What are the consequences of mocking God?

[Copernicus]

Nothing until your dead.

That's the point. While we live and breathe, there is absolutely no way to verify the existence of gods. It would be absurd to take such beings seriously if there were no consequences. So, if such a belief is to survive a normal standard of credulity, there must be serious consequences for rejecting belief in a god or gods. Hence, the religions that have survived normal skepticism have relied on the claim that there are seriously bad consequences if one succumbs to rejection of belief in the absurd.

 

[Thief]

That's the point. While we live and breathe, there is absolutely no way to verify the existence of gods. It would be absurd to take such beings seriously if there were no consequences. So, if such a belief is to survive a normal standard of credulity, there must be serious consequences for rejecting belief in a god or gods. Hence, the religions that have survived normal skepticism have relied on the claim that there are seriously bad consequences if one succumbs to rejection of belief in the absurd.

So you're still hedging on the hope there is no life after death.....because....
there could be serious consequence for your denial of God?

 

[Man of Faith]

Mocking God can be a sign of being lost, and we know what the Bible says will happen to those people. But even the saved can mock God by sinning when they know it is wrong. And when they do that, they take a fall from grace.

 

[Copernicus]

So you're still hedging on the hope there is no life after death.....because....
there could be serious consequence for your denial of God?

How could you possibly infer that from what I wrote? :slap:

There are many competing beliefs about gods and the possibility of survival after death, i.e. immortality. Which beliefs are most likely to survive the competition? We are predisposed to believe those that offer us the hope of immortality and to reject those that affect the quality of the imaginary afterlife. Despite that predisposition, I have no hope of an afterlife and no fear of the consequences of denying belief in absurdities. Such fear does not serve to drive people towards belief. Its main function is to drive people away from considering rejection of belief.

 

[Thief]

Inference such as.....

That's the point. While we live and breathe, there is absolutely no way to verify the existence of gods. It would be absurd to take such beings seriously if there were no consequences. So, if such a belief is to survive a normal standard of credulity, there must be serious consequences for rejecting belief in a god or gods. Hence, the religions that have survived normal skepticism have relied on the claim that there are seriously bad consequences if one succumbs to rejection of belief in the absurd.

I realize you don't believe.
In part because you are waiting for that photo op, or fingerprint.
And of course, without 'evidence' you believe you have nothing to worry about.

Sure you don't.

 

[Copernicus]

Mocking God can be a sign of being lost, and we know what the Bible says will happen to those people...

Those who mock gods usually do so in order to insult or shock believers, and believers must have a way of dealing with rejection, especially when it takes the form of mockery of the object of their worship. Claiming that God will punish those that mock him is a way of shaking a stick at the mockers. It helps to mitigate their feelings of impotency at the very obvious fact that there are never any immediate consequences of mocking a god. Therefore, the god must take his revenge at a later time. Or not.

 

[Copernicus]

Inference such as.....

Please reread the passage and note the conditional clause that precedes the part you highlighted. Think about how conditional clauses work. They have an effect on the interpretation of the claims they are attached to.

I realize you don't believe.
In part because you are waiting for that photo op, or fingerprint.
And of course, without 'evidence' you believe you have nothing to worry about.

I realize that you do not believe in Santa Claus because you are waiting for that photo op or fingerprint. And, of course, without 'evidence' you believe that you will get a Christmas present anyway. Dream on, fool.

 

[Thief]

Santa actually has some root in reality.

And of course I say the singularity, and the resulting universe...
is God's say-so.

I might concede, as we stand before God we will all have some foolishness,
we might want...overlooked.
Outright denial, might be hard to ...overlook.

 

[Copernicus]

Santa actually has some root in reality.

So, now you are still hedging on the hope of getting that present?

I might concede, as we stand before God we will all have some foolishness,
we might want...overlooked.
Outright denial, might be hard to ...overlook.

Let's not forget that we imagine God to be both omnipotent and beyond petty emotions. In that sense, I would imagine God being capable of overlooking denial, especially since he has worked so hard to make it look like he really might not exist after all. Indeed, he might just reward those who relied on common sense rather than blind faith, since they were the ones who treated an apparent absurdity as a real absurdity. :angel2:

 

[Thief]

So, now you are still hedging on the hope of getting that present?


Let's not forget that we imagine God to be both omnipotent and beyond petty emotions. In that sense, I would imagine God being capable of overlooking denial, especially since he has worked so hard to make it look like he really might not exist after all. Indeed, he might just reward those who relied on common sense rather than blind faith, since they were the ones who treated an apparent absurdity as a real absurdity. :angel2:

From another thread...I quote myself...

Hell would be the absence of the one item you love most.
Would that one Item be....God?

When you share your presence with someone else...
that is a judgment call.
When you deny your presence and forbid they follow....
that is a judgment call.

God and His angels pick and chose.

Doesn't God have what it takes to go on without you?....forever?

 

[Tyr]

The same consequences that occur when you mock the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I.e. nil.

Your messing with dangerous stuff there!

 

[Copernicus]

From another thread...I quote myself...

That's one of the weakest Appeal to Authority fallacies I've seen in a long time.

Hell would be the absence of the one item you love most.
Would that one Item be....God?

Not in the slightest.

When you share your presence with someone else...
that is a judgment call.

You cannot decide to share your presence with someone who does not exist.

When you deny your presence and forbid they follow....
that is a judgment call.

You cannot deny your presence and forbid they follow to someone who does not exist.

