No Reward, No Problem!

How do you convince your children it's worth their while to perform a certain chore?

You promise to reward them.

And you Christians know all about reward!

Isn't it the reason you do everything?

"Are you going to cheat on your wife?"
"Nope, gotta get into heaven."

"Are you going to rob that jewelry store?"
"Nope, wouldn't want to find those pearly gates closed."

Here's a thought - why don't you do the right thing simply because it's the right thing? I suppose it's impossible to figure out if you would act morally were no one watching, because, according to you, God is always watching.

You must think it very odd that we non-Christians usually do the right thing even though no one is closely monitoring our behavior for the express purpose of gathering data which will later be used to choose the location we spend eternity.

I mean, we don't turn on the news every night and hear, "Another atheist has wreaked havoc among the citizens of our town. If they only believed their actions had everlasting consequences, finally we'd have peace!"

I wonder; if God was proven to be a fallacy, we'd turn on the news and hear about groups of former Christians committing horrific acts all over the world. After all, the fear damnation would be a thing of the past, and we have no idea how Christians would act were they not terrified of the hoary netherworld.

Religious people always talk about faith, yet they have little faith that other Christians will do the right thing unless the threat of eternal damnation is looming.

They say character is how we act when no one is watching. Of course that cannot be applied to those with faith because they believe God can see through their roofs and sheets.

I hope; if Christians are right in their religious beliefs, God gives me a chance to speak in front of Him before sending me off to hell. After hearing his lecture on how horrible it was that I didn't believe crazy stories in an ancient book were completely factual, I would try and convince Him that I am better than Christians because I lived a moral life despite the fact that I truly believed my good deeds would land me in the same location as the registered sex offender two blocks over.

By the way: you guys make it clear that if God doesn't want a person with Him in heaven, then he or she has no chance of advancing through those pearly gates. But is it written anywhere that Satan has to accept you? I just don't understand why everyone assumes the devil is so welcoming.

So continue to strictly follow the guidelines laid out in the Bible while claiming that you are displaying strength, willpower and class, when you know full well that behaving appropriately with no hope for reward is action of the noblest kind.