by OL » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:47 pm
The God/afterlife/higher power issue. Does it exist? Is there anything after this? Are there any consequences for what we do while we're alive?
I'm not a religious guy by a long shot, but having grown up around the idea of this stuff existing, I do naturally feel restricted from certain things in life. I believe that as animals, humans are naturally violent to some extent, but we resist our urges because of societal values which were decided based upon -- big surprise -- religion. But if nothing exists after this, and there are no consequences for anything we do, then why the hell shouldn't I go right ahead and kill whoever pisses me off, or take whatever I want? What use do we have for the concepts of "decency" and "respect" if nothing higher exists? Why make any effort for anyone other than yourself if this is the case?
People who concretely claim to either be atheists or nihilists confuse me, because typically they still conform to the societal expectations of decency that we're all taught... but if they really don't believe in anything higher than themselves, then why do they bother to do anything other than that which serves their own pleasure?
Be nice to know what actually does or doesn't exist, so I could either live entirely for myself or work harder toward the afterlife. People act like I'm being silly when I say that I feel old, but deep down I really do feel like death ain't that far off. Knowing the grander scheme of things (or the lack thereof) would make it a lot easier to digest whatever happens in life. I could either be a far better person, or live content in the knowledge that it doesn't matter either way.