Other Would you die for your beliefs? (Serious answers only)

[Zombocalypse]

Would you die for your beliefs? (Serious answers only)



I once visited a Christian forum which talks about, obviously, Christianity. There was a thread that asked if people would be willing to die for their Christian beliefs or renounce their faith. But it was a step beyond death. It asked if they are willing to go through TORTURE without renouncing their faith. There were some honest answers of how they will most likely renounce their faith even before the torture began.

But we're not dealing with torture here... Let's just put it this way then...

If the president of the world had you captured and had you face immediate death, should you go against him, what would you do? Will you renounce your faith to save your life? You won't get tortured, but you will get killed.

To make this question more universal, let's also put it this way...

If the leader of the world, who happened to be a heresy-hating Bible-thumping old-school fundamentalist Judeo-Christian warmonger, had you captured and told you to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior or he'll blow your brains out with a shotgun, would you maintain your atheism?

It's not gonna be an agonizing death. It's instant. Your brains will get splattered all over the place but there will not be any torture...

But also, let's say that at that point, you happen to be enjoying your life on earth and have plans of living for a long time, instead of having nothing to lose when you die, would you submit?

So, what would you do?



My thoughts on this is that if faced with such a dilemma, I most likely would not renounce my faith even under the threat of torture. But I don't guarantee that I'll maintain my faith in the middle of being tortured...

 

[ApfelSeine]

Heck yeah, I'd renounce my beliefs. I'd renounce anything with a gun to my head. Talk is cheap. It'd be a waste if I did anything else really. It's admirable to martyr oneself. Admirable but, in my humble opinion, wasteful. No matter what I say out loud I'm going to believe what I believe. I have no qualms in lying if it gets me out of hot water. I'm not a deontologist, I think any action is acceptable if it results in a good outcome.

The only thing I wouldn't be willing to do is implicate anyone else in my decision. I wouldn't jeopardize anyone else's' well-being to secure my own. I suppose that, in a way, is a belief I'd be willing to die for. I don't think I'd die for my religion, or die to try to stand by science either. I'd much prefer to go on living my life and internally believing what I wanted to than to try to rile up someone just to make a brave but very brief show of dedication to my beliefs. If I can say what I have to in order to appease them, and it won't hurt anyone else, then of course I'd do that.

 

[Zombocalypse]

Heck yeah, I'd renounce my beliefs. I'd renounce anything with a gun to my head. Talk is cheap. It'd be a waste if I did anything else really. It's admirable to martyr oneself. Admirable but, in my humble opinion, wasteful. No matter what I say out loud I'm going to believe what I believe. I have no qualms in lying if it gets me out of hot water. I'm not a deontologist, I think any action is acceptable if it results in a good outcome.

The only thing I wouldn't be willing to do is implicate anyone else in my decision. I wouldn't jeopardize anyone else's' well-being to secure my own. I suppose that, in a way, is a belief I'd be willing to die for. I don't think I'd die for my religion, or die to try to stand by science either. I'd much prefer to go on living my life and internally believing what I wanted to than to try to rile up someone just to make a brave but very brief show of dedication to my beliefs. If I can say what I have to in order to appease them, and it won't hurt anyone else, then of course I'd do that.

Here's another question for you...

What if... Despite the fact that there would be no afterlife penalty for you renouncing your beliefs, you are promised infinite rewards in heaven if you martyr yourself instead?

The rewards can be anything as meager as having an additional cookie for a day to receiving a mansion just for you.

 

[ApfelSeine]

Here's another question for you...

What if... Despite the fact that there would be no afterlife penalty for you renouncing your beliefs, you are promised infinite rewards in heaven if you martyr yourself instead?

The rewards can be anything as meager as having an additional cookie for a day to receiving a mansion just for you.

Nah, I have no interest in martyring myself, even if I get perks for it. I think the only point at which I'd be willing to do that would be if the people close to me were already gone, and I could know for certain that the promise would be kept. I'd prefer not to cause anyone grief or needless suffering if I can avoid it. But that's my own preferences, and the right choice differs from person to person. For me, it's a matter of me acting as the person who I want to be, and remaining aware that all actions have consequences. Hypothetical scenarios are fun, though I probably think much too literally about potential repercussions that exist outside of the scenario.

