Would You Still Worship God If There Was No Heaven or Hell?

[David In Indy]

It's a good question and one I've been wrestling with over the months and years.

"If the existence of God was not in question, like he talked to people openly, etc., but there was no eternal life, you just die and that was it, would you still worship and love God?"

It's a tough one, isn't it? We Christians seem to concentrate so much on what God will give us - an eternal reward - but not on what he's ALREADY given us - our life here now.

So what about it? If you believe in God, would you still love him even if you knew for a fact you would be nothing but worm food after you die? This is it, period?

I'm voting "not sure" because I'm really not certain about it. But it's something I'm working on. Because I'd like to say "yes" to this question.

[CellarDweller]

Ok, I want to make sure I'm understanding this.

You are saying in your question that we know that God exists, beyond question, and he openly talks to us, however, there is no Heaven or Hell.

Sure, I'd talk to Him, why not?

[louisev]

this is an easy one for me - because my concept of God is the immanent consciousness in all mankind.  As for there being a heaven and hell - I don't subscribe to those concepts.

[horo04]

Sure, I do.  I am a Wiccan and even though I don`t believe in an eternal damnation or heavenly realm I`m more concerned with the here & now. I believe our Creator helps us in or present life in some way or another.  But these are my personal beliefs....everyone has their own concept of a god or no god or whatever.

[Lynne]

David - I have never believed in a literal Heaven or Hell. I sometimes think Hell might be life here on Earth.  I still waffle about the existence of God.  But - on days I think God might exist, I don't need the threat of eternal damnation nor the promise of eternal bliss to believe.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Yes, absolutely. As it is, my private views of "heaven" and "hell" are highly unorthodox. I don't believe the stereotypical descriptions that I suppose ulitmately derive from the Book of Revelations (the Pearly Gates, for example). I suspect that when we die, That Which is Us is reunited to That Which is God. I guess you could therefore say that I don't believe in the existence of Hell.

I believe, and I worship, as a response to my experience of God in my life, not because I'm afraid of going to Hell.

[milomorris]

"No heaven or hell" isn't really the same thing as "no afterlife." Regardless I answered "yes."

God has been such a major force in my this life, that I cannot imagine being one of the faithless. Like others here, I do not think of heaven or hell in the "fairy-tale" sense. My understanding is closer to Jeff's. Except that I believe that "going to hell" means the destruction of "That Which is Us," at least it means not uniting with "That Which is God."

[Marina]

Hi,

I answered yes to this question as well.  I'm not particularly concerned with an afterlife either, or a Heaven or Hell - more so in what I see around me in the world in my life gives me my sense of a Creator or Higher Power, or a Consciousness, and sometimes, the things that go on right here on Earth are hellish.   The traditional images of Heaven and Hell are metaphorical, to me. 

[RouxB]

I answered yes but there are a few "ifs" embedded in there.
My interactions with the world and humanity are not based on a reward of heaven or fear of hell.

[ifyoucantfixit]

    I do not believe in Heaven or Hell.  One that can be located on a spatial or global
map.  I do not believe in a God either.  I believe that it is a form of self expectation,
that helps to relieve anxiety or fears.  It gives you a form of believe that helps you
to make yourself relieved under circumstances that leave you unable to find an
acceptance for the most difficult of fears or problems that you cannot find a reasonable
way to work yourself out of.  It helps many many people to place themself in an acceptable place to keep your psychi from falling apart.  When you reach such a level
of fear and difficulty, you are in danger of having a mental break.  In order to stop that
kind of reaction by the nervous system, they place their belief in "A God" in order to
make the physical mind and body lay the difficulty on an all powerful being.  ie God.
Someone or thing with the ability to handle any situation.  It takes the equation out
of their hands.  As to an afterlife, even when I believed in God, I never bought the
heaven or hell scenario
    I am probably going to get lots of flack from this, but I can live with that.