What would you do if you found out that God wasn't real

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: Motek
There is no way to prove he is not real.

There is no way to prove that he is real either. That is why the initial post starts off upon an assumption in a given circumstance, which alters the responses. To deny the original question is to not give information, and therefore sidestep the question entirely. In other words you did not contribute to the thread with an answer one way or another, you merely answered the question with a response saying that you will not answer the question. Which makes me wonder... why answer the question at all then if your answer is that you choose not to answer? :|

 

[Kev]

Originally posted by: Kanalua
I love this hypothetical. Assume what would destroy a main tenet of your existence. Now, react.

Reminds me of a guy at school who is on a Moot COurt team with me. At practice one day he asks me to assume a premise that would destroy the main justification for my "clients" actions. I replied, that isn't a justification for our arguments, and proceeded to spell out the justifications for meeting a compelling interest test. Later he came back against asking to assume his compelling interest, and how we would justify its least restrictive means to the facts. I again explained that the compelling interest posited is not the justification for the actions. and went on with my arguments. Again a third time he came back, this time pissed that I wouldn't take his bait, and against demanded that I assume his compelling interest. He was so pissed that I wouldn't take his bait. Still is pissed. What a dork...

Wow, amazing story. It deserves it's own thread. Really.

 

[Coldkilla]

Believe in my God!..

First Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!
Next Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!

You can't win. No matter what religion of the 100,000+ religions you have... Your religion is to have screwed up a few things here in there between a few thousand years. Your all screwed.

If I found out there was no God, I would just laugh at all the people that tried forcing their believes onto others and call them idiots... like I do now.

 

[topslop1]

Doing exactly what I'm doing now.

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Believe in my God!..

First Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!
Next Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!

You can't win. No matter what religion of the 100,000+ religions you have... Your religion is to have screwed up a few things here in there between a few thousand years. Your all screwed.

If I found out there was no God, I would just laugh at all the people that tried forcing their believes onto others and call them idiots... like I do now.

Harsh!

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Believe in my God!..

First Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!
Next Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!

You can't win. No matter what religion of the 100,000+ religions you have... Your religion is to have screwed up a few things here in there between a few thousand years. Your all screwed.

If I found out there was no God, I would just laugh at all the people that tried forcing their believes onto others and call them idiots... like I do now.

You have this opinion because you don't know what religion is and what purpose it serves humanity (that's somewhat okay, because neither do most of the people who observe the various religions). It appears that you do feel a lot hatred though. I suggest counseling.

In the meantime, consider these religious passages:

"On another occasion it happened that a certain heathen came before Shammai and said to him, 'Make me a proselyte, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.' Thereupon he repulsed him with the builder's cubit which was in his hand. When he (the heathen) went before Hillel (a great rabbi of the time), Hillel said to him (the heathen), 'What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbour: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it.' "
-- Talmud, Shabbath 31a

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
-- Matthew 7:12

""Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.""
-- Matthew 22:36-40

"Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you.""
-- Luke 17:20-21

And I could recite hundreds, perhaps thousands, of passages, from all the various religions, from Judaism to Christianity to Islam to Hinduism to Buddhism to Taoism, etc. that would all say more or less exactly the same thing.
You can see this in one of the oldest known religions, Zoroastrianism (which is still alive albeit quite dwindled, Freddie Mercury was a follower though), whose core principle is "Good thoughts lead to good words which lead to good deeds." That's the primary principle of all these religions. God is, quite frankly, secondary, except that the belief and worship of God is designed to reinforce the belief in the sacredness of human life. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way, but OTOH expecting humans to be perfect is irrational in the extreme.

So my answer to the OP is "I would do nothing." It wouldn't matter.

 

[Coldkilla]

Well.. since religion keeps a lot of crime off the streets.. and causes a lot of crime in the sand.. Lets just pull back from Iraq and they'll do it themselves..

 

[dirtboy]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Believe in my God!..

First Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!
Next Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!

You can't win. No matter what religion of the 100,000+ religions you have... Your religion is to have screwed up a few things here in there between a few thousand years. Your all screwed.

If I found out there was no God, I would just laugh at all the people that tried forcing their believes onto others and call them idiots... like I do now.

Amusing... you can't prove evolution, so you reduce yourself to attacking religions as a means to justify your "faith" in knowing you're just a monkey that walks erect. lol

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Well.. since religion keeps a lot of crime off the streets.. and causes a lot of crime in the sand.. Lets just pull back from Iraq and they'll do it themselves..

We're not fighting in Iraq for any religion. That is, unless you think OIL is a religion.

 

[Praxis1452]

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Originally posted by: pontifex
what do you mean if i found out? i already know he isn't real.

saw that coming a mile away

why must all atheists crap on religious threads?
Why can't people just accept others have different beliefs? So fvcking stupid.

And please tell me how you "know"

as an agnostic I've got to say that the thought of the fanatics of any religion being right is unacceptable. The fact that they exist and are often an accepted part of a religion is enough to prove it's worth to me. You Can judge a religion by it's followers.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Believe in my God!..

First Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!
Next Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!

You can't win. No matter what religion of the 100,000+ religions you have... Your religion is to have screwed up a few things here in there between a few thousand years. Your all screwed.

If I found out there was no God, I would just laugh at all the people that tried forcing their believes onto others and call them idiots... like I do now.

