Time to decide what's worse ->

[Cyberman]

So the only options on the table are:

• Live in awe and/or fear of "the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns", not for its own sake but merely out of desire to claim the reward for doing so and avoid the punishment for doing otherwise
  
  
• Live a life free of such obsequious paranoia, knowing that it gives you the integrity to face up to any après-vie dictator and say that at least you faced the Universe on its own terms
  

Working for the good of your fellow humans and the world in which you coexist will always be the better option over scrabbling for the favours of a figment of someone else's imagination 'just in case'.

[Cod]

Well you wouldn't "find out" first of all, because you would just be dead without any consciousness left. And believing in God doesn't mean you're "wasting your life".

I wouldn't say believing in God is a waste of your life, I mean people don't just go around believing in God and doing nothing other than that. I would say though, it would be like taking out life insurance policy, only to find out it was bogus and you were never covered in the first place.

[Cyberman]

Ray Cumfart likens it to him selling you a parachute so that you are able to survive a doomed aeroplane; except what he isn't telling you is that he hasn't got a chute to sell and the plane's fine anyway.

[GrandizerII]

Obviously, the second scenario (if there is eternal punishment involved and all that), which is partly what turns me off about such a God. But either way, this is not how I decide whether God exists or not. If I have to hop on the plane to go to my home country overseas, I'll have to do it, even if there's that tiny risk I might die in a plane accident.

[henryp]

How stubborn do you have to be to pick 1? Happiness isn't tied to a belief in God. Some would be better off believing in one, some not, some would be better believing in a different one.

Eternal damnation on the other hand would suuuuuuuuuck. It doesn't matter, because there is no such thing as God. But as a hypothetical, it's pretty clear which is worse.

[Succubus]

Well you wouldn't "find out" first of all, because you would just be dead without any consciousness left. And believing in God doesn't mean you're "wasting your life".

I wouldn't say believing in God is a waste of your life, I mean people don't just go around believing in God and doing nothing other than that. I would say though, it would be like taking out life insurance policy, only to find out it was bogus and you were never covered in the first place.

I think perhaps we should correlate the level of 'waste' in a believers life with the degree of commitment they apply to said belief. The believers who state 'there must be something' or some other nebulous pap but never commit themselves beyond that lose nothing, because other than that very simple declaration they put zero effort into it. On the other hand those of a more devout nature stand to lose a very great deal.

Consider just this one simple, uncomplicated part of a believers life, Holy mass. How long does it take a family of five to scrub up and drive/walk whatever, to church on Sunday morning. 8 Am the kids are dragged out of bed kicking and screaming and the whole sorry episode doesn't end till about, ~12 noon. And this is every Sunday year in year out.
And this is a standard issue Christian family, now what if they are of an evangelical nature, how much time is taken out of their lives spreading the good news to non believers via printed handouts and/or via forums such as this?
Tick-tock Tick-tock.

Then there's the fund raising: The rain's pissing in and diluting the magic font water, or the floor need stripping and re varnishing, or the big end's gone in the vicar's Volvo. No problem. Sell raffle tickets, have a car boot sale, sell home made jam, harass the local builders to come and fix the roof.
And all the while the Ticktockman is counting down your threescore years and ten.

All this time, effort and cost dedicated to the non existing JuJu man. But hay, If they're happy then who am I to say their lives have been waisted. But then a few years study with the Open University will land you with a degree.

[Cecelia]

It's worse to believe, and there be no god.

Here's why:

If you don't believe, and there is a god there are two possible scenarios:

Scenario A: God doesn't care if you believe, and doesn't expect you to follow any rules. Under this scenario you are rewarded, and get to live life with no worries. Bonus that you do good deeds to do good deeds, rather than because someone expects you to.

Scenario B: God DOES care what you believe, and expects you to follow specific rules. In which case he's an asshole, not worth following in the first place. So while you are eternally punished, it's by a dick god who was probably going to punish you anyway. Especially since this God could not provide you with any evidence of his or her existence.

On the other hand if you believe there is a god, and there isn't one, it means you let someone from 2000 years ago control the ONLY life you'll ever have to hinge your bets in a bet you cannot win. You've allowed them to poison your thoughts, and control your life, and you end up with nothing.

I'll take not believing over believing any day of the week, and twice on Sundays.

[KevinM1]

I wouldn't say believing in God is a waste of your life, I mean people don't just go around believing in God and doing nothing other than that. I would say though, it would be like taking out life insurance policy, only to find out it was bogus and you were never covered in the first place.

I think perhaps we should correlate the level of 'waste' in a believers life with the degree of commitment they apply to said belief. The believers who state 'there must be something' or some other nebulous pap but never commit themselves beyond that lose nothing, because other than that very simple declaration they put zero effort into it. On the other hand those of a more devout nature stand to lose a very great deal.

Consider just this one simple, uncomplicated part of a believers life, Holy mass. How long does it take a family of five to scrub up and drive/walk whatever, to church on Sunday morning. 8 Am the kids are dragged out of bed kicking and screaming and the whole sorry episode doesn't end till about, ~12 noon. And this is every Sunday year in year out.
And this is a standard issue Christian family, now what if they are of an evangelical nature, how much time is taken out of their lives spreading the good news to non believers via printed handouts and/or via forums such as this?
Tick-tock Tick-tock.

Then there's the fund raising: The rain's pissing in and diluting the magic font water, or the floor need stripping and re varnishing, or the big end's gone in the vicar's Volvo. No problem. Sell raffle tickets, have a car boot sale, sell home made jam, harass the local builders to come and fix the roof.
And all the while the Ticktockman is counting down your threescore years and ten.

All this time, effort and cost dedicated to the non existing JuJu man. But hay, If they're happy then who am I to say their lives have been waisted. But then a few years study with the Open University will land you with a degree.

Special church ceremonies (weddings, funerals, etc.) are boring enough. I can't imagine spending 4 hours (not including prep and travel) in a church on an ordinary Sunday, every week. I'd go insane.

[Whateverist]

Anyone else think it's kind of weird that Pooley doesn't engage in any conversation on this thread he started?

[Thumpalumpacus]

What's worse is a lifetime spent listening to worship hymns once a week for the rest of your life.