Zone1 Is the promise of a good afterlife the greatest motivation for…

[Meriweather]

…bringing people into one’s faith? Or for believing in God? What best persuades people that religion has something very real to offer them and their lives?

 

[Carl in Michigan]

…bringing people into one’s faith? Or for believing in God? What best persuades people that religion has something very real to offer them and their lives?

No. If you don't LOVE GOD you're not gonna be there. Threats of ever burning hell is not the motivation that will give you eternal life.

This is what's required: "you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and mind."

This can't be given. It is innate.

 

[Meriweather]

No. If you don't LOVE GOD you're not gonna be there. Threats of ever burning hell is not the motivation that will give you eternal life.

This is what's required: "you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and mind."

This can't be given. It is innate.

How do you recommend people begin building love of God within him/herself?

 

[The Irish Ram]

How do you recommend people begin building love of God within him/herself?

By reading what Jesus said, and prayer.

I think one of the best motivators is :
"Death, where is thy sting?"
Knowing you will be reunited with loved ones that have past, is worth looking forward to.

 

[Meriweather]

I think one of the best motivators is :
"Death, where is thy sting?"
Knowing you will be reunited with loved ones that have past, is worth looking forward to.

Death (my opinion) is one of the worst motivators to become a person of faith and/or to follow Jesus. Reading and praying also fall short as there are dry periods in each of these. In reading, discerning is also a problem as often what is understood is not the same as what the author meant.

The best motivators for waking up faith and taking up a religion: It teaches and disciplines one to live rightly and justly according to the Way of God, the Laws of God instead of, "I did it my way." The best reason for atheism is the brushing aside of God's ways, because atheists see their own ways as preferable. Considering the number of divorces, abortions, lies, cheating, and sniping...so do many people of faith.

 

[Donald H]

Death (my opinion) is one of the worst motivators to become a person of faith and/or to follow Jesus. Reading and praying also fall short as there are dry periods in each of these. In reading, discerning is also a problem as often what is understood is not the same as what the author meant.

The best motivators for waking up faith and taking up a religion: It teaches and disciplines one to live rightly and justly according to the Way of God, the Laws of God instead of, "I did it my way." The best reason for atheism is the brushing aside of God's ways, because atheists see their own ways as preferable. Considering the number of divorces, abortions, lies, cheating, and sniping...so do many people of faith.

You're interested in what motivates a person to be an atheist but you're not ready to ask any atheists to find out. Your faith isn't strong enough to bear finding out.

Atheism isn't a religion and so no two atheists need to have anything in common other than a lack of belief in mainstream Christianity. My own lack of belief had grown stronger in the fact that the bibles have been compromised by the need to remain believable in the face of modern science.

Hence, stories such as Jonah and the big fish has the effect of driving away atheists who are intelligent enough to need an explanation that can be convincing. Christians don't have an answer.

It's always going to be like asking an atheist to buy a car on faith, that has no steering wheel, no brakes, and no wheels. Christians can't supply the missing parts because, as with the big fish, there's no agreed upon answer.

Why would any clear thinking atheist ever accept Christianity on that lack of a common basis of understanding?

 

[Meriweather]

Most readers may recall I come from a family of atheists, married an atheist who is also from a family of atheists. I'm more surrounded by atheists than people of faith.

 

[TNHarley]

…bringing people into one’s faith? Or for believing in God? What best persuades people that religion has something very real to offer them and their lives?

Using fear has seemed to work pretty good for millennia.

 

[Frankenstein]

How do you recommend people begin building love of God within him/herself?

Consider the price that was paid for you to be able to reconcile to God

 

[Meriweather]

Using fear has seemed to work pretty good for millennia.

How so, and specifically by whom? For example, are you thinking of Bertrand Russell?

There is a strong Christian principal, based on a letter from John, that love casts out fear. Both Judaism and Christianity are based on love.

 

[Meriweather]

Consider the price that was paid for you to be able to reconcile to God

What should be considered is the length God went to in assuring His people, Sins are forgiven.

 

[BreezeWood]

Is the promise of a good afterlife the greatest motivation for…​

…bringing people into one’s faith? Or for believing in God? What best persuades people that religion has something very real to offer them and their lives?

just being honest would help, the heavens have not spoken to anyone at anytime than the beginning to granted humanity and all living beings the choice of self determination to free one's spirit completely of evil as the means for judgement and admission to the everlasting.

 

[TNHarley]

How so, and specifically by whom? For example, are you thinking of Bertrand Russell?

There is a strong Christian principal, based on a letter from John, that love casts out fear. Both Judaism and Christianity are based on love.

yeah, like letting the town leaders kill your child for back talking. Or killing an entire city because some guy likes penises in his mouth.
"love" LOL

 

[Meriweather]

yeah, like letting the town leaders kill your child for back talking.

I notice the switch from the Biblical account towards a stubborn and unruly son who will not listen to his parents or obey them, and who is a glutton and a drunkard, to a back talking child.

