Questioning The Reward Of Going To Heaven

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Heaven and hell

We are all aware of heaven and hell. The reward of having the right mindset and doing what god requires is heaven. The opposite is hell. Where you go is decided by God when you die.

Imagine working for an employer ( One of magic) that promises to pay you in the afterlife when you have died. Or promise to punish you if you do a shoddy job.
Problem is nobody can come back to complain because they have died

Isn’t it suspect that this employer doen’t say everyone has work a set amount of years in a fair way say 100 years. So for example if you die at 50 yeas old then you have to work 50 more years in the afterlife, if you die at 20 you will have 80 years of work.

It isn’t done, because no employee is magical. He can promise to pay you when you are dead. That is ok with him because he doesn’t have to pay you. But there is no point in him saying he will work your full years after you have dead. Because he cannot capitalise on a dead mans spirit. It would only serve to turn away potential employees.

A truly magical employer however can capitalise on a good employees spirit even in his death. Most religion behave like employee that has no magic.


If you ever wondered why God never promises to work you hard when you become and angle or chuck you back down to earth to continue the good work, then maybe you should have another rethink. Such religion would never be popular.

As a Christian, I'm compelled by more than the fear of hell and the love of heaven. I live a decent life and do good things because I want to help others and increase their joy. God tells us that by works alone we will never achieve heaven. In other words, all the do-gooding in the world might not make a difference if we are not chosen for heaven.

A person's entry into heaven is solely at God's discretion. Turning towards Him or rejecting Him is all that matters when discussing eternal punishment/reward.

Corot and stick works well in business too. Love alone wouldn't attract enough recruits

As an artist I am impressed that Corot might be a better incentive than a carrot but I have my doubts.

In what way is that funny, I am having a serious conversation that includes carrot and ticks.

What happens to those of us who do not have the intellectual capacity to understand what that means? There are people who either by accident/injury or genetics or other reasons not of their choosing, do not truly have the capability to make that decision one way or another. The more I learn about the brain and neurological conditions, the more I realize that the ability of any of us to make any decision is basically a matter of luck. If you were born with the wrong genes, if you suffer a brain injury or an illness, that can change profoundly who you are. Look at the less fortunate among us on the spectrum, those locked in their own worlds. Can they make any kind of intelligent decison in favor of/against a god?

Basically, Christian teaching states that Hell is the default state for all humans unless you accept Jesus as your savior. What are the words of "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" that is sung every Christmas--"to save us all from the fires of hell when we were gone astray?" I have read the Bible many, many times, and I have yet to find a verse that states that certain people are exempt from that requirement to accept Jesus because of their mental condition even though some Christians state otherwise. If there is such a verse, I'd like to know what it is. So, there is no softening of Christianity's central premise: you are bound for Hell unless you are fortunate enough to know that you are supposed to accept Jesus as your savior. I am assuming here that merely repeating the words is not enough, the person must know and freely choose.

Seems like a rigged game to me . . .

It's more moral to do something good for it's own sake than to do it to gain a reward/avoid a punishment.

I believe the dude would say God would asses every case individually

I wonder what he would do with a Hitler Clone. If Hitler goes to hell so should the Clone. Hang that Baby Hitler and put him in a blender.

XD Even though it says in the bible that the only way to get into heaven is to believe in Jeebus n' all that jazz.

I used to think about that, when I started to question these things years ago, and other questions I made as well, as what about those people who belonged to other religions because of bieng part of their cultures and of course they would have rejected christianity or judaism because it was not their own and wouldn't understand it, according to the doctrine, they would go to hell.

Going back with brain disorders and disability, yes, it is a good question to make, although explanations and new interpretations many christians would make today, there is no verse that mentions or clarifies this in the Bible because at the time they didn't know anything about psychiatry, psychology and mental disorders, all of it were considered as demon possesions. So the question would be, if a person is "possesed by demons" could he or she be saved if they die like that? and why a person was possesed in the first place?

Aspie_Chav, I found it funny, is that OK with you? This is one of many reasons that I would not choose to join an Atheist group. Some of you atheists get just as pissy about your own sacred cows as religious fundamentalists are. I happen to agree with your point, maybe you should consider a no humor allowed caveat on your threads.

Not pissed off at all. Seeing holes in NT logic can be funny when I explain it.

OK,its cool.

To me, it makes much more sense to live life for the sake of living. Just as the best reason to work is because you love to do it.

If punishment is what I get for doing what I think is right, then I will gladly accept it since doing what is wrong would be more punishment than any outside source could ever inflict upon me. Whether I go to heaven or hell when I die is entirely inconsequential, as long as I do what I need to do and follow my own convictions, then I am above any arbitrary reward system.