 

[Hall Kervean]

Yup.
Ezpz lemon squeezy.
Especially if it was just a bullet to the head.
Then I could shout something random.
Like "TRUE KOREA IS BEST KOREA!" *bang*

This just goes for my Christianity, of course.
If it was about how SAO was bad or something, then nah. I'll revert.

 

[Myrta]

I absolutely wouldn't die for my atheism. I'd just say whatever the guy wants to hear and carry on with my life without actually changing my beliefs. Well, except for the fact that I'm a petty person, so I'd probably develop an intense dislike for the religion as a whole, too. I could see myself secretly spreading heretical ideas, writing edgy anonymous atheist manifestos that would be way more radical than what I truly believe just to spite people etc.

 

[Axel The Englishman]

If someone pointed a gun at my head and told me to change my beliefs, I'd be like "sure, whatever you say", leave, and then laugh my arse of behind their back because I haven't actually changed my beliefs. That's what I call the sneaky sneak.

 

[Elephantom]

I'd just agree with him, and when he's stuck in his litany, brain him with anything close to hand.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

There's a bit problem with the word "belief". Belief is anything that a person believes in. It doesn't have to be religion. Can be science, can be facts, can even be a moral value or even a way of life.

So in my opinion, there is no way to forcefully change someone's belief under any circumstances. Belief is different from religion, where renouncing means you basically switch to a different "camp" or "group". Belief is what you believe in. I can say that I'm a christian, but in truth I believe in Flying Spaghetti Monster as my messiah. How can someone know what I am believing in? Unless we invented a mind-reading machine, nobody could.

In accordance to the topic: would you die for your belief? the answer is yes. In my personal case, that belief is freedom. I will gladly die in order to attain freedom for myself. And if I failed, hey, why live when you are not free?

For the scenario you're giving, whether I would die or not depend on how far the "accept christ" thing is enforced. If it's just to make me say "I accept Christ" then it's not worth dying for. But if it forced me to attend church, read bible, or recite prayers, then I'll just die because that means my freedom is taken without my consent.

 

[Imperator_tenebrae]

Dying for salvation with dedication. No capitulation, annihilation. Heaven is our destination.

If you can hold to your beliefs whether it is spiritual or a way of life then it is something that is inherently yours and no other. If you really do believe in something greater than yourself then the answer is simple, no surrender, no renouncement. Death before dishonor.

 

[Blemmigan]

I'm not religious (or anti-religion) at all- it's not something I really think about or have much interest in. What happens happens and all that, just be good and be kind and be happy.
So uh. I don't know what I'd be willing to die for.

Like I believe that William Shatner's cover of Common People is way better than the original, but I ain't dying for that.

 

[Miracleist]

What someone above already said, the strength of your conviction is not merely a sum of your words. I'll easily renounce almost any belief or ideology to anyone, any day, provided the outcome's beneficial to me in the end.

 

[Omnimon]

Do you even remember those who actually died as a " Martyr " outside of those who were leader(s) of said movement.

If no ?

Then you have my answer.


" Dying is easy, it's living that scares me to death. "

 

[Shireling]

I would gladly give my life for my Kekistani brothers and sisters.

 

[Archdemon]

I would gladly give my life for my Kekistani brothers and sisters.

We Kekistani's will do anything for our lord and savior KEK!



Though since this is a serious question, what I'd do is instead of actually converting, I'd say yes and prove to them of my willingness to whatever belief they want me to believe in like say Christianity. I'll like read the bible thousands of times and quote every single word of it if I had to, I'll go to church and pray or whatever. Though that'll only be a front as I'll join like a resistance against this warmonger because if nobody has freedom then what is the point of living? I'd rather fight behind a mask than to answer to the screams and whips of some master.

 

[TheRockInception]

Yeah, man. As Ghandi said:
"There are many causes I am willing to die for, but none to kill for."
Besides, I would become a martyr. There's that too.

 

[Zombocalypse]

I will.
After death after a martyrdom is sweet.

