First let me start off by saying that I respect and understand your position. It is my hope that I can put my thoughts together in an unbiased way that may help you understand mine. I am a being of logic. I research things and based upon that research, logic and a little common sense I make my choices. I am also a Christian, so I will tackle the issue from the stance that if there is a God, he is the God that the Christian Scriptures profess him to be.

Either there is a God, or there isn’t. If you believe that a person can neither prove nor disprove the existence of God then this is for you. If that is true, then the answer to the question “Is there a God?” would be “unknown.” With that train of thought, let me provide a couple of scenarios. I’ll use two individuals; their names will be Sam and Tony.

But first keep in mind, that this is not a letter to an atheist who has already pre-determined that God does not exist and claims proof. This is for those who believe it is neither possible to prove one side or the other and are unsure. My purpose here isn’t to prove the existence of God, merely to show which way of living is more logical and safe. The options are 1. living the law of the so called God or 2. Living a law according to one’s own personal conscience of what they feel is right or wrong.

Scenario number one: There is no God that we know of. There is no Supreme Governor who has prepared an afterlife for the inhabitants of this world. There is no higher law.

Therefore the Scriptures that Christians believe are without weight, meaning there are no postmortem consequences to our actions here on this earth. In other words, all hope of an eternal reward ceases with death.

A man may live as he so chooses, with or against his own conscience, and ultimately at the end of his life needs not concern himself with any sort of reward in the hereafter. If a man murder, he dies. If a man has all charity, he dies. If a person is happy or unhappy, all roads lead to the same ultimate end; nothingness.

So in the scenario of a Godless universe, Sam and Tony are both unsure of the point. Sam chooses to not risk it and lives as though there is a God and acts upon the laws of that supposed higher power. Tony decides conversely and risks it, and does not follow the law. Sam lives a life according to a hope of an eternal reward and finds a form of happiness in his life. Tony lives his life according to the dictates of his own creed, and finds a form of happiness in his life as well. Both die, both die happy. However both cease to exist, and therefore neither have any regrets.

Scenario number two: There is a God, and he provided a law in which he has commanded men to follow, and has prepared an eternal reward for those who obey it, those who don’t, have an eternal regret.

The Christian Scriptures are then accurate, and there is an eternal reward for he who follows the law given by Jesus Christ. Which is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27) and repent when he falls short:  “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

If a man then chooses to follow that law, he is rewarded. If he refuses to repent, he has no claim to the reward offered.

In this second scenario Sam, who played it safe and lived according to the Scriptures finds a form happiness in his life, but this time, after he dies, is rewarded for his efforts to obey the law. Tony, who decided to risk it, finds his form of happiness in this life, then dies, but unlike Sam, loses his opportunity for his reward, and regrets it.

In those two scenarios, both were unsure if there was a God. However, Sam, who played it safe had a 100% chance at living eternally happy without regret (0% risk). Tony, however, had only a 50-50 chance (50% risk). Both were happy in the current life regardless if God existed or not. On the other hand, if God did exist, only one gained all that was promised. With that logic, the first person risked nothing; the second risked his eternity on a coin flip. Whose shoes would you rather be in: living a life without fear or risk, or chancing an eternity on a 50-50?

That being said, I do acknowledge that there are many more factors that play in such as the belief that “religion infringes upon my freedoms and pleasures.” We’ll cover that one in more detail in “To the Agnostic – Part 4.”

In the next segment I’ll factor in the reality that of those who claim to follow the law of the Christian Scriptures, there are several thousands of divisions of doctrines. How can someone know which doctrine is the correct path the so called God would have them follow?