All humans (even Repubs) base their lives on 2 basic questions.

[Funtatlaguy]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the General Discussion forum).

We all ask ourselves:
Do we believe in an afterlife?
If the answer is yes or maybe, we ask a second question.
What is the least amount of bad things and most amount of good things that I have to do to secure a seat in Heaven instead of Hell.

If the answer to question one is no, here’s the second question.
Knowing there is no such thing as God or an afterlife, do I still want to live a morally and ethically good life trying to do the right thing just because it’s the right thing or do I do whatever I want not worrying about some fake concept of a Hell as punishment?

Why is this germane to politics?
Because what guides our decisions about an ultimate reward or punishment determines the type of public policy and politicians that we want to adhere to and follow.

[Binkie The Clown]

1. Those are two questions I would never dream to ask. They both...

...presuppose a certain level of superstitious insecurity and fear that not everyone suffers from.

[left-of-center2012]

2. Some people may ... not "all"

Many ask themselves these two questions:

1. Do I have enough money to pay the rent, buy food, clothe the kids, etc?

2. How will we survive if I lose my job, get sick, etc?

[JHB]

3. Ya know, plenty of us atheists dont need the Big Guns of Hell pointed at us...

...to behave like decent people. But we do notice a whole lot of people who allegedly do believe in them and still behave in the most vile ways, because they invent some kind of loophole.

So I think your second question is somewhat off-base.

[Thyla]

4. Umm, no

The correct answer to question 1 is nobody knows.
And if you really need to ask question 2 afterwards then what hope do we have.

[Funtatlaguy]

5. Maybe its my Southern Baptist background

and living in areas where there’s a church on every corner.
But, it’s pretty universal here.
Most think (and many tell you) that Your belief or non belief in an afterlife is THE most important decision you will ever make.
All Other import life decisions emanate from that one.

[Mariana]

9. My Southern Baptist background

taught me that you get into Heaven on faith, not behavior.

[Thyla]

11. Like I said, what hope do we have then

If large portions of the population still believe in such sillyness, if you can't even look around and see for oneself the glaringly obvious then what is going on here is nothing short of brainwashing. Do you really think a non believer grapples with the whole "I can be a dick" thing because I believe in nothing?
Seriously we live in a society and societies have rules and laws which guide us on the appropriate way one is expected to behave, start there because funnily enough even the word of god is somehow magically binded by these very same laws.

Maybe it is a baptist thing though, I wasn't taught that when I was younger.

[shraby]

12. I decided many years ago that the only hell is life right here on earth.

Whether there is one after I die, I have no idea and I'm not dying to find out.

[Mariana]

13. Just to be sure, I reviewed the SBC's website.

There is nothing there whatsoever that suggests that anyone should ask himself "What is the least amount of bad things and most amount of good things that I have to do to secure a seat in Heaven instead of Hell." Are Southern Baptist preachers in your area really teaching that salvation can be earned through good works?

[MineralMan]

6. This seems more like a Religion thread than a GD thread.

Religion Group:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1218

[Enoki33]

7. Personally think the only really important question is guided by

the words carved in the portal at Delphi ‘know thyself’: What do I mean when I say I?

[Spider Jerusalem]

8. Nope

I find it kind of interesting that religious people seem to believe that some concept of hell and eternal punishment is a necessary incentive for ethical/moral behaviour. That attitude says considerably more about them than it does about people who don't believe in superstitious nonsense.

[Mariana]

10. What's really interesting is that most flavors of Christianity

teach that hell is deserved by everyone equally, and the only way to avoid it is faith, not works. You don't deserve punishment for any specific acts, you deserve punishment for being a sinner generally, just like everyone else. So where is the incentive to behave ethically/morally, when your behavior has zero effect on where you'll land in the afterlife?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. All humans do not ask themselves that question.

Lots of humans do, but not all of them.

Your second question seems to presuppose that most people who don't believe in an afterlife or a God of some kind are not predisposed to leading a moral and ethically good life.

In addition, Judaism does not, for the most part, believe in an afterlife. Plenty of Jews, including secular Jews (plenty of whom do not believe in God) manage to live a moral and ethically good life.

It's okay for people to believe in God, an afterlife, and use those as their justification for being good. But that is not the only way to live.

I once eavesdropped on a brief conversation between a couple of fundamentalists, and it essentially went, "Why would anyone bother to behave if they didn't believe they'd be punished if they didn't?" which strikes me as the basic flaw in religion as a bat to beat people with. If behaving isn't internally motivated, then it's going to disappear very quickly in the face of anything that sheds doubt on the being punished part.

Public policy for the public good does not need -- or absolutely should not need -- the justification of an ultimate punishment to come about. Indeed, if your religion tells you that you are part of a small group of those who will be saved, that is rewarded in the afterlife, then no matter how you treat those outside your group, you will still be saved. If you do not see all humans as worthy of dignity and respect, regardless of your perception of where anyone will ultimately wind up, then you fail an essential test of humanity.

[DonViejo]

15. Locking....

From the SOP of the General Discussions Forum (emphasis added):

Discuss politics, issues, and current events. Posts about Israel/Palestine, religion, guns, showbiz, or sports are restricted in this forum.

Please post your comment in the Religion Group