[X] My Assistant

[ChocolateVanilla]

When I first read this question, and other people's answers, I was all like" OF COURSE NOT! THAT WOULD JUST BE MEAN/SPITEFUL!"

But then I remembered this story I read in first grade (I promise, this has a point). other people probably read it too, since it was a school story.

In the story, there was this chicken that wanted to make bread. The chicken kept asking the other animals to help her make bread, and they kept saying no. So, when she was done with the bread, all of the animals were like "OMG! I want some!" And the chicken was like "NO! You didn't do anything!"

Now, I am not a religious freak. I go to church whenever my parent wants me to go, which isn't very often. Im not even completely sure if this religion is for me. And I don't like the idea that people go to hell, either, since so many good people aren't religious, and my family has several completely different religions.

But, if I was that chicken/god, would I really be able to say "You can have some bread, even though you didn't do anything, or even obstructed me?"

Im not sure. I feel like people who just aren't sure about my existance would definitely be forgiven, but the people who made fun of me/insulted me and even discouraged others to love me? Would it be fair to those who were kind to me to get the same thing someone who insults me got?

I would probably want to have a nice long talk with them before I let them into heaven. And then, if they feel sorry for what they did to obstruct me, I would let them in.

[DrerAhv]

I would not punish them, seeing that I have not given them any substantial proof of my existence. Any god that does punish them is not worthy of being worshiped.

[Fennir]

If in theory, I'm a perfect diety, I don't want just a "good" person to get the treatment I reserve for only those who are perfect like me. Where would the joy in that be? I'd end up getting the mediocrity along with the ones who garnered my favor.

Also, the definition of "good", is shakey at best. If I'm a perfect diety I don't care that this "good" person saved the homeless, he massacred thousands of innocent people to get them homes. I don't care that this "good" person saved his child from AIDS when it was this "good" person's fault his kid got AIDS in the first place.

Now, if I was a diety similar to a human,--by defintion: not perfect and prone to error-- I wouldn't punish that person for not worshipping me. What if I screwed up and forgot to distribute my Holy Scrolls? Or, what if I accidentally let the great grandmother of my Paladin die?

As for not making my prescence known, I'd argue that the average human has a fairly big ego enough not to notice me working in their life. For example (just a random small one, in theory, mind you) You, the human, who should be worshipping me, pray randomly in the parking lot for me to open up a parking spot. I open one up, and you barrel into it while singing to yourself, "I found one!" instead of "Oh thank you, Goddess!"

EDIT: For Clarification. I didn't change my argument.

This post has been edited by Eris Shade: May 16 2010, 03:44 PM

[Nardaviel]

I'll buy into the premise for a moment and say that if I was a god, but otherwise psychologically the same as I am now, I wouldn't punish someone for not believing. (I'd also not punish them for anything else, probably, given my hesitation to give a moral label to anything, but that's for a different debate thread.) But I think if I was a god I would be so different as to be unrecognizable, and I can't really speak for my actions in that state.

And anyway, if I was a god, why would I care what some tiny little person did or thought?

[P o r y g o n]

I say no.
They did what they were supposed to do, be nice to others and stuffles.
Just because they don't believe in me doesn't mean they should be punished.
There would be no reason to unless I like specifically visited them all the time and they were all, 'Nah, youz be nawt rel.'

[BlueBrooke]

God is good and all-powerful, I am not God.
The bible says your passage to heaven is based on Jesus, not good works. You have said that if this person has done good and contributed to the world they should not be punished, but what about the homeless person sleeping on a park bench?
You could say that they have not contributed to the World, they have no home and no currency to do so, but if their faith is pure and their sins have been forgiven by Jesus our Savior than that person should go to heaven.
Also, Romans 3:23 states that all have sinned. So, this man would have sinned too. And John 3:16 states that all who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
This man would have sinned, but the point of Christianity is that good works don't make up for bad works. Jesus is the only one who can relieve of us our transgressions. It is good to do good works, but the way to heaven has always been grace from our Father.

