Truth_Seeker

I say no. First of all, I am not too keen on the idea of living forever. I mean, I sometimes get bored here on earth….what would I do with an eternity? Secondly, in heaven, everyone is supposed to be happy, having had their desire to sin taken away. A place with only one emotion? How could this be a good thing? I mean, if God takes away all my wants, desires, hopes, dreams, and emotions save one, I will no longer be myself. I would be more like a programed robot. How could one feel true happiness if they were never sad? There are many other reasons I could think of. I look forward to reading your responses.

Tigers!

Why would being happy remove your desires, hopes, dreams?
Why would you want to be sad? Have you not already experienced/witnessed enough sadness in your life (with more to come I guess)?
I'm sure God would/could keep you busy for eternity.
It's the desire to sin that causes all the unhappiness in the world. Why would be it undesirable to have that removed?

braces_for_impact

If one is in a state of eternal bliss, there cannot be desire, hopes or dreams. We desire, hope and dream for things we lack. It is disequilibrium that drives us. It gives us ambition. We are hungry, so we go out and find food. We are lonely so we find friends or a mate. In a state of complete contentment, what drive is there to do anything else other than bask in your own happiness, drooling with a dumb grin on your face?

Because it helps shape me into who I am. It also provides a contrast to really enjoy the good times. Suffering can also bring out the best in humanity, as when a stranger is moved to help someone else in their plight.

Well, I'm sure someone of faith would believe so, I myself have my doubts. Think about it. You've done and seen the entire universe, experienced a myriad of things you could never have imagined. You've been everywhere and done anything you've thought of doing when you were a mere human on earth. Lets say it's taken you 600 trillion years to do all of this. Think about that stretch of time. Six hundred trillion years. That 600 trillion years is not even a cosmic eye blink for you. Even after 600 trillion years you still have an eternity left to go. Another 600 trillion years goes buy, then another. You still have as much time left to look forward to as when you began. Talk about a curse! <shudder>

I think you might be able to claim that once the Problem of Evil is solved.

Truth_Seeker

Because my hopes, dreams, and desires do not include God. I am who I am because of the sum total of my life. Good, bad, happy, sad. I have been a bad husband....this in turn has made me a much better husband. I have been a bad friend. This in turn has made me a better friend. I don't want God, or anyone else for that matter, to take away any part of me. I am who I am because of everything that has happened to me. To take away all of my emotions save one sounds more like a programed robot.

I don't like being sad. But how could one truly feel the joy of happiness if they had nothing to compare it to, or contrast it against?
Living out forever doing God's chores does not sound all that apealing to me. Sorry.
This is your opinion. It is my opinion, that the root of most unhappiness is caused by religion. Since coming to my senses, and abandoning all of the myths and hardships of religion, I have become a much happier person. Religion will teach you that only through God, or a relationship with Christ can one have joy and peace. This is a lie. True joy and true peace comes with knowing the truth, and living free.

Truth_Seeker

Good point. Eternity is impossible to imagine. A curse is exactly what it would be.

Splarnst

It depends on what you mean by "real". If there really were a place where I went after I died where I would be happy for all of eternity, yes, I would go without hestitation. All the arguments against it are not arguing against whether you would want that, they are all arguing that you wouldn't really be happy. That's a different matter altogether.

Splarnst

I find this position as dubious as the one you're arguing against. Atheism doesn't cure war, poverty, disease, accidents, chemical imbalances, divorce, stupidity, greed, malice, or any of the other things that really make people unhappy. I think the world would be better without religion, but I certainly don't think it's the root of most unhappiness by any stretch of the imagination.

Truth_Seeker

I however, would not want to go. I would not want that. No matter what the environment might be like. Period. Being happy forever....for an eternity....is not something I want. It seems to me that you are going to find this hard to believe.

Imaginary Mark

Hell yeah, I'd want to go! But not right now, ok?

Truth_Seeker

Hmmmmmm.....OK.....How about a LOT of the unhappiness. My point was that the desire to sin is not the cause af all unhappiness as Tigers stated. And that, once I was freed from the concept of sin, I became a much happier person.