# I'll go to hell if I want to go to hell! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553 "2017-02-11T16:37:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/21 "2017-02-11T20:18:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What if there were 5,00 different brands of seatbelt, and no evidence that any of them have ever saved a life? Ya just gotta have faith. If you’ve got faith, then it all makes sense. You and I don’t have that kind of faith. Prepare early; buy asbestos underwear. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/22 "2017-02-11T20:22:29Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Ya just gotta have faith. If you’ve got faith, then it all makes sense. You and I don’t have that kind of faith. Prepare early; buy asbestos underwear. 😉 Well, the good news would be that his coffee will never get cold. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/23 "2017-02-11T20:44:15Z")
Lets say you were a former drug addict. Not just a run of the mill addict but one who’s life was being destroyed by your drug use. Then you someone showed you the way to overcome your addiction which you managed to do. Then your brother started going down the path to addiction. You know how to help him but he doesn’t want your help. You see it start to destroy his life. Should you sit by and do nothing knowing it is unlikely they will ever recover on their own? Or should you try to help them? Could you even consider yourself a good person if you didn’t try and help them? ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/24 "2017-02-11T20:46:50Z")
Power and control, they want everyone to do what they believe. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/25 "2017-02-11T20:49:54Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Then you have to ask yourself a few questions. What do I lose by fastening my seat belt? What might I lose if I don’t fasten my seat belt? What if the seat belt is made of rusty razor blades and barbed wire? Like, what if I choose to follow the wrong god, and every time I sacrifice a chicken to my fake god, I’m just making the real god madder and madder? See also: [Pascal's wager - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_Wager#Criticism) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/26 "2017-02-11T21:33:42Z")
Re: Kids smoking and not wearing seatbelts. (Separately or at the same time. :D) These actually do affect me. If I hit a car and the other person isn’t strapped in, I’m liable for a _lot_ more than if the person was strapped in. In both situations there’s extra demand on healthcare, higher premiums, etc. Many people who make dumb decisions end up not paying the bills for those decisions and the rest of us have to pay for it. And on and on. OTOH, I don’t see how someone going to Hell will affect me. But I must admit there are some interesting concepts being proposed here. Quite a scale. From “out of love” to basically greed. I think **Lemur866** ’s point that there’s a cause and effect thing going on is important from a practical point of view. But I always try to remember that if you start off with a lot of contenders and after a while you’re down to a very few, it’s not always because these were the best at something. Random events don’t care who/what is good at something. There will always be a few survivors and that’s usually all they are. The ones that got lucky more than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/27 "2017-02-11T21:41:19Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Why do secular folk care if kids smoke? Because they’re stinking up the place? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/28 "2017-02-11T22:41:18Z")
> [@2Bits](#): > > Why do members of certain religions want to save my soul? What’s in it for them? It feels good to believe you’re right; they enjoy feeling good and will rationalize any way to do so. Witnessing is one of the more socially acceptable ways. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/29 "2017-02-11T23:06:38Z")
Religions compete in the market place the same way that plants and animals compete for resources. It’s all very Darwinian. For a religion to survive, it must do several things successfully. One of those things is to replace members who die or leave for other reasons. Therefore, the importance for recruitment and large families. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/30 "2017-02-12T01:57:22Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Then you have to ask yourself a few questions. What do I lose by fastening my seat belt? What might I lose if I don’t fasten my seat belt? Which brand? Or are you saying to ignore all the different claims because all 5000 belts (gods) are equal? You \*might \* have a point if there was only one God to choose from…but just isn’t the case. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/31 "2017-02-12T21:09:16Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Wouldn’t it be easier for god to just do away with Hell than try to convince all of his followers to convince the rest of us? Yes he could take our freewill ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/32 "2017-02-12T21:23:32Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > Yes he could take our freewill If a guy pushes a knife into your side and says “Vote for me, or I’ll kill you!”, do you think this is a case of “free will”? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/33 "2017-02-12T21:59:19Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Then you have to ask yourself a few questions. What do I lose by fastening my seat belt? What might I lose if I don’t fasten my seat belt? Yeah, but think about Homer Simpson’s corollary to Pascal’s Wager. [Quote=Homer Simpson] What if we picked the wrong religion? Every week we’re just making God madder and madder. [/Quote] ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/34 "2017-02-12T22:48:22Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > Yes he could take our freewill Losing my free will…or burning forever in hell… Shrug. I wasn’t using my free will for much anyway; my boss tells me what to do. What do I actually lose here? ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/35 "2017-02-12T23:33:58Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Shrug. I wasn’t using my free will for much anyway; my boss tells me what to do. What do I actually lose here? All I have to say there is: Wow. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/36 "2017-02-12T23:41:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If a guy pushes a knife into your side and says “Vote for me, or I’ll kill you!”, do you think this is a case of “free will”? Really it’s more on the level of, “Do good or don’t live with me” ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/37 "2017-02-12T23:47:51Z")
> [@DrForrester](#): > > All I have to say there is: Wow. Well, okay, seriously. Engage with me here. What good is my free will if it is punished by eternity in hell? If Adam had not had free will, he would have walked with God in the garden forever. How is that a bad thing? If I were a happy robot…what, exactly, is wrong with that? You say, “Wow,” but I don’t hear anything meaningful in it. (Captain Kirk was a colossal jerk, ripping people out of their comfortable paradises!) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/38 "2017-02-12T23:49:22Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Really it’s more on the level of, “Do good or don’t live with me” Great. You go your way, and I’ll go mine, and that’s fine. Now, ah, about this “Hell” place… Nice bit of arm-twisting, yeah? It comes right back to the knife in the ribs. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/39 "2017-02-13T00:54:04Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If a guy pushes a knife into your side and says “Vote for me, or I’ll kill you!”, do you think this is a case of “free will”? Huh ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553/40 "2017-02-13T01:00:28Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > Huh I don’t know how to make this even simpler, but…It’s not free will if one of the “choices” is a threat-it’s extortion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-go-to-hell-if-i-want-to-go-to-hell/779553.md?page=3)