[LiteSpeed]

I would probably let them in. It's exactly like the issues of the gays. Who cares if they do or don't believe in me? As long as they don't go around shoving their beliefs of no God down everyone's throat, or some extremely bad thing, fine. Let em' in. Why should I care?

[SaphireShadows]

I don't like the Bible's explanation of how to get to Heaven. If God/Jesus is so benevolent. If he loves us so much as to send his only son to die for us, why would he descriminate on who gets into Heaven based on what their religion was on Earth? He loves us all equally, even if we're Atheists or whatever. Should I, being a Christian, automatically get into Heaven while another person - being a Muslim - doesn't while that person was basically on the same level as me (good deeds/bad deeds-wise)? I think that if a person is good in their life - as in good to other people no matter what their social status is - then that person should be allowed the eternal joy that is Heaven. If they are not a good person and do not treat other people well, or even hurt and kill other people, then that person should definitely be thrown into the circles of Hell. However, if a person is average and has a normal human's amount of sin, but has not been excessively good or bad, then that person should be held in Purgatory a while longer to evaluate his life. If the sins outweigh the good, the person goes to Hell. If not, the person goes to Heaven (NOTE: in my perspective, a person would have to have a LOT more sins than good to be thrown into Hell).

However, this is not about the existing (or non-existing...I'm not sure I've made up my mind about Him yet) God, this is about if I were a God(dess) and what I would do.

Personally, if someone is good in their life and is good to others then by all means, let that person into Heaven. If not, I'd either have to talk to them first, or throw them into Hell (it would depend on the degree of "bad" in the person's life). Besides, if I was a Goddess, then I could be everywhere at once, so talking to a person would not impede my ability to run all of Creation.

(Personally, I'd like to see the look on a person's face who did not believe in me when they got to Heaven. I bet it'd be hilarious xD )

[Junk]

I(God) would punish them... No, I wouldn't. They didn't believe in me? So what? I didn't do anything that would prove my existence, so I wouldn't be surprised or angry that they don't believe in me. I would only punish mean and evil people, like murderers. I wouldn't give them eternal suffering, but I'd still punish them.

[bijoukaiba]

You know... I was recently thinking about this...

Do you have any evidence that Elizabeth Villalobos Zamos exists? Yes, I mentioned her name in a post, but that's circular reasoning. (sort of like "How do you know God exists? Because the Bible says so.") You could try looking her name up online, but you might get multiple results for Elizabeth Villalobos Zamos and can't pick the right one. (sort of how we can say, "Okay, so maybe some sort of supernatural being did all of this... but which one? How do we know which is the right one (or ones) to believe in?")

Okay. The answer is: yes, she exists. She is 19 years old, from Costa Rica, and is my current roommate. And how would she react if you didn't know her? She's probably just introduce herself nicely, and say that it's okay that you didn't know who she was.

If a deity would really punish you for not knowing he/she/it existed - and eternally, as well - it would prove that people are more moral than the gods. Considering that a lot of the gods in history and today are said to be "all-loving", "all-knowing", and "all-powerful" - essentially, PERFECT - a mortal being kinder than a deity doesn't make a lot of sense.

So, if I was a goddess? No, I would not eternally punish people who did not believe in me. People who had done truly immoral things - like murder - would receive some punishment, but nothing for eternity.

[Some Person]

If I were a god, then everyone would believe in me- I'd make myself obvious.

Seriously, though, I would punish them. If they were good, then they deserve a reward.

[PawsrentOrigin]

I would not punish them, but I wouldn't give them all the benefits of a true believer. Kind of like getting membership on gaming sites.

[Skins T]

*Settles into God mode, lol*

Everyone is entitled to believe in me (God) or not to believe. I gave out free will for a reason, after all.

So no, although their faces of disbelief are often rather hilarious.