would you still be religious if...

Sgloom · Feb 23, 2012

this is directed towards those that believe in the promise of eternal life after death.
would you still be religious and faithful if there were no promise of an afterlife. that this life was all there is, would you still pray to god, love him and follow his ways without the promise of anything eternal afterwards?

Madhuri · Feb 23, 2012

Nope. I'd be too angry for that.

Sgloom · Feb 23, 2012

angry at him, or angry that you couldnt live forever?

Gharib · Feb 23, 2012

in the Qur'an it says that we were created in order to worship God, paradise is just a bonus, it does make me work harder and be a better person due to my aim of entering it one day by the mercy of God.

Me Myself · Feb 23, 2012

I don´t praise thinking in tomorrow but thinking in today. I would probably pray a lot more and devote my life to spirituality in a more full way.

Or kill myself, one or the other

Madhuri · Feb 23, 2012

Sgloom said:
angry at him, or angry that you couldnt live forever?

Angry that I am created. I'd either feel that my life is pointless or that I'm being used as sport by this 'god'.

I'd rather never exist if it all amounts to nothing in a very short time (because human life is very, very short).

Sgloom · Feb 23, 2012

i feel a little bit of both ways, whats the point of an existance if its just going to end, but at the same time im thankful for existing now and appreciate life even if it is short.
what if god didnt have the ability to create eternal life, do you think he shouldnt even bother with temporary life then? im not trying to limit a god either, im just speaking hypothetically for discussion sake.

Madhuri · Feb 23, 2012

Sgloom said:
i feel a little bit of both ways, whats the point of an existance if its just going to end, but at the same time im thankful for existing now and appreciate life even if it is short.
what if god didnt have the ability to create eternal life, do you think he shouldnt even bother with temporary life then? im not trying to limit a god either, im just speaking hypothetically for discussion sake.

If he couldn't create something better for us I think it more ethical to not create us in the first place. I think such a god who would tempt us with life and give us the ability to form loving relationships would have to be pretty uncompassionate to then put us through the pain and suffering of loss, struggle and death.

Sgloom · Feb 23, 2012

i think i would still be thankful to a god even if life wasnt forever. he didnt have to create anything in the first place. sometimes just sitting in my backyard looking at birds or insects, i marvel at how amazing life is. to be able to experience it is a wonderful thing even if that experience will eventually be erased, perhaps god will remember it forever and youll exist in his thoughts forever, that has to make some sort of impact.

Sgloom · Feb 23, 2012

so theres no point to anything if it isnt forever?

Madhuri · Feb 23, 2012

Sgloom said:
i think i would still be thankful to a god even if life wasnt forever. he didnt have to create anything in the first place. sometimes just sitting in my backyard looking at birds or insects, i marvel at how amazing life is. to be able to experience it is a wonderful thing even if that experience will eventually be erased, perhaps god will remember it forever and youll exist in his thoughts forever, that has to make some sort of impact.

But when you sit out there looking at those birds, do you actually believe that a God created you for no purpose?

Perception is everything.

Even if you believe that life is pointless, that doesn't need to discount how amazing it is. Life is freaking incredible.

But if you're sitting out there and the birds are beautiful and you think how lovely it can be and suddenly a larger bird comes and attacks those sweet birds, starts ripping into their body until it eventually dies, and you have a belief that God created this world this way for no ultimately good purpose...wouldn't it seriously disturb you? Wouldn't it make you mad?

Madhuri · Feb 23, 2012

Sgloom said:
so theres no point to anything if it isnt forever?

There might be a point to god, in this hypothetical situation, but not to the individuals subject to eternal non-existence.

If our short life amounts to nothing, I don't see the point of it at all. Enjoy it while you can because living in suffering sucks. But once it's over, it may as well have never been.

Sgloom · Feb 23, 2012

the nature of life can indeed be brutal sometimes, and many people and things do suffer a great deal. i guess it would make me mad if we were created for no point to the individual at all. even though i find it hard to believe in a god, i hope there is a kind, just and loving one that has a purpose to all of this. whatever that purpose may be.
thank you for the discussion and everyone who replied, its late and i have to sleep =) perhaps ill pick up this discussion tomorrow, its given me something to think about.

Bismillah · Feb 23, 2012

eselam said:
in the Qur'an it says that we were created in order to worship God, paradise is just a bonus, it does make me work harder and be a better person due to my aim of entering it one day by the mercy of God.

I agree.

Gharib · Feb 23, 2012

Bismillah said:
I agree.

thank you brother.

sandandfoam · Feb 23, 2012

Sgloom said:
this is directed towards those that believe in the promise of eternal life after death.
would you still be religious and faithful if there were no promise of an afterlife. that this life was all there is, would you still pray to god, love him and follow his ways without the promise of anything eternal afterwards?

I think there is only life. God or not.
I try to submit to God because I believe it is the right thing to do now.

tarasan · Feb 23, 2012

Sgloom said:
this is directed towards those that believe in the promise of eternal life after death.
would you still be religious and faithful if there were no promise of an afterlife. that this life was all there is, would you still pray to god, love him and follow his ways without the promise of anything eternal afterwards?

of course, our religion isnt just about the life thereafter, its about a relationship with God.

Madhuri · Feb 23, 2012

tarasan said:
of course, our religion isnt just about the life thereafter, its about a relationship with God.

But think about the implications of a God who has no desire to form a permanent relationship with you. This scenario does not relate to the God you believe in, does it?

dyanaprajna2011 · Feb 24, 2012

If there were no benefits to worshiping a deity, it would make me wonder what the point would be in doing so. Because, to me, if there were no benefit, then this life is just for said deity's entertainment, which, to me, seems kind of sadistic. I don't have any deity that I worship or pray to, but I thought I'd throw my two cents in.

Rational_Mind · Mar 3, 2012

Sgloom said:
this is directed towards those that believe in the promise of eternal life after death.
would you still be religious and faithful if there were no promise of an afterlife. that this life was all there is, would you still pray to god, love him and follow his ways without the promise of anything eternal afterwards?

Afterlife is a fundamental part of Islam. Taking that away is sort of like removing a major organ of the body. Without it, the entire philosophy cannot be complete and explainable. So if there was no afterlife then all of true religions that originate from Allah would not be true divine religions.

So your question is quite frankly not a valid question if posed to Islam. It can not be answered because it is like asking "Would you be a Muslim if there was no Islam?" or "Would you be religious if there was no God?". Maybe this will be a bit hard for you to understand from your perspective.

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