You have this opinion because you don't know what religion is and what purpose it serves humanity (that's somewhat okay, because neither do most of the people who observe the various religions). It appears that you do feel a lot hatred though. I suggest counseling.

In the meantime, consider these religious passages:

"On another occasion it happened that a certain heathen came before Shammai and said to him, 'Make me a proselyte, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.' Thereupon he repulsed him with the builder's cubit which was in his hand. When he (the heathen) went before Hillel (a great rabbi of the time), Hillel said to him (the heathen), 'What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbour: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it.' "
-- Talmud, Shabbath 31a

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
-- Matthew 7:12

""Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.""
-- Matthew 22:36-40

"Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you.""
-- Luke 17:20-21

And I could recite hundreds, perhaps thousands, of passages, from all the various religions, from Judaism to Christianity to Islam to Hinduism to Buddhism to Taoism, etc. that would all say more or less exactly the same thing.
You can see this in one of the oldest known religions, Zoroastrianism (which is still alive albeit quite dwindled, Freddie Mercury was a follower though), whose core principle is "Good thoughts lead to good words which lead to good deeds." That's the primary principle of all these religions. God is, quite frankly, secondary, except that the belief and worship of God is designed to reinforce the belief in the sacredness of human life. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way, but OTOH expecting humans to be perfect is irrational in the extreme.

So my answer to the OP is "I would do nothing." It wouldn't matter.

Nice post and distillation of a very core and simple principle.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Praxis1452

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Originally posted by: pontifex
what do you mean if i found out? i already know he isn't real.

saw that coming a mile away

why must all atheists crap on religious threads?
Why can't people just accept others have different beliefs? So fvcking stupid.

And please tell me how you "know"

as an agnostic I've got to say that the thought of the fanatics of any religion being right is unacceptable. The fact that they exist and are often an accepted part of a religion is enough to prove it's worth to me. You Can judge a religion by it's followers.

That's a ridiculously fallacious assumption.

 

[50cent1228]

that would be the end of the world

 

[50cent1228]

that would be the end of the world...coz every 1 who truly believes in god would go crazy

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: dirtboy

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Believe in my God!..

First Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!
Next Religion: If you don't believe in this God you will be banished to eternal hellfire! Hahahah!

You can't win. No matter what religion of the 100,000+ religions you have... Your religion is to have screwed up a few things here in there between a few thousand years. Your all screwed.

If I found out there was no God, I would just laugh at all the people that tried forcing their believes onto others and call them idiots... like I do now.

Amusing... you can't prove evolution, so you reduce yourself to attacking religions as a means to justify your "faith" in knowing you're just a monkey that walks erect. lol

What the heck are you talking about? Take an example from Vic and come up with something coherent please.

 

[Rayden]

"Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die."

 

[smopoim86]

From my view, (being in the church and wondering what everyone is searching for) most of the people in the church don't really know what they believe. All they know is what they have always been told and they refuse to accept that there may be alternatives.

I have been raised in a christian home and I'm not sure how my parents would react if they realized that I question everything I've been taught.

Anyway, i think that most people want to be right and just cant accept that there may be another way that things have happened.

 

[WHAMPOM]

Originally posted by: Juddog
If you are currently religious, and you found out or it was proven to you in some way (which of course impossible to prove that something doesn't exist) that God didn't exist, would it change your faith? Would you continue to go to church, or would you give up your religion?

Let's not debate whether he / she / it exists or not, only what you would do if you found out that he / she / it doesn't exist. How would that change your outlook on the world, and how you interact with others?

I would have to conclude that the Universe is a Miracle of a much greater magnitude then I could ever have imagined.

 

[RapidSnail]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: Praxis1452

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Originally posted by: pontifex
what do you mean if i found out? i already know he isn't real.

saw that coming a mile away

why must all atheists crap on religious threads?
Why can't people just accept others have different beliefs? So fvcking stupid.

And please tell me how you "know"

as an agnostic I've got to say that the thought of the fanatics of any religion being right is unacceptable. The fact that they exist and are often an accepted part of a religion is enough to prove it's worth to me. You Can judge a religion by it's followers.

That's a ridiculously fallacious assumption.

I wouldn't say that's false. The followers of a religion will adhere to the principles and teachings of that religion. Why wouldn't you be able to judge the religion by the actions of its disciples (not just one person, but in general)?

 

[Coldkilla]

No... their religions will destroy each other. The middle east will all kill each other. I think its hilarious. I'll draw some comic pictures and be responsible for a few 100 deaths

I never said I believed in evolution ether. I don't need to believe in anything, God or science to be among the living. I just think all of this is right up stupid.

 

[Azndude2190]

God is science.

 

[Staples]

There is no possible way God can be disproven. You can not prove a negative.

 

[Dritnul]

gods real? when was this ?

 

[0roo0roo]

the only reason my dog doesn't chew my face off while i sleep is because he believes jesus is our lord!

 

[locutus12]

I believe in God, fully. I just dont believe in religion. i believe the gods of other religions are different faces of one god enabling our different cultures to understand the environment and universe around us, i believe these aspects were given to us as gifts to bring us together, not split us apart as it has done. The word of God has been too easily dismissed and the word of religion and the men who gain power through religions have substituted there own twisted ideology's for the Truth.

If I found out that God didn't exist, I would feel enlightened. To know the Absence of god is a certainty in existence is one of the most fundamental questions of human existence, i.e. "does god exist"