more frighteningly awesome by the day. Even before I opened this thread I knew the spectre of Blaise Pascal was with us. Leaving aside the obvious problems with his (satirical?) wager - i.e. wouldn't any god worthy of the title know instantly that you were believing simply out of convenience? - I submit the following for you to try on for size (though my next prophecy is that our funny little friend is too scared and/or up his god's insubsantial arse to bother):

The Atheist's Wager

“It is better to live your life as if there are no gods, and try to make the world a better place for your being in it. If there is no god, you have lost nothing and will be remembered fondly by those you left behind. If there is a benevolent god, it will judge you on your merits and not just on whether or not you believed in it.”
(And if the god is not benevolent, it’s gonna git ya whatever you do!)

This can be shown as:

I believe

God exists: Go to Heaven because you believed.

God does not exist: Wasted life praying etc.

I do not believe

God exists: Go To Heaven because you’re a good person.

God does not exist: Made the world a better place.

So instead of the all or nothing proposal of Pascal's Folly which appears designed to trap as many believers as non, with this version everybody wins.

(adapted from an article attributed to one 'Abarrnet' the original of which seems to have been flushed down the intertubes.)

RationalWiki has an article devoted to this silly little game, as you might expect. I'll leave the final word to Sir Terry Pratchett as borrowed from his quite excellent novel Small Gods:

Upon his death, the philosopher in question found himself surrounded by a group of angry gods with clubs. The last thing he heard was 'We're going to show you how we deal with Mister Clever Dick around here...

[NoMoreFaith]

Before wading into this conversation, I wonder if the OP will defend the criticisms levelled.

I have a feeling this one is a hit'n'run.

Some like to post videos to avoid confrontation, some like to post philosophy that was refuted even at the time it was proposed, some just like to proselytise and leg it.

People wonder why we say we can respect those who are willing to stand for their beliefs, no matter how delusional.

[Zen Badger]