if we took away life after death from religion would followers be so into believ

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   nightwork4posted 14 years ago

   if we took away life after death from religion would followers be so into believing in god?
   
   i honestly think the fear of death is what drives religion. if that was never part of religion would it have grown as it has.

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   kazemaru2posted 14 years ago

   they still because the belief in god is the belief in everlasting love which means it doesn't matter if there is a afterlife or not as long as there is love in people's hearts there is god.

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   peterxdunnposted 14 years ago

   In the Old Testament it states that there is no life after death. The reason the writers of the New Testament promised the 'life eternal' to followers of the 'risen from death messiah' (IE if he can do it so can you) is because they wanted those followers to participate in an insurrection against Rome: an uprising that would see a great many of them killed. That uprising took place in AD 115 and hundredes of thousands of people died (needlessly - the insurrection failed) across Rome's eastern provinces as a result.

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4. 59

   Dave Mathewsposted 14 years ago

   After you take it away, what are you planning to do with it for yourself? Religion is not driven by fear. It is driven by a thirst to try and know as much as possible about ones creator and to try and get as close as possible to Him.

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   misterdiggsposted 14 years ago

   No.
   
   Mainly because the greatest fear that most of us have is the fear of death.  The fear of not really knowing what happens to us when we die.
   
   It is a cruel irony is it not that God has cornered the market on the fear of death.  As if you could control anything in life; in the end none of us have controlled anything.
   
   In the end...

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   nightwork4posted 14 years ago

   Dave Mathews. sorry to say but yes, religion is driven by fear. you state that religion is about getting as close to the creator as possible. if that is true then why is the #1 topic when religion is discussed about life after death. not just on this site, but on pretty much every site i've visited.
   Fear has been used for millenias to push religion, like in the salem burnings, the crusades, and in day to day life. "if you don't ask for gods forgiveness you will go to hell". what's that if it's not fearmongering?

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   Wesman Todd Shawposted 14 years ago

   No, they wouldn't, and the reason is that many of them only claim to be Christians and believe in heaven and hell because they feel like you and I should go to hell. . . . .whilst "good" people like "them" go to heaven.

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   jasper420posted 14 years ago

   i dont think so if there werent life after death what would lifes purpose be

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   Jaynie2000posted 14 years ago

   I love these philosophical questions.
   
   My answer would have to be "no." Life after death is the ultimate dangling carrot. Many people who subscribe to organized religion do so because they are trying to earn the privilege of getting into heaven and achieving immortality.
   
   For me, a life well-lived is its own reward. I do not spend much time contemplating what comes next. I live my life according to my own rules, attempt to be kind to everyone around me, raise my children with a focus on dedicating their lives to education, benevolence, and love.
   
   I take each day and it comes and try not to take my good fortune for granted. I love my family, honor my commitments, live with a sense of civic responsibility and genuinely care for and promote the wellbeing and equality of all people. If that doesn't get me into heaven, assuming it exists, then perhaps heaven isn't my cup of tea.

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