There is no record of this punishment towards a clearly grown son ever occurring. Rabbis have often considered the reason for this direction, and have come up with two thoughts. Some laws are obviously over-the-top and are used to show the seriousness of bad/evil behavior. It's used as a deterrent. The second, is what if this is the first-born son, who inherits all the family has and has the duty/responsibility of looking after the entire family and its possessions. Instead of looking after the family he is selfish and lavishes it all on himself, and he is also a drunkard who does not care for and does not work to support his family.

Some rabbis point to the account immediately preceding this one, where a father has two sons from two different wives and clearly favors the second wife and their first born son, while clearly disliking his first wife and their first born son. The father cannot leave the inheritance to his son by the second wife, but is required to leave it all to the son of his first wife. But...what if that first born son grows up to be a truly bad character with hatred toward the second wife and his half-brothers and sisters? What if it is clear he will not be a good provider/administrator of the inheritance? Again, we have no account saying this ever happened. It's a matter of "What if."

So yes, based on love of the whole, what is the best course to follow?

 

[ding]

…bringing people into one’s faith? Or for believing in God? What best persuades people that religion has something very real to offer them and their lives?

I don't believe most people behave as if they believe there is an afterlife where they will be judged.

 

[ding]

You're interested in what motivates a person to be an atheist but you're not ready to ask any atheists to find out. Your faith isn't strong enough to bear finding out.

I don't think she is interested in that at all. I know I'm not. That's between them and God.

 

[Meriweather]

I don't believe most people behave as if they believe there is an afterlife where they will be judged.

I am astonished the number of Christians who seem to believe that as they once said, "I believe in Christ" that all that will happen is that God will see Christ's blood covering them and will wave them all in without a second thought.

Each night, Catholics are advised to probe and inspect their conscience. I think of this as judgement of the day--or Judgement Day. The end result of this for me each night? "Oh-oh. Let me give it another go tomorrow," which is always graciously granted. It's a great ending to the day, knowing I have hope in God--and He has hope in me.

 

[Meriweather]

I don't think she is interested in that at all. I know I'm not. That's between them and God.

Yes, my conclusion is that atheism is between them and God. However, with so many atheists in my life, of course I am interested in why, and we find it easy to talk over because we trust one another. God is not who they imagine Him to be, where they imagine Him to be, and does not do what they imagine He should be doing. A second line of thought is that even if God did exist, they want the opportunity to, on their own and by themselves, get through life on their own, figuring out their own way. Even were they were positive that God is here to help, to be by their side, they would say, "Thank you, but I want to get through this life all on my own, all by myself."

Sure, I wonder about the possibility of them choosing an afterlife of continuing doing it all on their own, all by themselves...but God honors choice, and I trust in God's ways.

Here is another point about the atheists that are in my life. Each one of them, at some point, have come to me and said, "I know you believe. Can you pray about this and maybe get some answers for me?" I do this, and the answer has always been something simple, something they never thought of, and something they "knew" had no chance of working. But they decide to give it a try anyway, often to then use as proof there is no God. To their astonishment, it's the answer that worked. Did any of them ever become believers because of this? Not once. Welcome to my life!

 

[ding]

Yes, my conclusion is that atheism is between them and God. However, with so many atheists in my life, of course I am interested in why, and we find it easy to talk over because we trust one another. God is not who they imagine Him to be, where they imagine Him to be, and does not do what they imagine He should be doing. A second line of thought is that even if God did exist, they want the opportunity to, on their own and by themselves, get through life on their own, figuring out their own way. Even were they were positive that God is here to help, to be by their side, they would say, "Thank you, but I want to get through this life all on my own, all by myself."

Sure, I wonder about the possibility of them choosing an afterlife of continuing doing it all on their own, all by themselves...but God honors choice, and I trust in God's ways.

Here is another point about the atheists that are in my life. Each one of them, at some point, have come to me and said, "I know you believe. Can you pray about this and maybe get some answers for me?" I do this, and the answer has always been something simple, something they never thought of, and something they "knew" had no chance of working. But they decide to give it a try anyway, often to then use as proof there is no God. To their astonishment, it's the answer that worked. Did any of them ever become believers because of this? Not once. Welcome to my life!

I think that everyone comes to God in their own way if at all. And apparently that's the way God wants it. So I'm pretty sure he wants us to love him for who he is rather than what he can do for us. With that said, my level of despair grows exponentially the further away I move from God. So that's not saying there are no practical benefits of a God filled life. Because there are. But the question will always come back to am I leading a God filled life to get practical benefits or because I love God.

 

[Meriweather]

But the question will always come back to am I leading a God filled life to get practical benefits or because I love God.

It may not be an 'either/or' situation. It can easily be both. Examples: Do I eat vegetables because I like them, or because of the health they provide? Answer: Both. Do I bake bread because I like to bake or because homemade bread is the best? Answer: Both.

I'm betting you can go through your own life and find "both" to be the answer to many things.

Do I lead a God filled life because I love God or because it brings greater meaning/benefits to my life? Both. The same can be said of my best friend: Were we best friends because we loved each other or because we had such great fun together and could always depend on one another during the hard times? Both.