Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

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Compassionist
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Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #1

Post by Compassionist »

Billions of people on Earth believe that when the die they will go to heaven. Why don't they just kill themselves and go to heaven? My brother died at the age of 8 days because the doctor made mistakes. My parents told me that my brother went to heaven to live there in happiness for ever and ever. I asked them, "Why don't we all die and join him in heaven?" They said that it was forbidden to commit suicide. Makes me think that there really isn't any heaven after death. Why bother with life before death when life after death is promised to be infinitely better?

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Re: Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #31

Post by Compassionist »

JehovahsWitness wrote:
Compassionist wrote:We need to take care of the Earth and help each other because no God will help us.
And how's that workin' out for you?

Image
Compassionist wrote:We should all be committed to truth and ethics but most of us don't care about truth and ethics.
And yet you believe these same people will bring about a better world? Do you not think, in view of mankinds history, those that place their hope in human institutions and the power of individual ethics are suffering from their own flavour of delusional optimism? It might be a " disturbing truth" but humans have not proved themselves capable of managing this planet and if there is no God there is also no hope. That may not be a comfortable thing to admit but I prefer disturbing truths to comforting lies.




JW
I live a fulfilling life. I have been donating and volunteering and working since 21 September 1982. I am a secular vegan compassionist. I treat all sentient beings with compassion. I would love to convert all sentient beings into a compassionist like me. On the whole, humans are becoming more ethical than in the past. Please see and

Please also see https://www.facebook.com/CanWithCandle This is the Facebook page of the worldwide charity I founded in 2007. I wrote the following tips on how to live a fulfilling life. Star Dust is my pen name. Compassionist is also my pen name.

HOW TO LIVE A FULFILLING LIFE by Star Dust © 1978 to 2019. All rights reserved.

1. BE MINDFUL
• A fulfilling life consists of purposeful, positive and pleasant participation in life.
• Be attentive to yourself, others and your environment.
• Don’t ruminate on the past or worry about the future.
• Be mindful of the past so you can learn from it.
• Be mindful of the future so you can prepare for it.
• Be mindful of the present because living takes place in the present continuous.
• Do not crave or cling to all that is impermanent. Be mindful and content in the present continuous.
• Be mindful of the truth and be mindful of what is right and what is wrong.

2. BE GRATEFUL
• Be grateful for the present.
• It is easier to see what’s missing than what’s in.
• Strive to see what’s in, value it and be grateful for it.
• Be grateful for the past and all you can learn from it to create a better future.
• Be grateful for the opportunity to plan and prepare for the future.

3. BE OPTIMISTIC
• You have already been mindful and grateful. Now, be optimistic that whatever happens in the future you can continue to be mindful and grateful (if you are still conscious in some form - either biological or technological or spiritual).
• Then, be optimistic that you can also be compassionate, constructive and balanced.

4. BE COMPASSIONATE
• Be compassionate towards yourself.
• Be compassionate towards other sentient beings.
• Don’t condemn yourself.
• Don’t condemn other sentient beings.
• Examine and evaluate sensory perceptions, interpretations, thoughts, emotions, words, actions and omissions. But do not condemn any sentient being.
• Value yourself and others and help yourself and others to grow.

5. BE CONSTRUCTIVE
• The past is gone, and the future is not yet here. The time to live is right here, right now.
• By reading these words you are already doing something positive and helpful.
• Now, think of what else you could do to help yourself and others. It can be anything legal that helps you and others to live and to enjoy being alive. It can be as simple as sharing this method of living a fulfilling life.
• Remember, it is better to light a candle in the dark than to complain about the darkness.

6. BE BALANCED
• Life works best when everything is in optimum balance. Both too much and too little can be harmful.
• There are as many paths through life as there are lives. Only you can find and live your own path through life. If you can, help others find and live their own paths through life.
• Happiness comes from matching your activities with your abilities. There must be a balance between activities and rest, between doing and being.
• Your life is your responsibility. It is your responsibility to keep yourself safe, legal and ethical.
• Happiness is not a destination – it’s a journey that is made moment by moment.
• We are all interdependent and impermanent. Look after your long-term interests and the long-term interests of others.

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Re: Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #32

Post by JehovahsWitness »

[Replying to post 31 by Compassionist]

Thats very nice of you, I'm sure if there is a nuclear war you can block the radiation with a veggie burger.


Listen I dont mean to be cruel or demean your individual efforts but we have to be realistic here, mankind has consistently, systematically and overwhelmingly used their knowledge to oppress, destroy, degrade and drag humanity to the brink of self annilation. We have done good is some areas, and life is more comfortable for more people than ever before but the trend is towards self destruction and its five minutrs to midnight, live with it!
You criticize religionists for living in a fantasy world because they can't face the bitter truth of our own sad existence, well right back acha my friend, right back at ya.

JW



To learn more please go to other posts related to...

MESSIANIC PROPHECY, LAST DAYS and ...THE SECOND COMING *
*The Return of Christ
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Re: Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #33

Post by Compassionist »

JehovahsWitness wrote: [Replying to post 31 by Compassionist]

Thats very nice of you, I'm sure if there is a nuclear war you can block the radiation with a veggie burger.


