by A on March 5th, 2011

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If a person only "believes" in God because he or she is frightened of going to Hell, does he or she really believe in God?

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  • by sooz74 on March 6th, 2011

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    If her "belief" does not stem from faith or anything other than fear, I would say no. I am an atheist and have had people present me with various arguments for conversion. The one I have heard repeatably is "what if you're wrong". I've thought about the "what have I got to lose" reasoning myself. Part of me wishes I did believe in God. I wouldn't mind having less ambiguous feelings about the whole "what is the meaning of life" question. I think religion can provide a sense of comfort and community. And the idea of heaven...I have to admit its pretty appealing, particularly if the alternative does end up being hell. The problem is that any appeal religion may hold and covering all of my bases just in case, does nothing to change my actual beliefs. I can voice a belief in God, go to church, read the Bible, and pray, but none of these things translate into belief. Just because I so it is so, does not make it so.

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