Inherently good?

[hitch1978]

Let's say that you die tomorrow, awaking shocked at a set of doors. One of the doors is marked good and one is marked bad.

Obviously, depending upon your belief, your level of shock may vary, but let me emphasise, this is not a realm of any recognised religion. There is just two doors, one marked good and one bad. There is a sign on the wall reading 'afterlife reception' if you like. Between the two doors is a desk with Judge Judy sat behind it, looking through a document entitled - ' [your name]'s Life CV '

Without talking to you she looks up and says, 'Please continue through the door marked.....'

[madnak]

Judge Judy? [censored], I'm in trouble.

[FortunaMaximus]

lol, just ask her to run it twice.

[RoundGuy]

Can't answer. I don't know what the criteria / definition is for good and bad.

[hitch1978]

[ QUOTE ]
Can't answer. I don't know what the criteria / definition is for good and bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is a reason the question is somewhat vague, I'll get to that.

If I must, let's say you just have to guess, and you are being judged on who you are as a person over the course of your life on Earth. Please be honest.

[hitch1978]

IMPORTANT! Please answer the first poll before scrolling down and reading the questions to these ones.

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[hitch1978]

OK, so this thread is basically an extension of the thread 'If Jesus is the son of God, then I'll go to heaven' By Einbert (I think). Basically my point is that we all believe we live a good life and do what is 'right'.

Well that's not actually my entire point, it's a bit more subtle, and expansive, than that.

I remember watching a Matt Damon film, 'The talented Mr Rpley,' I think. There is a line in it - 'Nobody thinks they're a bad person.' And it struck a chord with me for some reason. I mean who would believe they had lead an unjust life, because they are judging it by their own standards, which are obviously skewed by their own moral judgement system, that obvioulsy lead their decision making.

So, expanding on that. If you believe that heaven/hell, or, heaven/nothing, or, nothing/hell or any other combination you care to think of.. Then you cannot have any idea wether or not you will get in.

The only arguement I have heard that let's us make any kind of decision about where we go, is that faith is the decider.

So, that leads me to the following (admittedly incomplete, unexpanded) conclusions. (All assuming there is a judgement based afterlife) Either they are faith based, in terms of the selection procedure, or there is nothing I can do about it , regarding how I live, as good and bad is too subjective. If 60% of the population get in, then I have 60% chance regardless of how I live, as we all believe ourselves to be good.

[mickeyg13]

Has nobody in the course of human history every made a huge mistake, realized it after the fact, and spent the rest of their life regretting that mistake? Those people might consider themselves "bad people."

[FortunaMaximus]

[ QUOTE ]
Has nobody in the course of human history every made a huge mistake, realized it after the fact, and spent the rest of their life regretting that mistake? Those people might consider themselves "bad people."

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you underestimate an individual's capability for self-justification. Those cases would be exceedingly rare.

[hitch1978]

I know it's only a small sample, but so far 100% of respondants answered yes to 'are you a good person'.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
I know it's only a small sample, but so far 100% of respondants answered yes to 'are you a good person'.

[/ QUOTE ]

We dont have many Catholics that post here I guess! Or Calvinists.

[hitch1978]

Does that make my stance any less correct?

My stance, I suppose, is that Einbert, in his thread "I'm going' to heaven 'cause I'm good" is irrelevant because he is judging good from his own view of his life.

As I suggest everybody would.

[Sephus]

i think "good" voters are overrepresented on this forum.

[Subfallen]

By my personal standards, I shouldn't be allowed to live...by average morality I suppose I'm passable.

[luckyme]

i'm in the grocho marx situation -
I don't want to be good if that's what judge judy would rule. I want to be judged good by somebody that can tell the difference.

luckyme

[nightwood]

On the first question I voted "bad" because that's my way of saying "Screw you" to douchebags trying to pull stupid experiments on me (I'm not talking about OP).

But since I have no clear idea of what a "good person" is, I cannot answer the other two.

[Splendour]

[ QUOTE ]
Let's say that you die tomorrow, awaking shocked at a set of doors. One of the doors is marked good and one is marked bad.

Obviously, depending upon your belief, your level of shock may vary, but let me emphasise, this is not a realm of any recognised religion. There is just two doors, one marked good and one bad. There is a sign on the wall reading 'afterlife reception' if you like. Between the two doors is a desk with Judge Judy sat behind it, looking through a document entitled - ' [your name]'s Life CV '

Without talking to you she looks up and says, 'Please continue through the door marked.....'

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got a few problems with submitting myself to Judge Judy as my judge. For one thing Judge Judy is never "slow to anger". She comes to some mighty quick conclusions.

She might miss this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFZdWAVXaW0

[hitch1978]

[ QUOTE ]
i'm in the grocho marx situation -
I don't want to be good if that's what judge judy would rule. I want to be judged good by somebody that can tell the difference.

luckyme

[/ QUOTE ]

Judge Judy was an attempt at humour. Imagine a person you do not know then...

[hitch1978]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Let's say that you die tomorrow, awaking shocked at a set of doors. One of the doors is marked good and one is marked bad.

Obviously, depending upon your belief, your level of shock may vary, but let me emphasise, this is not a realm of any recognised religion. There is just two doors, one marked good and one bad. There is a sign on the wall reading 'afterlife reception' if you like. Between the two doors is a desk with Judge Judy sat behind it, looking through a document entitled - ' [your name]'s Life CV '

Without talking to you she looks up and says, 'Please continue through the door marked.....'

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got a few problems with submitting myself to Judge Judy as my judge. For one thing Judge Judy is never "slow to anger". She comes to some mighty quick conclusions.

She might miss this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFZdWAVXaW0

[/ QUOTE ]

Splendour, please see my last post RE Judy.

Also I would like to draw your attention to this part of the OP - 'but let me emphasise, this is not a realm of any recognised religion'. Which renders some of your thoughts from your post irrelevant.

You awake from your death in this room, and are shocked that you were wrong about Christianity! Just as I awake there and am shocked that there is an afterlife! (Or, if it helps you to suspend your disbelief, imagine the shock of someone who doesn't believe in your religion awakening in your version of the afterlife, then imagine you are that person awakening in mine (From the OP))

[JMAnon]

That depends entirely on Judge Judy's criteria, and I am not sure what those are.

[MaxWeiss]

Why do people keep posting this?? Nobody THINKS they are bad, everybody just has a different idea of what good is.

[Sephus]

[ QUOTE ]
Why do people keep posting this?? Nobody THINKS they are bad, everybody just has a different idea of what good is.

[/ QUOTE ]

some people do think they're bad. they have an idea of what good is, and they don't think it fits them.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why do people keep posting this?? Nobody THINKS they are bad, everybody just has a different idea of what good is.

[/ QUOTE ]

some people do think they're bad. they have an idea of what good is, and they don't think it fits them.

[/ QUOTE ]

And then they have a five minute interior monologue about how its ok that they arent good though because there is still virtue in being what they are or they cant help it and who can blame someone who cant help it, or there are so many good people that we need to balance that out and there is virtue in balance.

Cognitive dissonance basically owns.