Rise of atheism: 100,000 Brits seek 'de-baptism'

[Final-Fan]

ManusJustus said:

Final-Fan said:

I can see that you're arguing that just affecting whether someone's life ends or not could be rendered less important by the existence of Heaven.  For that reason I should have picked a better example and I apologize.  

What about discoveries or inventions or actions that alleviate suffering?  That isn't rendered moot by going to Heaven, is it?  Like, say, stopping someone from being tortured.  

Or those poor people that all get mansions in heaven:  if your donation meant that they would get heating in the winter as opposed to not, while they were on Earth, then why is the meaning stripped from that when they get to Heaven?  Sure, they don't need help any more, but they sure had a use for it when they got it on Earth.  

How is it any more meaningful without Heaven?  You're all going to die and the universe will burn out and where will your donations be then?  What use will your cure for paralysis be when the stars are all dead?  

I realize you're banned right now but hopefully you'll see this.   

For me, the distinction is that when you get to Heaven nothing you do matters anymore.  I guess I'm a bit of a pessimist, but if I new that nothing I did in the future would matter I would have much less desire to do things now.

For instance, lets say I signed up for a class and was told that it didnt matter whatsoever if I passed it or not and that I would have no use for the material in the future.  Then I wouldnt give any effort in the class because I know that nothing I do pertaining to that class now will have a bearing on my future.

But that's not equivalent at all.  It's more like you'll have a lot of use for the material for three years and then never again.  

Also, didn't you dodge my questions?  
1.  Why doesn't what happened to people on Earth matter just because they get into Heaven?  They still had that good/bad experience.  You're basically saving them from having unpleasant or traumatic memories.  (That's assuming you had no influence on whether they got into Heaven ...)

2.  Why are Earthly deeds meaningful as opposed to meaningless just by the absence of an afterlife?  Sure, you could say that what affects our Earthly lives is relatively more important when that is the only life you get, as opposed to also having an afterlife that lasts much longer than Earthly life, but you still have yet to show IMO why the existence of an afterlife erases all the meaning that life would otherwise have.  

I guess those might not actually be very separate questions; when I look at it now, #1 appears to be a specific example of #2.