A Question For Christians

David Sklansky · #1 03-13-2005, 06:01 AM

I am not trying to be a smart alec or trick anyone with the following question. I really would like to know. And unlike some other religious posts I put up here, this really does deserve to be on the psychology forum.

The question is this: How upsetting would it be to you if it was somehow shown that the Jewish religion was the true one? In other words (and please don't quibble if I have my precepts a bit wrong) the Old Testament is true but the New Testament is hogwash. The Ten Commandments came from God but Jesus was just a man who fooled or had followers who fooled the masses into believing he was something else. (There are also some differences about afterlife that I'm not sure of).

More specifically I'm curious how this revelation would compare to the revelation that there is no God at all. Is it:

A. Almost or just as bad (as no God)

B. Even Worse

C. Moderately Bad

D. Mildly Upsetting but Tolerable

E. Not Answerable because even entertaining the possibility is blasphemous.

felson · #2 03-13-2005, 06:25 AM

I'd be very upset to find out that anything other than Christianity is true. But my gut reaction is that I would greatly prefer to find that Judaism is true than to find that atheism is true. I don't know much about the Jewish views on the afterlife, so it's possible that education might sway my answer in one direction or the other.

Stu Pidasso · #3 03-13-2005, 06:26 AM

[ QUOTE ]
More specifically I'm curious how this revelation would compare to the revelation that there is no God at all. Is it:

A. Almost or just as bad (as no God)

B. Even Worse

C. Moderately Bad

D. Mildly Upsetting but Tolerable

E. Not Answerable because even entertaining the possibility is blasphemous.

[/ QUOTE ]

Kinda depends on what the punishment(if any) is for being wrong. If being wrong means going to hell, then yeah, i'd be
pretty broken up about it.

Stu

FrankieFish · #4 03-13-2005, 06:38 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Kinda depends on what the punishment(if any) is for being wrong. If being wrong means going to hell, then yeah, i'd be pretty broken up about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

You actually get off pretty easy in the afterlife if G-d is your maker. No eternal suffering unless you were Pharoah or Hitler.

Really!

I'll take G-d over God any day. But I'm not a Christian so the question isn't for me. I'm just trying to clarify your question about punishment so that you can better answer David's question (if of course you're a Christian I mean).

FrankieFish · #5 03-13-2005, 06:48 AM

Of course, if G-d is actually Yaldabaoth then you have nothing to worry about. It'll just hit you one day if you want it to.

Stu Pidasso · #6 03-13-2005, 06:54 AM

Assuming no punishment for being Christian when I should have been Jewish, Id be more upset to find out that God did not exist.

Stu

johnnybeef · #7 03-13-2005, 07:06 AM

Mr. Sklansky,

A little backround first: I was raised in a presbytarian family, went to catholic high school, and believe in jesus as a savior. I do not practice the religion however. That being said...I think that your question is unanswerable. The idea of christianity being a farce to a devout christian simply does not exist. You would find that many if not most christians would write off this revelation in a similar fashion that many people have written off the holocaust. This is a very deep topic that i could probably write a novel on, but there are a few words that are central to the religion of christianity that i want you to think about. The first one is faith...the second is spirituality. Think about what those two words mean and why they are so central to christianity.

johnnybeef · #8 03-13-2005, 07:12 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Assuming no punishment for being Christian when I should have been Jewish, Id be more upset to find out that God did not exist.

Stu

[/ QUOTE ]

this is something that i think so many people have wrong. religion isnt about punishment. that is just what people tend to equate it to be about. as humans we are operating on limited information about what is right and what is wrong (religion wise). there is one common theme amongst christianity, judaism, and islam. that is that there is a god and he loves you like a father loves a son. if this is in fact true, then, why would he want to punish you for eternity just because you were a little misinformed even though you were a good person on the whole?

FrankieFish · #9 03-13-2005, 07:14 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Assuming no punishment for being Christian when I should have been Jewish, Id be more upset to find out that God did not exist.

[/ QUOTE ]

So if there was a punishment for being Christian when you should have been Jewish, you'd wouldn't be upset? Not even for a moment?

Let's play a game. You have lived a long and full life, but your ticket to the afterlife just got called.

G-d: Welcome to the afterlife, Stu! LET'S MAKE A DEAL! So you may have noticed the nametag; I'm G-d, not God. I hope it's not a disappointment. If you're a tad upset, walk through Door Number One. If you're not upset or disappointed in the least, walk through Door Number Two.

Stu: Uhhh, what's behind the doors?

G-d: I don't put anything behind the door until you walk through (yeah, I'm all-powerful, you WERE right about that [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img].

Stu: Uhhh, what's the punishment for being wrong?

G-d: Stu, Stu, Stu, how can you be wrong? I'm asking a simple question!

...you head for the doors...

G-d: Oh yeah -- I'll know if you're being honest with me -- so choose wisely!

Stu: So there's nasty stuff behind one of the doors?

G-d: Now that wouldn't be very sporting of me if I were to tell you that, would it?

Which door do you choose?

FrankieFish · #10 03-13-2005, 07:24 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Assuming no punishment for being Christian when I should have been Jewish, Id be more upset to find out that God did not exist.

Stu

[/ QUOTE ]

this is something that i think so many people have wrong. religion isnt about punishment. that is just what people tend to equate it to be about. as humans we are operating on limited information about what is right and what is wrong (religion wise). there is one common theme amongst christianity, judaism, and islam. that is that there is a god and he loves you like a father loves a son. if this is in fact true, then, why would he want to punish you for eternity just because you were a little misinformed even though you were a good person on the whole?

[/ QUOTE ]

Johnny, there are few more religions out there than those three.

Also, another thing all three have in common is some sort of punishment for violating dogma (like being a non-believer).

(There's one thing almost all religions have in common: that they be spread. Coincidentally, the flu shares this trait.)