Does it really matter if heaven exist (for a religious fundamentalist)? Being that a Christian fundamentalist will die knowing heaven is a 'fact', does the actual existence matter since the fundamentalist will never know that he or she was wrong?
it would matter to them after they died and somehow still had consciousness...if I am understanding your question correctly
In this scenario I'm implying that Heaven doesn't exist. Say we knew for a fact heaven didn't exist, but there were people (Christian fundamentalist) who didn't care and still believed. Would it be comparable to say that they do go to Heaven, even if it isn't tangible, since they will never know.
The future is as intangible as that of air. We can wave our arms in it, but we cannot slap it. Heaven is an unknown future and is an illusion of desire. To accept the not knowing of it, is to move ahead. Now will always be constant and we will always be in it. That is a fact, though the words used may change.
Your scenario is rather moot, since Christians know there IS a "heaven" which God has promised to all those who keep striving for the mark of Salvation.
The path is a solitary one, no matter which path is chosen. Heaven is a path, but it is a path we must travel alone.
In human terms, yes, we must travel it alone.
But indeed the Believer has Jesus walking with them, so we are not truly alone. Even on Judgement Day, Jesus will be our Advocate, if we're judged. And we are/will be judged according to Jesus's righteousness, not by our own.
Right now we are walking together, for time knows not individuals. In time we are all the same and we are naked to the truth of it.
I offer a correction. They 'believe' there is a heaven, or at best they believe that they know that there is a heaven.
Knowledge is attached to experience. They don't know heaven unless they have experienced it.
This is not to devalue their belief. It just isn't the same thing.
cheers
I don't think the question is coherently logical. If you are asking based on the presupposition that heaven does not exist, then how could something that did not exist matter in one's afterlife if there was no afterlife? It would matter during the here and how for how they live their life based on their beliefs and it would matter in the afterlife only if there was an afterlife. Can you clarify at another level deeper what it is you are trying to find out about? Thanks!
If one can be certain that they do not know, heaven is but one of many possibilities.
@seek n find -
My forum question isn't intended to mock any religion. Wit that said, I wonder if Christians (or any religious fundamentalist) are in a win win situation. They go to heaven if it's real. If it isn't they won't know the difference. So is it a win win, regardless?
I didn't think you were mocking--I just didn't understand the question fully. I think it is a win-win no matter how you look at it. This is why:
1) If God is real and heaven exists--the one who believes in the Truth of these matters will be in heaven after they die and know God forever.
2) If God is real and heaven exists--the one who believes in the Truth of these matters ALSO get to experience a version of heaven in the here and now and can know God here and now. The Lord's Prayer "...thy kingdom COME, thy will be done, on EARTH as it is in heaven..."
3) If it's possible that God and heaven are not real, it is still possible that it is. It cannot be proven that God and heaven do not exist so the possibility will always be there.
4) At the very least, if somehow it could be proven that God and heaven were not real, then I guess to believe in God would still not be a bad thing because they would be attempting to be creatures of love and to live by a set of moral laws that are more beneficial than living selfishly and by no standard of right/wrong.
Does that make sense?
Thanks!
Yea I have tried the same idea but in different questions. It has taken me a few attempts to get it down to where I want it. With that said, my latest version of it, that I sent in the previous comment, makes it clearer.
1) Even if god is real, which one? Remember, 70% of the planet doesn't fall under Christianity. (unless it's a Deist God who will cover everyone)
2) I agree but then again it isn't a 50/50. The idea of God, or no God seems narrow, but it's actually very broad. Being that there are many different religions once you step on the 'God' side of the fence.
3) Your number three point can also be an argument for the secular side. Since we can't know God, and heaven exist, it seems like a tedious task of choosing a religion. It's almost like playing the lottery. (this brings me back to my number " 2)" point)
4) I don't agree because there are other philosophies that incorporate the same values. (I.E. I'm a Secular humanist).
Your comments make sense, also.
No, you used fallacies in your examples hence they are not valid.
