Originally Posted by
asking
ClassyT, I won't answer for Needkarma, but for myself. The idea that not believing in an afterlife means not having any values--your "eat, drink, and be merry"--is false and basically insulting. I don't need to have a threat of hell or at least no heaven to know what my values are and to follow them. I don't have to have a priest or a God with thunderbolts keeping me on a short leash. I can choose to do the right thing because it is the right thing. Period.
If I'm wrong, and there is a vengeful God who punishes people who follow Christian values but don't believe in God--in other words, not for behaving badly but for not believing in him--then I'm screwed. But I'm willing to take that (very small) risk in order not to be bullied into adopting false beliefs by people like you who threaten others with their imaginary friends and places.