I've got to say, I used to be well and truly atheist but since entering #jesus (an IRC channel on gamesurge all about... Jesus!) I've become a lot more agnostic. My main principles however, still stand..
You took that from me, you slut!
Anyway, I agree with everything that fourthgen said. Now for responses, yay.
Its history. Its not like you don't believe what people said during WWII, is it?
If stalin had told me to believe in God, I wouldn't anyway. Your argument doesn't really make sense. Just because some people said some stuff 2000 years ago doesn't mean we should believe it. I don't deny Jesus existed, and I don't deny that people followed him zealously - however, I don't think he was the son of god (because.. there's no god, logically).
Most would argue that you should worship God because God is the reason you are here in the first place. Like you love(or are supposed to love) your parents.
I can understand that. But worship isn't the same as love. Why should I pray to and blindly love some higher deity just for the fact that he's above me? If god is all powerful, why does he need people to worship him? And why does he send people to hell who don't? Merciful god, yeah right.
The whole concept of hell/heaven is probably my main grudge against religion. See, I always thought that
good people went to heaven and
bad people went to hell. But evidently, only people who accept Jesus as their personal saviour will go to heaven. Doesn't that mean murderers and rapists go to heaven while some "good" go to hell? It's idiotic.
So if you believe you just rot after you die, then what is your motive for living?
The absence of an afterlife is what makes life more precious, not less. By our belief, we've got 100 years to be happy and live life.
I counter your question with "if you just blindly worship god and prepare for the afterlife, then what's
your motive of living?" Wouldn't it just be better if you died right now and got to heaven straight away?