10.24.06
Debunking Religion as “insurance”
Surfing around today, I stumbled onto a blog on MySpace. Here is what he says
:
...I’ve come to view [Christianity] this way. If i live right, do what the bible says, and die (which – face it, we all will someday) and there is no God … all i would of given up is a couple nights of partying… sex before marriage (cos you do get to have sex… all you have to do is wait…)
BUT…
If there is a God and he sent his son to die for us… and you havn’t lived right. do what the bible says you shouldn’t… Who has more to lose?
...
I hear this argument quite a bit, so I decided to take a minute to respond. Here is what I responded:
I find that sort of “Insurance” based belief to be a bit misleading. It works great if there are only two possibilities (Christianity or Nothing). But that isn’t the case. Wikipeida’s world religions category contains over 75 different entries, not including those in sub categories. Thus, in a purely statistical sense, by choosing Christianity, you have only a 1 in 76 chance in choosing correctly!
If your goal is to choose the spiritual path that will most likely help you avoid pain and suffering, you may want to look a Buddhism. Buddhism centers around focus on the present moment, and accepting what is, be it happiness suffering or whatever. Thus, the external world means little to the Buddhist. There are even Monks in Tibet who have gotten so good at being in touch with their inner energy, that they can turn off their sense of physical pain. (This is not conjecture, myth or just a story. Actual western scientists have researched this and have verified using brain scans etc, that they in fact do not feel pain unless they choose to). Thus, if the Buddhist is wrong, and a literal Jewish/Christian view is correct, I doubt it would matter in the slightest to the Buddhist if he were tortured in the depths of firey hell. He is no longer connected with physical and emotional pain, and can endure Satan’s torture as easily as you or I could tolerate a food we do not enjoy.
Now of course, this is pretty ridiculous. I’m not telling you to convert or anything. I am just saying that this sort of argument you’ve presented doesn’t quite hold up. If you believe in Christianity, have faith from the depths of your heart – not as a fail-safe against suffering in the afterlife.
Andrew Press said,
October 24, 2006 at 11:59 pm
Well written and thought out. I absolutely agree.
Zach Young said,
October 25, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Very true. I’ve met that argument quite a few times. It just doesn’t really make sense. Like you said, it’s not a 0 or 1, it’s a 0 or 1 or 2 or … or 500 or …. or x.
That’s an interesting point you make about the Buddhist monks. I hadn’t thought of that before.
Seems like your blog is off to a good start, I look forward to seeing where it goes.
FatherNeo+ said,
October 26, 2006 at 3:40 am
Tristan,
I agree with you. The point of Christianity is to follow Christ and be more like him. A disciple follows the path. (no teacher is above his master, nor is a disciple above the one he follows) When Jesus said ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,’ he had in mind a Way a Truth and a Life that went beyond guilt or innocence before God—even beyond Heaven and Hell. The Way was the way of the cross—the way of suffering. The Truth he spoke of was the Word made flesh—himself. And the Life he lives was/is for the world—that is a life of obedience and submission—a life of self-sacrifice. He expects his followers to follow his Way, to embody the Truth and to live a life ‘no longer for ourselves but for him who died and rose again,’ as the apostle Paul wrote.
FatherNeo+ said,
October 26, 2006 at 3:46 am
P.S. I’ve got another title that you would like along the same lines. It is kind of like travel log meets theology. It is about an American Benedictine Monk who encounters the Coptic Christian Monks of Egypt. It is called ‘Journey Back to Eden,’ by Mark Gruber O.S.B. (Order of St. Benedict). Blessings!
Mentor said,
October 27, 2006 at 1:46 am
The Christian insurance apology is best known as Pascal’s Wager http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal’s_Wager and is a poor reason to serve Christ Jesus and follow him. It is also a poor apology. Apologetics is not my strong suit, but there are better evidences for faith than Pascal’s Wager.
Jon Zuck said,
November 26, 2006 at 11:21 pm
What you wrote about an enlightened Buddhist not caring about hell, was similar to what Bhante Piyananda said to a Fundamentalist who was trying to “show him the light.” Piyananda said: “I’d rather go to hell, so that I could be of some help to those who are suffering.” Saffron Days in LA
Mark Russell said,
January 22, 2007 at 4:48 am
Tristan,
I agree – Pascal’s wager at first glance seems a little simplistic – for exactly the reason you present.
However, I believe part of the confusion is the way people view/understand Heaven and Hell.
Hell is a place of eternal seperation from God.
Heaven is a place of eternal fellowship with God.
In the case of the above I believe a Buddhist would suffer because they would be enlightened to the reality of this situation once they found themselves in Hell.
And frustration would result as part of this enlightenment.
Now, you may ask – as many do – is this fair that a peaceful (and presumably kind) man would end up in Hell for his choice?
But I think that is a highly anthropomorphised viewpoint.
From the view of an Omnipotent creator – God simply refines his creation and removes the purified product from the dross – and takes his perfected creation to be close with him forever – in an idealized state.
And, of course, to try to understand the mind of an Omnipotent being is an exercise in futility for a limted, temporal, self-aware creature – but we can understand and choose to accept the path that he has given us to take.
I think it is important for us to decide what path we would want to take – and not to get bogged down in wondering (or judging) what path others are destined for.
I believe a comprehensive reading of Jesus’s teaching in the New Testament is a good place to start investigating Christianity.
To me this parable summarizes the importance of finding a personal spiritual truth in one’s life:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
Matthew 13:44