How would you deal with the realization that your religious beliefs were false?

[uncommonentity]

Despite of what you may or not believe in, how would you react upon dying and discovering that what you believed in on earth was a fallacy? Let's say your God turned out to be an arrogant, self-righteous, racist chicken. Obviously you'd likely be startled by the news but then what would you do? Bow to the chicken? Rebel against him. Start an uprising. Continue praising your original source of belief? Curious.

 

[Nomenclature]

I remember an analogy I read somewhere. We all like music, right? So let's say you LOVE music. You couldn't imagine life without it. It's part of who you are. Purely hypothetically, there's this influx of scientists and their studies all saying that music, it turns out, is actually bad for you. What would you think then? It put religion more into a perspective that I didn't really dwell upon before-- that for some people, their religion is their life.

I myself am an atheist. For me, whether my lack of belief in god would change is a matter of how convincing the evidence is and how much relevance it holds to my life... which at the moment, it doesn't.

 

[Not_Me]

The rational thing to do would be to suck up to that being for rewards and to avoid punishment, unless there was a better alternative.

 

[A window to the soul]

I will bow.

 

[knight]

id opt to not exist even after death. my soul shredded into nothingness, no stream of consciousness. serving this magical chicken for all eternity sounds kind of boring and if thats the only option available to me and of course entertainment, death it is, er spiritual death.

also that whole 500000 virgin thing does not sound interesting either.

 

[chickpea]

i believe all religions are equally bullshit, so my main fear should be finding out that one actually existed and i'm gonna be spending the rest of my afterlife in hell. at least all my friends will be there too.

 

[Mae]

MMM chicken. Tasty.

I'm an atheist. The entire supreme deity thing is ridiculous to me, and oddly enough, would be even more ridiculous if I discovered it was true.

 

[xisnotx]

Seeing as I don't have any beliefs about god other than the belief that having beliefs about god is extremely presumptuous, I fully expect to be surprised by whatever turns out to be the "truth".

In fact, I'd be surprised if I wasn't surprised.

 

[Fluffywolf]

Considering my belief pretty much pertains that I don't know care what happens after death. I'm alive now and living is my only concern. I'm sure that whatever happens after dying, it either doesn't matter (if there is nothing) or it is a pleasant surprise.

 

[iwakar]

Despite of what you may or not believe in, how would you react upon dying and discovering that what you believed in on earth was a fallacy? Let's say your God turned out to be an arrogant, self-righteous, racist chicken. Obviously you'd likely be startled by the news but then what would you do? Bow to the chicken? Rebel against him. Start an uprising. Continue praising your original source of belief? Curious.

(I'll actually respond to your OP rather than respond to an imaginary question, teehee)

If I thought s/he was a prick, viva la revolucion! If I thought s/he had rather good points, I'd hand in my apology letter essay with a plate of gluten-free, nut-free, sugar-free cookies! (Mustn't make assumptions about food allergies!)

 

[Lily flower]

Well, here's one to think about.

You believe in a heaven and hell, and you believe that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. But you are wrong, and when you die you cease to exist. You have lost pretty much nothing, except maybe living a more righteous life.

On the other hand, you believe that people just die and nothing happens in the afterlife. But you are wrong, and when you die, God demands an accounting from your life. You fail. Wow, you just lost a lot.

 

[jimrckhnd]

Well, here's one to think about.

You believe in a heaven and hell, and you believe that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. But you are wrong, and when you die you cease to exist. You have lost pretty much nothing, except maybe living a more righteous life.

On the other hand, you believe that people just die and nothing happens in the afterlife. But you are wrong, and when you die, God demands an accounting from your life. You fail. Wow, you just lost a lot.

Hrm... since a belief in a deity will of necessity affect your metaphysics, your epistemology, and your politics it seems that you may well have lost more, perhaps much more, than you think.

And you assume that god while demanding this accounting is interested in having its ass kissed and won't forgive an error in analysis. Seems kind of limited for an entity that is all powerful.

 

[kyuuei]

Considering my idea of religion is finding the true face of things, I'd feel like a moron that I was so off on my theories.

 

[Kyrielle]

Assuming there was an afterlife and a greater power? I'd probably have to cross my fingers and hope that living a good life according to general moral ethics would be sufficient to appease said power and grant myself a decent place in whatever afterlife there was.

Though, I have a hard time accepting anything where I live on forever in whatever form. That would be incredibly boring.

 

[entropie]

Well I have a hard time bending to authorities I dont like, so if God would pop up one day and tell me I was wrong and he does exist, I'd prolly reply: "And ? You still suck !"

