2-0-Sixx said:
@miggidy,
First of all, this statment does not indicate which religion to follow. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you not talking about the belief in "god?" You have to remember that there are many mutually exclusive and contradictory religions out there. This creates a problem. If a person is a follower of one religion, he may end up in another religion's version of hell.
Even if we assume that there's a God, that doesn't imply that there's one unique God. Which should we believe in? If we believe in all of them, how will we decide which commandments to follow?
Secondly, the statement that "If you believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you have lost nothing" is not true. Suppose you're believing in the wrong God, the true God might punish you for your foolishness. Also, consider the deaths that have resulted from people rejecting medicine in favor of prayer.
Another flaw in the argument is that it is based on the assumption that the two possibilities are equally likely, or at least, that they are of comparable likelihood. If in fact, the posibility of there being a God is close to zero, the argument becomes much less persuasive. So sadly the argument is only likely to convince those who believe already.
Also, if we don't even know that God exists, why should we just believe in him? Isn't it just as likely that God would be angry at people who chose to believe for personal gain? If God is omniscient, he will certainly know who really believes and who believes as a wager. He will spurn the latter... assuming he actually cares at all whether people truly believe in him.
Just my thoughts.
P.S
I watched one of the DVD's last night and I thought it was the shit.
True, I didn't specify which God to follow because if one's going to accept the existance of God, one must find the true God.
It's like looking before leaping.
I know that a lot of people leap before looking.
So it comes down to proper education.
And the willingness of an individual to keep an open mind.
I didn't get into any details because the question was, "what if you live a religious life and then you find out there is no God?".
My answer basically was that at least you gave it a shot.
In the end, you end up dead like the rest.
But at least you were willing to gamble.
I kept it in the context of the question.
Back to your question, when I say that one should believe in God because we have nothing to loose. I didn't mean for people to give it a shot for personal gain.
I meant it in a way for people to open up to the idea of a higher power. Jesus said, seek and you will find.
That is very true, once you look for the ultimate reality, you will find it. Now how do you know which scripture is the real deal? Research.... It will become as clear as water.
Jesus said that you can judge a prophet by it's fruit.
How do you know which religion is the real deal? Judge it by it's fruit. But when I say that, judge it by it's "real" fruit. I'm reffering to those who follow their beliefs and not those who claim to be faithful. Their actions are what counts.
For instance, don't judge Muslims for the actions of certain extremists like Bin Laden. No matter what he says, he's not a true Muslim, but a hypocrite.
You mention what about those who die because they choose prayer over medacine. Look at their religion, does their religion ask them to do this? Or are they acting on their own?
I tell you that most people I know who do this act on their own and are not commanded by their religion.
Shame on them for not following the words of God....
No different than the Crusaders who invaded America.
Christ asked his followers to spread his words by example.
Yet these assholes spread it by the sword.
Shame on them for not listenning to what Christ commanded them to do. And for that they will pay dearly, according to the very same scripture they claim to follow.
Ignorance bro....
That's what it comes down to, the lack of education.
But I say any religion of peace is cool.
As long as it teaches peace and not hate, it's cool.
I believe that God has made it possible for anyone to be saved as long as he has a good heart.
Well at least that's what the New Testament says....
PS....
Glad you liked the DVD's, you know they're from a show that was supposed to air on PBS.
It was a series, they made it up to Monopoly Men and then they canned it. It turns out PBS is owned by the Rockefeller family.
Trippy shit....
