Who would be more disappointed to find out the truth?

bocablkr · #1 10-11-2006, 09:05 AM

Either there is a God or there isn't. Assume that sometime in the future we are able to learn the truth (let's not argue that proving God does not exist may be impossible). Who do you think would be the most disappointed - an Atheist finding out God does exist or a Theist finding out he does not?

Prodigy54321 · #2 10-11-2006, 09:19 AM

assuming that the god in question punishes those who did not follow the religion that worships that god, then being an atheist or a member of another religion would suck equally....you can't just separate it into atheists and theists

finding out that god doesn't exist would be disappointing to all theists, but at least they won't have to deal with it for an eternity [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

EDIT: and if the god we find out exists doesn't care if we worshipped him since he didn't even leave evidence that he created the universe, but would punish us if we worshipped a false god or gods because it means we ignored our reasoning skills..then atheists would be golden..holla

oh yeah and there are infinitely more possibilities, so it's hard to answer your questions unless you specify what god you are talking about.

tolbiny · #3 10-11-2006, 09:36 AM

That depends- if after finding out i can repent my sins and accept jesus and essentially have a clean slate i have no problems finding out god does exist. If it turns out i'm far to late and bound for an eternity of suffering, well thats something to not be happy about.
If it turns out god's not into eternal rewards or damnation then its all good to as its something new to talk about and explore in life.
For a theist i would have to imagine finding out god doesn't exist would be pretty damaging at first, but plenty of atheists were theists at one point, seems like a decently smooth transition to make after that first hump of the fear of not existing any more once your dead. I haven't gotten over it yet.

chezlaw · #4 10-11-2006, 09:45 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Either there is a God or there isn't. Assume that sometime in the future we are able to learn the truth (let's not argue that proving God does not exist may be impossible). Who do you think would be the most disappointed - an Atheist finding out God does exist or a Theist finding out he does not?

[/ QUOTE ]
Its a bit more complicated. A theist must be disappointed if there's no god, most atheists would be delighted if it they found out a benevolent god exists.

Everyone will be disappointed if a non-benevolent god exists.

chez

bocablkr · #5 10-11-2006, 10:34 AM

After finding out the truth, which one would think their life was more wasted? Assuming an Atheist might think he was going to hell for not believing in the first place.

Nielsio · #6 10-11-2006, 10:49 AM

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Either there is a God or there isn't.

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Not really. There is no concept or theory of 'God'. It is not a strive for knowledge. Religion is traumatization. So discussing whether there is one or there isn't is pretty foolish, and plays into the hands of the one who purports it IS a debate about knowledge, if you treat it that way.

kurto · #7 10-11-2006, 10:58 AM

I think that's simple. The theists would be more disappointed.

The religious have dedicated their life to their belief in God. For many, it defines who they are. And I think they'd feel a little silly.

For atheists... Speaking for myself at least, my identity and purpose is not defined into being an atheist. If it was proven there was a God, I would simply accept it. After all, my belief that there is no God is based on lack of evidence and what I see as logical problems with the various contradictory religions on the Earth.

bocablkr · #8 10-11-2006, 11:06 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I think that's simple. The theists would be more disappointed.

The religious have dedicated their life to their belief in God. For many, it defines who they are. And I think they'd feel a little silly.

For atheists... Speaking for myself at least, my identity and purpose is not defined into being an atheist. If it was proven there was a God, I would simply accept it. After all, my belief that there is no God is based on lack of evidence and what I see as logical problems with the various contradictory religions on the Earth.

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Kurto,

I agree I thought it was simple. But if you are an atheist and then find out you will probably spend the rest of your time in Hell because you did not worship you might be more disappointed. You might think you wasted your life - you could have been 'saved'.

kurto · #9 10-11-2006, 11:22 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Kurto,

I agree I thought it was simple. But if you are an atheist and then find out you will probably spend the rest of your time in Hell because you did not worship you might be more disappointed. You might think you wasted your life - you could have been 'saved'.

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I have to ask... do we know which God is real and which religion got it right? Cause that makes a big difference.

I was raised Christian (Lutheran.) If I learned today that it was all real, I wouldn't real be concerned. Since I know that you're allowed to convert. I feel I'm a pretty 'good' person as it is. I merely tweak a few things so that I follow what God says a little closely. Obviously faith won't be an issue now because now we have proof.

Let's look at the reverse... say you're my brother-- he goes to adult Bible classes. He runs teen Bible classes. Participates in his church. Every decision he makes in life is filtered through his religion. I've met a lot of people like him (they live in NC). He now knows for sure that there's no God... he's devastated, doesn't know what his purpose is... the guy has no idea how to judge anything without his religion. He's more lost then I if he learns that he's wrong.

bocablkr · #10 10-11-2006, 11:44 AM

I tried to stay away from which religion's God was proven or disproven but I agree that could make a difference. And as you pointed out the degree to which one uses religion to direct their life would have a huge impact. Personally, I have been an Atheist my entire life so finding out there was a God would be very devastating to me.