God and His angels pick and chose.

Imaginary being pick and choose what we imagine them to pick and choose.

Doesn't God have what it takes to go on without you?....forever?

Imaginary beings have whatever we imagine them to have.

 

[Man of Faith]

That's the point. While we live and breathe, there is absolutely no way to verify the existence of gods. It would be absurd to take such beings seriously if there were no consequences. So, if such a belief is to survive a normal standard of credulity, there must be serious consequences for rejecting belief in a god or gods. Hence, the religions that have survived normal skepticism have relied on the claim that there are seriously bad consequences if one succumbs to rejection of belief in the absurd.

The consequences of mocking God, which basically means living like there is no God and ignoring his teachings, are alcoholism, sexual diseases, drug addiction, diabetes, cancer, divorce, jail, death. The problem is we are so used to living with these things we think it is normal. If a person lives the way the Bible tells them to, they will have less problems. Of course now that some of these things has spread throughout society they affect everyone.

 

[Thief]

Hey Copernicus.....

Obviously, you rely entirely on denial.
Too bad for you.

Your rebuttal technique has led you to a point, wherein faith is not possible.
Too bad you.

You don't believe in life after death?
Too bad for you.

Maybe you've noticed?
The loss of a physical perception does not shut down your thoughts or feelings.
How far can this go?

You cannot escape your body. How far does that go?

For you, it will go as far as the box...and the box into the ground.
Eternal Darkness is physically real.

Good luck with that lack of faith.

 

[Copernicus]

The consequences of mocking God, which basically means living like there is no God and ignoring his teachings, are alcoholism, sexual diseases, drug addiction, diabetes, cancer, divorce, jail, death. The problem is we are so used to living with these things we think it is normal. If a person lives the way the Bible tells them to, they will have less problems. Of course now that some of these things has spread throughout society they affect everyone.

MoF, when deep religious faith metastasizes in the mind, these are the kinds of malignant thoughts that can result. If what you said had a shred of truth, then we would find measurable differences in health and good fortune between populations that believe and those that do not. However, what we find in reality is that believers and non-believers experience roughly the same health and social problems. What makes your statement a dangerous delusion is that it projects blame for all the bad things that happen to us on those who do not share your religious belief. This then becomes an excuse for feeling anger at and persecuting people who do not believe the way you do. Don't blame your poor health and lack of good circumstances on the faithless. That will not do a thing to improve your situation.

Obviously, you rely entirely on denial.
Too bad for you.

What do you mean "rely" on denial? Rely on it for what?

Your rebuttal technique has led you to a point, wherein faith is not possible.
Too bad you.

Your rebuttal technique is sorely lacking.
Too bad for you.

You don't believe in life after death?
Too bad for you.

You don't have faith that Santa delivers presents to all good children?
Too bad for you.

Maybe you've noticed?
The loss of a physical perception does not shut down your thoughts or feelings.
How far can this go?

Actually, I have noticed that unconsciousness shuts down physical perception, thoughts, and feelings. You should have noticed that as well, assuming that you lose consciousness just about every night of your life.

You cannot escape your body. How far does that go?

Alas. To the grave.

For you, it will go as far as the box...and the box into the ground.
Eternal Darkness is physically real.

And for you, too, my friend. I hate to point this out, but you and I will share the same fate in the end. That is, our conscious existence will cease. Hence, we should strive to enjoy the conscious existence that we have.

Good luck with that lack of faith.

Well, I wish you luck, as well. Regardless of what you believe.

 

[LittleSidhe]

Oh hell yeah.
There most definitely is an effect.
You get loads of theists whining and complaining, not to mention the ones who will call for your death and the ones who would actually kill you.

Yep, definately. I don't believe anything would happen, except the ridicule you'd get from some religious people.

 

[tomato1236]

It there an effect?

Why not just give it an honest go and let us know what happens?

 

[Man of Faith]

MoF, when deep religious faith metastasizes in the mind, these are the kinds of malignant thoughts that can result. If what you said had a shred of truth, then we would find measurable differences in health and good fortune between populations that believe and those that do not. However, what we find in reality is that believers and non-believers experience roughly the same health and social problems. What makes your statement a dangerous delusion is that it projects blame for all the bad things that happen to us on those who do not share your religious belief. This then becomes an excuse for feeling anger at and persecuting people who do not believe the way you do. Don't blame your poor health and lack of good circumstances on the faithless. That will not do a thing to improve your situation.

I already spoke to this. Even people of faith can mock God, we are mere human after all. If I don't have sex can I get a sexual disease? No, but if I do I could. Also the results of mocking God affect everyone, not just those that do it.

 

[Thief]

I already spoke to this. Even people of faith can mock God, we are mere human after all. If I don't have sex can I get a sexual disease? No, but if I do I could. Also the results of mocking God affect everyone, not just those that do it.

I don't think you should go that far.
I remember when authority would come down on everyone in the group...
just because one participant failed in someway.

But as we stand before God...
I expect to be held to my sayings, and my actions.

If I can be held accountable for your misdeed....
should I not hunt you down? sword in hand?

 

[Copernicus]

...Also the results of mocking God affect everyone, not just those that do it.

You raise an interesting question. Would a god capable of feeling insults be more offended by mockery from inferior beings or by being portrayed as a petty-minded vindictive being? In my mind, a perfect being would be above such silliness, but I'm not the one who takes the existence of gods seriously.