I stepped out of class this afternoon to find that a huge crowd had gathered on the Commons. People were holding signs that read, "Fear God!" I passed them, long enough to hear a old guy rant, "It doesn't matter if you do good works your entire life! If you don't believe in God, you'll be eternally damned!"
What a bunch of crock. Religious zealots are always trying to convert people, be they saints or criminals. It doesn't matter if you killed a bunch of people. If you convert, you'll be saved. If you single-handedly created world peace and eliminated world hunger, but you don't believe in their God, you'd be damned.
Why are people so obsessed with the afterlife, if indeed there is one? We're living life now, and on a practical standpoint, I find it a freakin' waste of time to worry about where souls go after brain activity flat-lines when there are more pressing problems in the world.
As a believer, I've never understood the "You're Going to Hell!" approach.
The only thing I've ever been able to suss out about it is that it's an insight into the person who stands in public with a sign like that. All you really find out is what THEY are afraid of.
I do agree with you that it is a waste of time and money for such protests ... I believe if you do good, treat others as you would like to be treated, you have done well --- too bad all those that 'believe in god' would not invest their time into helping people rather than preaching to them! ... (such a waste as it is).
