Jay520 said:
He is saying that the concept of an afterlife is flawed. God should not say "Do good because it is the way to heaven." God should say, "Do good because it is the right thing to do." With the existence of heaven, people will act good because they want a reward, not necessarily because they are of good character. which reminds me of a quote someone had in their signature a while back: "A man who does good because of fear of going to Hell is both a coward and is of weak character. A person who does good because he knows it is the right thing to do. That is the man I want to be" or something like that. |
Well, he is not the first one.
*cough*
People are not only supposed to teach their fellow men to act good towards each other, but it is their duty, as enlightened beings, to spread the (religious) definition of "good". This should mean that those who are never exposed to this knowledge could not possibly know how to act, and therefore should not end up in hell under any circumstances, but for some reason religious people tend to call them evil. They say that their free will put them in that situation when, in fact, their will and opinion is entirely based on what they know and how they are taught (by sensory input, which they have no control over) to use that knowledge.
People always act because they want a reward. Otherwise, acting would be pointless. People also always try reach the greatest amount of rewards, and nothing can change that. They have a will, which is based on previous experiences that are set in stone, and their actions will always be dependant on their will.
The sole purpose of a heaven and hell is to control that will.
