Would religion be popular if there was no promise of Heaven

xingu wrote:

You do as I say, let me be the boss and I'll let you live with me.

If not then you can go to hell.

Ah yes, you must have known my second wife too!

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Hep,

I don't need the threat of Hell, or the promise of Heaven to be a good person! I feel that you would be a class act, something I have always thought you are, regardless of the presence (real or perceived) of "God"!!

Anon

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fishin' wrote:

The lack of a heaven doesn't seem to be a problem for the Hindus, Buddhists and Taoists of the world. (Hindus comprise the 3rd largest religion in the world.)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Judaism has a real emphasis on the afterlife either.

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Chai Tea wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Judaism has a real emphasis on the afterlife either.

Judaism has a real emphasis on God & Carpeting.

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Of course not. Religion is the narcotic of the masses. The poor deluded sheep who are so frightened they need a benevolent protector to lean on.

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carpeting?

come again?

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Quote:

Then enjoy your enternal life in hell; you make it seem like a joke?

"In front of such a one is Hell, and he is given, for drink, boiling fetid water. In gulps he will sip it, but never will he be near swallowing it: death will come to him from every quarter, yet will he not die. Harrowing torment awaits him." (Ibrahim, 16-17)

Raul

Why do you keep trying to make the Muslim religion look so bad?

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Raul-7 wrote:

neologist wrote:
I'm quite satisfied knowing I will not go to heaven.

Then enjoy your enternal life in hell; you make it seem like a joke?

Are you asking me or telling me?

If you really understood the OT, you would know that
1] the soul is not immortal and
2] there is no such thing as eternal torment in hell.

If your religion is based on the OT, how did you miss it?

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Eorl wrote:

Thanks hepzibah, nice answer.

Your welcome. Thank you. Smile

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Anon-Voter wrote:

Hep,

I don't need the threat of Hell, or the promise of Heaven to be a good person! I feel that you would be a class act, something I have always thought you are, regardless of the presence (real or perceived) of "God"!!

Anon

Anon, thanks. Smile

The feeling is mutual. Smile

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Wilso wrote:

Of course not. Religion is the narcotic of the masses. The poor deluded sheep who are so frightened they need a benevolent protector to lean on.

Interesting perspective. Well... you know... religion is not the only narcotic out the for "poor deluded sheep who are frightened".

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This is an excelllent question!

Well to some Religion would completely lose out. Those would be those who look for religion as a ferry between this world and the next. Someone in this thread meantioned how Hindu's and other eastern religions don't create a notion of heaven and yet have a great following.

There's no simple answer, but I think that the answer could only be found for groups of people evaluating both thier religion and thier culture equally.

As a general guess, I'd say the Abrahamic faith's would take the largest loss in volume.

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hephzibah wrote:

Wilso wrote:
Of course not. Religion is the narcotic of the masses. The poor deluded sheep who are so frightened they need a benevolent protector to lean on.

Interesting perspective. Well... you know... religion is not the only narcotic out the for "poor deluded sheep who are frightened".

No question of that. But it's incredible how many former addicts "find god". One of the twelve steps involves giving your self over to the higher power. But whether a physical narcotic, or a spiritual narcotic, it's still a way to avoid reality. Though I will concede that the spiritual narcotic doesn't destroy the body as heroin will.

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LOL wilso... you ever sat in on an AA meeting? Sorry, not laughing at you, I promise. Yeah, you are correct one of the steps is giving yourself over to the "higher power". However, that "higher power" could be the tree your dog just peed on in the park the other day... LOL Whew... Ok, really, they do not like any mention of "God" in AA meetings, simply because they don't really embrace the idea of a "God". It's not about theology, but rather using the support system around you to find out what your "higher power" is. (Yeah, you guessed it. I spent some time there. Rolling Eyes

)

It is incredible how many addicts find God. I think it's completely understandable. They are searching to fill a need that was once filled by something and now isn't. Obviously that need got there somehow and their first choice was to try and fill it with drugs, or alcohol, or whatever. For some people "reality" is just too harsh to deal with. I was like that for many years. When life serves you the same plate of crap over and over and over, eventually a persons will breaks. At least that has been my experience. Which is pretty much all I've got to go on... LOL

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Heaven and hell might work for a few thiests, but for a very visible percentage, it isn't really that important. Now, take a way the chance to tell people how to live their lives, and deny them the opportunity to look down on the rest of us, and they'd be gone in a New York second.

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I am a reformed addict, and quite often attend NA meetings. The higher power part is the one aspect which I find difficult.

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roger wrote:

Heaven and hell might work for a few thiests, but for a very visible percentage, it isn't really that important. Now, take a way the chance to tell people how to live their lives, and deny them the opportunity to look down on the rest of us, and they'd be gone in a New York second.

You know what though roger? I don't think they always mean to do that. I think that they believe what they are doing is the right thing. I don't know. I can't really speak for "them" I guess. But I can say that was true about me.

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Well, of course you can't. You aren't "them".

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Wilso wrote:

I am a reformed addict, and quite often attend NA meetings. The higher power part is the one aspect which I find difficult.

Awww I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be insensative. I'm glad to hear you are reformed. I can understand why you would struggle with the higher power thing. Finally I can understand. I had a problem with it at the time, but my problem came out of religiosity. I was like, "Harumph! Not acknowledge God! How dare you!"

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roger wrote:

Well, of course you can't. You aren't "them".

Nope, I'm sure not. Razz

Well... now that I think about it... most of the time anyway. Wink

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Would religion be popular if there was no promise of Heaven

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