No, just the fantasy is enough. The believer's final thought is that he is about to meet God. At the point that he could actually learn once and for all that he's wasted the better part of his life chasing an imaginary prize, he ceases to exist.
When I'm bored I visit a local hospice and entertain the patients with my views on the matter.
86
Ron Montgomery9,944 postsJoined: 2 years agoHubs: 21Followers: 269
Posted 1 minute ago
No, just the fantasy is enough. The believer's final thought is that he is about to meet God. At the point that he could actually learn once and for all that he's wasted the better part of his life chasing an imaginary prize, he ceases to exist
Ego ceases to control the illusion.
Good grief.
You visit a local hospice and...?
That's a horrid thing to say, Ron.
...Seems to me there was someone else around here who said such a thing, a while back....but whatever. It's an awful thing to say. Have you ever even known anyone personally who was in hospice care?
Yes, quite a few people. The patients are pounced on by religious types trying to score some last minute conversions and pick over the financial remains. I save them from these vagabonds free of charge.
Yes and they still like entertainment and company. They know what it's like to live in the now, for their time is short.
Heaven does exist for me. Been through that experience when I was young and nobody can convince me that there isn't a heaven at all.
Heaven is the reward to be given to the ones who accomplished the purpose of life; being in the image of the Creator God in attributes that could be acquired by a human being.
Are you suggesting that heaven is an actually place right now? Like say the Bahamas?
I feel it is true, as a Christian, Heaven is being in the presence of the Lord free of sin and such. There will be a new heavens and a new earth after all is said and done, but it isn't what we have now and it doesn't exist yet.
Or are you getting at some, "Look how silly Christians are for believing in some place that doesn't exist and how far will they go to justify it."
No. I'm simply pointing out that it doesn't matter "now". What I believe is secondary and is part of the "I" illusion.
@millercl-
My forum question isn't intended to mock any religion. I wonder if Christians (or any religious fundamentalist) are in a win win situation. They go to heaven if it's real. If it isn't they won't know the difference. So is it a win win, regardless?
However what you have said it true. No matter who it is directed to. It is even in the bible. I appreciate what you write.
If it was fully understood what heaven is really like, you would understand why everything was created.
And we would understand why we would never want to stay there. The illusion is that "I" thinks it is something it needs.
That's right. All illusions aside, yes, mom and dad are on the otherside, but don't have human responses or human images. Imagine a yogurt culture. Heaven is like an eternity of yogurt.
Now were getting closer to the illusion of it. Preconcieved ideas are not the future, they are the past and they only affect the now.
I was being facetious. Being everywhere all at once does get old after the first billion or so years go by...of course, you don't notice the passing of time...you exist beyond it.
For time is but the illusion that what we do matters. If I am worried about making a mark on the world, all of the words I spoke would be meaningless.
Heaven is a matter of belief. No one can see the future but if you believe that there exist any heaven kind of thing then they should do the good thing to go in heaven and it will bring peace in this world and in people also and hence they got the haven like place right here.
by Grace Marguerite Williams 8 years ago
Hell DOES or DOESN'T exist? Why? Why not? Support your analysis.
by zzron 12 years ago
Atheists claim that God does not exist, show me the proof that backs up this claim.
by emrldphx 12 years ago
Well, I've had to do this again to have a chance for someone to defend their claim without the power to simply delete my arguments.The author of the hub of which I speak is Fatfist, and I invite him to defend his claim here in a public forum, where he can't delete my arguments and pretend that I...
by M. T. Dremer 8 years ago
Can you prove the Flying Spaghetti Monster doesn't exist?I know this question sounds like I'm trolling but I assure you I'm trying to ask it legitimately. I see questions all the time on HubPages like "Do you believe in god?" and "If god doesn't exist, prove it." I would say...
by Claire Evans 8 years ago
That's the typical Sam Harris argument. How does suffering negate God's existence? Maybe He's just watching. It doesn't mean He doesn't exist and for anyone to bring up suffering as proof of no God is indication of a logical fallacy.
by Eugene Geminiano 14 years ago
You base your answers as much as possible with Science...
Copyright © 2024 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2024 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |