Why wouldn't you want to go to heaven?

[rifleman]

The obvious answer to all of this is...

Have you ever been around (or perhaps, whaaaaay back when... a part of...) a bunch of kids who were afraid of the dark? Or of monsters under their beds? Or afraid to leave the tent and go over to the State Park toilets at night, alone? Or..... or.....

Many adult conversations of imagined social threats facing us atheists are very similar to those espoused by on-line C-D Christians who ask, in total amazement: "Why wouldn't you want to go to heaven?", as in...

"Why would you live a life of purposeful evil, or an unethical existence, and not want to be saved? Remember now; you have to do it now, not just in the nick of time, as you're dying! Best to repent NOW!"

To the OP question: I don't want to be caught up in an enormous fabrication, one totally unsupported by facts, observations, "back-from-the-dead" tales or even rationality. Not to mention that so many different religions all have their entirely different versions of Heaven, Valhalla, Paradise, and so on.

The obvious intent of all of this? To offer a big carrot to the newcomer to the congregation. One that, to the unimaginative or non-critical thinker, is quite believable. My 97+ year old mother in law, when asked about, say, Noah's Ark or Heaven or The Garden of Eden (even though she's still very cogent, thoughtful and well-read) goes into a sort of very child-like "trancey" persona, all smiles and happiness, and parroting the exact lines she was taught to spout back about 88 years ago, when asked about these fabled concepts.

You an easily imagine her early innocent childhood attendance at Sunday School, the threats and tales of the sad and painful fate of "the disobedient" firmly branded onto her impressionable young mind.

Exactly as planned!

To see an otherwise mature and intelligent person buying into this turns my stomach, frankly. As much as they cannot imagine anyone willfully disowning such an opportunity, I also cannot imagine any sentient adult buying into such a childish fairy tale, riddled as it is all it's implausibilities.

And in disowning it after a critical review, I also gain a sense of real freedom. IMHO of course!

[Dusty Rhodes]

Why wouldn't you want to go to heaven?


Well......if it would be full of people like the ones I know who think they are going there-----I wouldn't like the neighbors.

[dq4u]

This quote is from an article that answers many of the most frequently asked questions about heaven: What will heaven be like

"The idea of working in heaven is foreign to many people. Yet Scripture clearly teaches it. When God created Adam, he 'took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it' (Genesis 2:15). Work was part of the original Eden. It was part of a perfect human life.

God Himself is a worker. He didn't create the world and then retire. Jesus said, 'My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working' (John 5:17). Jesus found great satisfaction in His work. 'My food,' Jesus said, ‘is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work' (John 4:34). We'll also have work to do, satisfying and enriching work that we can't wait to get back to, work that'll never be drudgery. God is the primary worker, and as His image-bearers, we're made to work. We create, accomplish, set goals, and fulfill them - to God's glory.

What kind of work will you do in heaven? Maybe you'll build a cabinet with Joseph of Nazareth. Or with Jesus. Maybe you'll tend sheep with David, discuss medicine with Luke, sew with Dorcas, make clothes with Lydia, write a song with Isaac Watts, ride horses with John Wesley, or sing with Keith Green."

[LargeKingCat]

[quote=Asheville Native;14827408]

Originally Posted by samuelouerbacker

Actually a heaven run by such a vindictive, megalomaniac god would be hell.

I posed this question in a different thread, but would love to hear your twist on it.

A baby is born, of course with the false burden of sin (for what, taking its first breath?)
Grows into a productive adult, treats others well, harms no one, takes care of family.
Dies at some point due to old age, accident, or disease.

And now has a one way ticket to hell, cause he didn't grovel to some deity? Really..............

What a peachy deity this god of yours is, one vindictive, hateful ..........

Is this who you worship, or is it a fear driven act of worship.

Well ok you said it before me. I was going to say that. Really.

Let me add this. Growing up, I was in the company every Sunday morning of a select group of "Christians" who weekly pointed out how they each were going to heaven but doubted whether others would, especially w those who believed differently, or worshiped differently, or did not believe or worship at all !
It seemed to me that Heaven would have a small population made up of these church members. And the days would be spent worshiping God, which I was told, was what we were gathering that very day to do. Only we would be together with God for all of eternity.

Clearly, to me, this did not sound like a very good offer. These were nasty, hateful people. I had no desire to spend an hour or two with them on Sunday morning, so why would I ever want to spend eternity with them. And what if their God was just like them ? That would be worse !

Later, I came to the liberating realization that there is no such thing as heaven or hell. Heaven and hell are inventions of man, inventions of mankind's wishful thinking. A desire to live on after death, a desire to see those we hated punished while spending eternity with those we loved.

Wishful, but not scientifically possible. I think it is somewhat superfluous to speculate on the moral implications of heaven and hell as defined in the Bible (which seems to be the major concern with Bible believers) as we can see scientifically that afterlife is not probable. And, I pointed out in a prior thread, based on my workings and observations of advanced Alzheimer's patients, once the brain goes, memory goes as well. All concious though and memory dies with the brain. So there is not standing in front of God having him say "Oh remember that time you snuck away with the girl next door...shame shame shame" because there is no way to preserve that memory. Again, I have scientific documentation, so no matter what the Bible or any religion says.

(BTW the girl next door was a hot redhead and yes we had some fun together when we were young)

As for the moral implications of heaven and hell, I feel sorry for those who are trapped and enslaved by the Bible, because the God of the Bible is the biggest joke of a deity ever imagined by man. Seriously, a misogynist, egotistical, inferior minded megalomaniac who makes more mistakes than kills of the offspring of the ones whom he messed up ......
There is nothing either Omnipotent, Good, or Admirable about the God of the Bible.

If humans want to invent a God, we need to start with a concept not of an entity, but with a concept of Universal Reality, and not characterized by human personality disorders, but by the respect of human rights and concerted effort to be part of a solution, not part of a problem.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by Adrian71

As to the first paragraph, how sad that you look past the beauty and wonder of this world because you're so focused on the hope of going off to some fantasyland when you die.

There is a lot of beauty and wonder of this world, but there is also a lot of ugliness and evil. The latter does not exist in heaven. BTW, how do you know it's "some fantasyland?" Have you been there?

As for the second paragraph, do you really understand the concept of eternity? We think it's a long time to live 80 years on this planet. Eternity isn't just 80 years. It's 500 trillion years, followed by another 500 trillion years, followed by yet another 500 trillion years, on and on forever, with no end. EVER. Yeah, that terrifies the crap out of me. The thought that my consciousness will someday cease scares me a lot less than that.

80 years is nothing compared to an eternity. That is why I have said before that heaven is our real home. Our mortal life here on earth is no more than a "truck stop" or a brief visit. And don't worry; your consciousness will not cease to exist.

"I could certainly exist in a place where there is no pain, no unhappiness, no jealously, no poverty, no crime, etc." -- So could I, and that's why I strive to make THIS planet a place like that, to the best of my ability.

You can try but Earth will never compare to heaven. Because the Earth consists of mortals (humans) and humans are not perfect.