 

[Coriolis]

The OPs question presupposes some knowledge of the afterlife, while not everyone accepts that there even is one. This makes it hard to answer the question independently. By contrast, in my current earthly life I have already come to see many of my earlier spiritual beliefs as false. My response was to abandon them, and to determine new beliefs through research and reflection.

 

[Lark]

I find that whole idea highly implausible, I know my religious beliefs are correct and feel sorry about experiencing doubts but I only have once in a big way in my life.

If something like that did happen, I'd be wary for it would be a trick of the devil for sure.

 

[Lark]

Well, here's one to think about.

You believe in a heaven and hell, and you believe that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. But you are wrong, and when you die you cease to exist. You have lost pretty much nothing, except maybe living a more righteous life.

On the other hand, you believe that people just die and nothing happens in the afterlife. But you are wrong, and when you die, God demands an accounting from your life. You fail. Wow, you just lost a lot.

Pascals wager.

Beautifully put.

 

[Noon]

Despite of what you may or not believe in, how would you react upon dying and discovering that what you believed in on earth was a fallacy? Let's say your God turned out to be an arrogant, self-righteous, racist chicken. Obviously you'd likely be startled by the news but then what would you do? Bow to the chicken? Rebel against him. Start an uprising. Continue praising your original source of belief? Curious.

My arguably Godless religious beliefs
If I found out they were false, my brain, assuming that it still works the way it once did, would implode from the amount of reconfiguration of perception that I would have to start. Process overload.

At first I would go over the events of my life, frame by frame, trying to account in some other way for the things I previously credited to belief. I would wonder about all of the different crossroads I might have arrived at - how differently my entire life would have unfolded - if I'd decided to believe less, or more, or differently, or none at all.

At worst: I would feel cheated and hollow and angry and depressed, even though I was never promised anything. I would want to go back and tell everyone, anyone, just to save them from experiencing the same thing.

At best: Would I regret everything that I did? Some, yes. But overall? No. I did what I felt I had to do to live as what I thought was a better person. I made my experience on earth more emotionally meaningful by living for something that resonated with who I was while there. The growth, enjoyment, and bonds I experienced are still the same, their effect is still the same. This shouldn't detract from them.

I would be in awe at the power of the unguided universe. Stunned to definitively learn that life - complex as it is - is still no more than chemical roulette. I would still want to go back and tell everyone, but I would also think it's better for them to find out on their own.

A God-centered religious belief
Lol, an omniscient, omnipotent chicken. Wow. Wow, wow. I would try to ask a ton of questions, firstly those pertaining as to why it was primates who inherited the earth, and why they were permitted for so long to exploit en masse those truly made in His/Her image (some of those chicken farms are just so bad).

Secondly, why a chicken would be so strongly invested in the spiritual well-being of these same primates.

If image is indeed metaphorical (for sentience, among other things) instead of physical (species), I would want to know what other forms Chicken could take, and if there were any special reason for this one being it at this moment.

I wouldn't rebel, though. Maybe I could learn something. Maybe this last thing would be enough for me to just say fuck it. Lol. Absurdity.

If the Chicken were bearable even with the personality flaws, I would stay (shocked and probably on the slow journey to insanity). If the Chicken were altogether insufferable, I'd just ask to have my soul deleted or something.

 

[uncommonentity]

Well, here's one to think about.

You believe in a heaven and hell, and you believe that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. But you are wrong, and when you die you cease to exist. You have lost pretty much nothing, except maybe living a more righteous life.

On the other hand, you believe that people just die and nothing happens in the afterlife. But you are wrong, and when you die, God demands an accounting from your life. You fail. Wow, you just lost a lot.

Personally, I fail to understand how accounting for a righteous life would equate to losing anything. Would it not just equate to a balance and a gained afterlife? not to mention if you indeed made it to the afterlife surely that puts you at an advantage in comparison to anyone dead. For me the second equation would actually be quite awesome because I'd get to experience more than just dying and not having God tell me I'd been a naughty boy.

If life = 1 and death = 0 (1+0=1)
If life = 1 and afterlife = 1 (1+1=2)
2>1

I'd actually gain more in being proved wrong than not being proved at all. Learning something > nothing in my world anyway.

Nice quote though, but to me you're essentially losing anwsers and confirmation of something that may have taken up alot of your time supporting if you actively worship. Someone could turn around and say "Yeah, but i'd be dead so what would I care?" but it's more about the value you may place in other productive activities that could of taken religion's place in your life.