If There Is No Life After Death What Is the Point in Behaving Morally

If there is no life after death there is no point in behaving morally. Discuss.

Life after death is a common theme within numerous religions and can be seen as a key factor in motivating many to behave morally. In Christianity, heaven and hell are often used to inspire moral behaviour in people, heaven is depicted as a place where the morally wealthy go after death and hell a place where the morally corrupt end up which is a place of both physical and emotional suffering. However, in a world where religion is becoming increasingly obsolete compared to the past the relationship between moral behaviour and the belief in life after death is fading.

Hell has always been described as a place of suffering and the teachings of the Christian church say that if a person does not act morally they will end up here. This fear of suffering is a huge motivating factor in making people become moral. Alternatively, the attractive idea of heaven can be seen as the counter to this reward and punishment scheme so believers of Christianity will aim for absolute moral behaviour to avoid suffering and be rewarded by experiencing heaven. This shows a relationship between acting morally and life after death. However, many religious people believe in the idea of predestination, this is the theory that God has already chosen, before birth, the people who would be rewarded with experiencing heaven and the people who would experience suffering in hell. If this is the case, although life after death exists, there is no inclination to behave morally as if you are already predestined for heaven and do not behave morally you will still be rewarded. Some Christians, most commonly in America, belief in the idea of Rapture, they think that God will bring about the end of the world as we know it and bring all Christians to heaven whilst leaving the sinners on earth for seven years of suffering. The idea of rapture and this life after death actually promotes unmoral behaviour. They belief that human's have dominion over the world and that Earth's resources should be used at our will, global warming should not be preventing and if possible promoted as this will bring about the Rapture sooner. Therefore, this small group of Christians believes that the Kyoto agreement to prevent greenhouse gas emission should not be signed as they and those they care about will be saved in the Rapture. Conclusively, although Christianities theory of life after death usually promotes moral behaviour due to the idea of reward and punishment, some extremer versions of Christianity such as predestination and the rapture do not promote moral behaviour even though there is life after death and in some cases discourages behaving morally altogether.

Other religions, such as Buddhism, also have theories of life after death which promotes moral behaviour. The idea of reincarnation accepts the transmigration of souls. At death, the soul leaves its place its current body and starts a new life in another physical body. All memories are forgotten but Karma from the past life influences the next, the aim is to achieve perfection and leave all hatred, jealousy and ignorance. When this occurs there is no need to be reborn and the soul has achieved a state of complete bliss or nirvana. Personal identity is lost as the soul becomes one with the ultimate reality. Buddhists strive to achieve moral behaviour in every aspect of their life in order to achieve Nirvana and therefore if the afterlife did not exist then there would be no need to achieve moral behaviour.

However, if a belief in God is rejected and an atheistic approach taken then there is no relationship between life after death and morality at all. Bentham's theory of utilitarianism says that humans should follow the principle