Listen I dont mean to be cruel or demean your individual efforts but we have to be realistic here, mankind has consistently, systematically and overwhelmingly used their knowledge to oppress, destroy, degrade and drag humanity to the brink of self annilation. We have done good is some areas, and life is more comfortable for more people than ever before but the trend is towards self destruction and its five minutrs to midnight, live with it!
You criticize religionists for living in a fantasy world because they can't face the bitter truth of our own sad existence, well right back acha my friend, right back at ya.

JW



To learn more please go to other posts related to...

MESSIANIC PROPHECY, LAST DAYS and ...THE SECOND COMING *
*The Return of Christ
I didn't say that going vegan would protect us from nuclear war. However, if we all became a compassionist like me, that would protect us from nuclear war. It is unlikely that we would all become compassionists but we are getting more ethical. Did you see this video? I find humans much more reliable than God or Gods. God or Gods has/have never answered any of my many prayers but human science and efforts have come to my rescue every time I got sick or injured. Yes, we can't make ourselves immortal yet but we have increased our longevity, standard of living and quality of life through our efforts. It's possible that we will eventually become immortals. I am definitely not going to trust the Biblical God to save us given how evil the Biblical God is (that's assuming the Bible is true but in fact, the Bible is false, so, the Biblical God is an evil imaginary being like Voldemort). Please see https://www.evilbible.com/ and http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/ Thank you.

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Re: Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #34

Post by JehovahsWitness »

Compassionist wrote:

I didn't say that going vegan would protect us from nuclear war. However, if we all became a compassionist like me, that would protect us from nuclear war. It is unlikely that we would all become compassionists but we are getting more ethical.

Really? And you support this with the decrease in global conflicts, crime, coroprate corruption and the governments tendency to listen to the common people? I don't want to burst your bubble but someone has to introduce some reality to the rose coloured future you seem to have built up in your imagination.

You don't believe in God, fine, I have no problem with that, but I do take exception to you accusing believers if living in some fantasy world to escape the harsh realities if life and then waxing lyrical about how the arms race will end with the rich, the evil and the greedy dropping their bags of loot in favor of a particularly hearty chorus of kimbaya.



JW
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Re: Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #35

Post by Zzyzx »

.
JehovahsWitness wrote:
Compassionist wrote: There are 4,300 religions on Earth currently. How do you know which of them is true?
Years of diligent study, far too detailed to go into in an internet post (and certainly more detailed than you are probably willing to read). Suffice it to say, when you believe something of value exists, you keep searching until you find it.
If you diligently studied 4299 religions (which seems unlikely), the one you missed could be 'the one and only true path'.

If you are like most people, they study ONE religion and blissfully conclude that they just happen to have picked the right one (and are only dimly aware of the others). Confirmation bias.
.
Non-Theist

ANY of the thousands of "gods" proposed, imagined, worshiped, loved, feared, and/or fought over by humans MAY exist -- awaiting verifiable evidence

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Re: Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #36

Post by 1213 »

Compassionist wrote: …My friend committed suicide. I consider her to be righteous. If you were her, you would have done the same thing. Thou shall not judge!
Sad to hear that. But please notice, I didn’t mean to judge. I just don’t see how righteous person could commit suicide.

And, I am not claiming that I am righteous, but please explain why do you think I would have done the same? What is a good and wise reason to commit suicide?

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Re: Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #37

Post by JehovahsWitness »

[Replying to post 30 by Compassionist]

I am not seeking agreement I am pointing that those that put their hope in humans doing anything but wiping us well out before our time are living in cloud cuckoo land. It would be laughable if it wasn't so pathetic. I prefer disturbing truths to comforting lies. Most people still prefer comforting lies to the facts of life.


But hey, whatever gets you through the day,


Peace out,



JW
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Re: Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #38

Post by bluegreenearth »

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Post #39

Post by The Tanager »

[Replying to post 23 by Compassionist]

I'm kind of confused on what you want to talk about. You started out questioning why Christians would want to stick around when heaven awaits them. Then you questioned why Christians would want to bring children into the world. Now you are talking about whether the Biblical God is evil or imaginary and what to make of the Genesis account. I'll gladly have a focused discussion with you (not PowerPoints, I've read plenty of books, articles, etc. on these issues) on any issue.

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Re: Why don't religious people just go to heaven?

Post #40

Post by Checkpoint »

bluegreenearth wrote:
JehovahsWitness wrote: [Replying to post 30 by Compassionist]

I am not seeking agreement I am pointing that those that put their hope in humans doing anything but wiping us well out before our time are living in cloud cuckoo land. It would be laughable if it wasn't so pathetic. I prefer disturbing truths to comforting lies. Most people still prefer comforting lies to the facts of life.


But hey, whatever gets you through the day,


Peace out,



JW
Excellent example of psychological projection.
By which poster?

What exactly is "psychological projection"?

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