... is a bribe to the hearts and minds of humanity.

 

The idea behind the major religions seems to be if you follow God's/Allah's laws, you will get to go to heaven. If you're a good person, you will have a pleasureable afterlife.

 

To my eyes, this is merely a bribe to convince people who can't control their baser instincts alone. A reason to behave.

 

If there is a God out there, I would think that, through acts of kindness and compassion, He is/was trying to show us the virtues of being 'good' through our own decision making process. To use logic and reasoning to overpower our urges and lusts. To understand that hurting others has rammifications in *this* world, not to be bribed with 'behaving' for a treat some time down the road in another world.

 

Thoughts?

I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make here.

The Bible clearly states that there is an afterlife which is based on your actions on Earth.

I've had a glimpse of it.

Send me a PM and I'll tell you what I know

This is political?

SaviorX said: I've had a glimpse of it. Send me a PM and I'll tell you what I know

Is that you that's been hanging out at my bathroom windows?

Its only a bribe if the "creator" intended their laws in their religion to be a bribe.

So God created Adam, the first human, he gave him the first law. Do you think that the "Law" he has given is bribery? IE: Do not eat a fruit from the Forbidden tree?

If this Law is indeed a bribery..

What has God got to gain when he bribes Adam that he just created and that he just gave the ability of freewill?

I like it better than the 'punishment' kind of theology.

I wish people would just be good to one another because it is the right thing to do. Everyone should want to be treated nicely, and the only way for that to happen is everyone treats each other nicely.

But it takes a while for people to grow up. Most two year olds will whack someone with a hammer if given a chance, cause they don’t realize it could really hurt someone. They have to get older and develop and realize it will hurt someone, then it’s not good to hurt someone, and if I treat someone poorly, then someone might treat me poorly and I don’t like it. Some people never really grow up in awareness. Their self awareness is limited to themselves. But so many people need a structure or laws cause they don't seem to figure this out on their own.

IIIIITHE1IIIII said: I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make here. The Bible clearly states that there is an afterlife which is based on your actions on Earth.

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.

Wh1pL4shL1ve_007 said:

Why does God create Adam?

If one takes the "afterlife" aspect out, I think it's possible even for atheists to accept heaven (and hell) - as kinds of metaphors for a good or bad possible later life.

In this context I really like that tale I've read in a number of variations:

Someone is so curious what heaven and hell are like, so god shows him.

He first takes him to a room with a round table in the middle, with people sitting around it. On the table there is a large pot of hot and extremely delicious soup - and yet the people are all undernourished, starving, ill and in a very bad mood. That's because they cannot eat the soup, because all they have are spoons that are extremely long and so hot that they can only be touched at the wooden far end of the handle, so it's impossible to put the soup in one's mouth. God says "This is hell", and the guy becomes sad because he understands the tricky situation these people are in.

Then god says: "Now I'll show you heaven" and he takes him to another room. At first it looks like the same room - the same table, the same pot of hot and delicous soup and even the same oversized spoons. And yet all the people in this room are well-fed, healthy, and in a very good mood. The guy asks: "How is that possible? Everything about this room is the same as in hell!" And god says: "They learned to feed each other."

So I think one doesn't have to wait for an afterlife to enjoy "heaven", to be rewarded for being "good" to others. It's more a state of mind, everyone creates his own heaven or hell right here on earth by the way he treats his fellow men, because if you help them, they'll usually be willing to help you too in the future. Give and you will be given, often even more than you gave in the first place.
If you look at what Jesus says about heaven in the bible, he makes a number of parables that can be considered "good investments": For example the farmer who sows his best seeds, but later when he harvests he gets much more back. Or a guy who buys an acre because he knows there is an expensive treasure buried under it.