So you believe in an afterlife, then?

Are you a Christian?

 

[kibou]

It's much less extreme but I lie about my beliefs all the time irl, because the alternative could be anything ranging from someone crying at me, to being yelled at, being kicked out, being estranged from my whole family, being physically harmed, or blackmailed into extremely psychologically damaging conversion therapy, and frankly I cannot financially support myself right now.

That being said, I'm renouncing my beliefs for reasons I'd consider to be not as bad as dying.

So, yeah, I'd lie about my beliefs if someone put a gun to my head. I'd put on the most convincing show I possibly could, even if I had to for the rest of my life. Your internal thoughts and external behavior don't have to line up, so it's not like I'd actual change my internal belief system.

I mean, it might even be easier for me irl if I did that in the actual situation I'm in, but not only would I not do that, I don't think I actually can force myself to change my beliefs.

 

[justajerk]

What a paradoxical question. If you die for your beliefs, you don't believe in your beliefs anymore. What a moral dilemma. I'd personally rather just not place my faith in anything, just me.

 

[Zombocalypse]

Your internal thoughts and external behavior don't have to line up, so it's not like I'd actual change my internal belief system.

But wouldn't it be a miserable existence to live a life that is not in tune with who you really are?

It's a lot like if the government wanted me to be gay even though I'm not. I would rather be killed than live my whole life being gay.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

But wouldn't it be a miserable existence to live a life that is not in tune with who you really are?

It's a lot like if the government wanted me to be gay even though I'm not. I would rather be killed than live my whole life being gay.

There is no "real" you. You are the sum of your feeling and action. Everything you do is you, even if you're lying or not. That's all you.

What you are experiencing is not miserable because you're not the "real you", but because "your freedom is taken". As in, you don't want to be X, but government force you to be X. Frankly whether you are X or not doesn't matter, because you are you. The problem is you become X because you are forced to.

 

[Hige]

As a kemetic-pagan my view of the afterlife ties heavily to the belief that death, if your heart is pure, is just living another life.
See, the Duat is the world where the Gods tend to reside and humans who live there (meaning, they died and passed the trials) just live outtheir lives, as if they hadn't died. They can still eat, hold jobs, work the reeds, ect.

This, to me, is important because death isn't the end.

So, my trust in my gods (Swth and Inpw) are strong. Even in fallZow periods I still wear Swth's image
as a necklace to honor him. So, would I recant my faith?
I'd have to say not.
My religion is a big part of me and it still influences my actions to this day. Recanting it feels like it's recanting my love to my gods and a part of who I am.

 

[kibou]

But wouldn't it be a miserable existence to live a life that is not in tune with who you really are?

It's a lot like if the government wanted me to be gay even though I'm not. I would rather be killed than live my whole life being gay.

I thought it came across in my last post but... I'm already living a life that's not in tune with who I am. I'm forced to pretend I'm a straight Christian which is the exact situation you're describing. I mean, it's not great, but to me it's much better than the alternatives.

Not to mention that many gay and trans people are in the closet and it's still not safe for a lot of people to come out, even in America, even in 2017.

 

[TheRockInception]

I thought it came across in my last post but... I'm already living a life that's not in tune with who I am. I'm forced to pretend I'm a straight Christian which is the exact situation you're describing. I mean, it's not great, but to me it's much better than the alternatives.

Not to mention that many gay and trans people are in the closet and it's still not safe for a lot of people to come out, even in America, even in 2017.

meanwhile i'm just sitting here enjoying the benefits of martyrdom

Our church is pretty accepting and caring for LGBT people, or at least the pastor is. Sadly, half the congregation looks like it's about to kick the bucket. Not to be rude, of course. They're good people. Unfortunately, no LGBT people attend our church, even though they will be openly welcomed at Christ's table. Pope Francis is a great guy, by the way: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" You really just need to find the right church and right denomination that fits your beliefs. Or check out Baha'ism. That's kind of interesting too.

 

[Lappi]

Depends on it. I'll die for most reasons because i become a martyr for the cause i believe in. Thus making me immortal in my own right.