What if they're wrong?

[peacewithoutgod]

What if Christians are wrong? What if they're worshipping the wrong God? What if they lived their whole lives serving a God that might not exist?  What if they do everything right but there's no reward? So why do Christians believe their religion is the only right one? They look down on non believers saying they're wrong but what if they're wrong?

That they are impervious to this obvious question is why their faith is rightly called a delusion.

[Blackleaf]

Actually, the Bible itself answers this question:

1 Corinthians 15:16-19 - "For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."

1 Corinthians 15:19-32 - "Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I face death every dayâ€"yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”"

According to this, if Christians are wrong, they've wasted their lives. They would be better off enjoying their lives while they have them. Of course, Christians do not have to worry about being killed for their beliefs so much any more. At least not in the Western world. But still, according to this chapter, Christians are wasting their time if they have no Heaven waiting for them.

But I can expand this further. Here's some pros and cons to a Christian life, apart from the possibility of the afterlife:

Pros:

1. Community. Christians have a family-like relationship with others in their group, which is good for mental and physical health. It provides a sense of belonging.

2. Support. Churches often provide support for Christians in several ways. For instance, if you're struggling financially, they may lend you money to help you out. If you're elderly, they may send people to your house to help you with certain tasks, to prevent you from hurting yourself.

3. Community service. Many churches help out the community around them. Of course, this benefits the community, but it also benefits those involved. People who serve others have less stress and tend to live longer.

Cons:

1. Peer pressure. Christians are pressured to believe and act a certain way. Those who think for themselves and deviate from their standards are shunned.

2. Limited options. The standards of the church or denomination a Christian identifies with can limit what you can and can't do. For example, the United Pentecostal Church has long told its members not to watch TV or go to the movies, in addition to all of its rules against clothing, makeup, and hair cutting that mainly affect women.

3. Guilt. The main point of the Gospel is that people suck, and Jesus died to help us hopeless humans get to Heaven. This means that no matter how hard you try, you will never be good enough for God. That tends to lead to problems with guilt, especially since many things considered sins are extremely hard to avoid.

[Unbeliever]

Thanks so much for answering my questions.  I'm still young and new at this. I have a bunch of questions that I would like answered but unfortunately my very religious family would probably look down on me. My uncle already has. Apparently you shouldn't question jesus. Just pray and believe

I was in a similar situation at one time. I decided to actually read the Bible they kept telling me to read, and guess what? I found out that the Good Book isn't so good, after all, and that it could certainly not have been written by any kind of "perfect God." I was lucky, in that I had no real family to dump on me about my lack of belief, but I know others aren't so lucky, and can't just pick up and leave, like I did.

Here's a good site for studying this horrid volume:

http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/

Or this:

http://nullgod.com/index.php?topic=5.0 Biblical contradictions - by category

[Gawdzilla Sama]

What if Christians are wrong? What if they're worshipping the wrong God? What if they lived their whole lives serving a God that might not exist?  What if they do everything right but there's no reward? So why do Christians believe their religion is the only right one? They look down on non believers saying they're wrong but what if they're wrong?

That's Cthulhu's Corollary to Pascal's Wager.

[widdershins]

If they're wrong then they've wasted their entire lives, perhaps the only life they'll ever get (depending in what way they are wrong) in self-denial, self-sacrifice and constant belligerent anger for nothing.