afterlife

lol…

@C4:

LOL!

Perfect.

And in line with what i just posted: if you choose not to decide, you are Atheist. 😉

Allow me to expound further:

The “what if there’s a god?” clause, of atheism.

If i die and find myself in an actual, real, spiritual afterlife, confronted by the knowledge that god was actually real, then that’s okay. If god is worth worshiping, then he is indeed “all good” and “all loving,” and very likely knows that i am atheist, as well as why someone with a capable mind would view the world in such a way. He would probably be /proud/ that i used my miraculous reasoning capabilities to decide that just believing things without evidence is foolish and reckless, and, that i didn’t take that perceived freedom of eternal consequence and run with it, and exploit it for gains, through intentionally harming others. I perceived free will and tried to use it in a good and valuable way, even without expectation of reward or fear of punishment. I usually did the right thing, and always tried to know what that right thing was, as well as always trying to avoid the worst thing, when the best thing wasn’t available.

I do not think there is any god. But if there is, it would most likely be pleased with the way i handled this situation, instead of upset that i didn’t blindly worship something no one could show me, which i’m sure he would be aware that he had not personally revealed to me. If he makes sure i can’t perceive something, then he shouldn’t blame me for not perceiving it; after all, it was evidently his intention not to reveal himself, and thus, his intention for me not to see, and to figure out how to handle myself in that scenario.

At the very least, i am sure i would not be deserving of anything resembling “hell,” because i found a way to value my own actions, as well as consider how they might impact others, without the need for a perceived fear of eternal torment, or the expectation of eternal reward. I tried to do the right things for the sake of doing the right things, not because of fear or expectation of reward. Any god worth worshiping, would certainly find it acceptable to have a personal value of such a principle, without it being imposed or compulsory.

If there is a god, he knows he made me what i am, so he wouldn’t blame me for being what he wanted me to be, and if he wanted me to be something else, he would have made me that.

I’ve often pondered whether a god would create beings specifically intended not to believe or perceive his existence. I think if a god would do such a thing, he would most likely make special allowances or alternate criteria for judgement. If any “god’s” typical people were supposed to believe and worship, but he instead made me and others like me, to be different in the ways we are, then it would be right for us to think about how to live without the need of a god. Perhaps there is a god who wants us to get along fine without needing him. Maybe that’s why he’s absent. Maybe that’s why he’s undetectable. Maybe my purpose is to spread wisdom of reason, logic, discernment, self-sufficiency, cooperation, evolution of perspective, appreciation of perception, consideration of others and the extent of the impacts of our actions…

Or, maybe we’re just naturally figuring out all this stuff, because we realized that there really isn’t a god, and so we need to figure out how to make the world, and ourselves, better, on our own, together, because there is no divine superbeing out there waiting to help us, if only we just believe hard enough and keep praying.

Maybe it’s just time for humanity to take responsibility for ourselves, and make the systems evolve to be better and more sustainable, instead of blindly continuing down the path of destruction chosen for us by those who have manipulated the dissemination of knowledge for millennia.

Maybe we need to figure out how to make the best of whatever “life” is, which includes doing the best we can do, regardless of whether there is or ever was or will be any “God.”

We know we exist, and we know we will die. That, and what we do while we can act, is what matters.