It Doesn’t Matter if God Exists — An Idea From Epictetus

Summary

The article suggests that the existence of God is less important than living virtuously and embodying "divine" values, echoing the teachings of the philosopher Epictetus.

Abstract

The article titled "It Doesn’t Matter if God Exists — An Idea From Epictetus" explores the philosophical stance that the focus on whether God exists is secondary to living a life aligned with divine values. It presents the viewpoint of some atheists who believe that being a good person is more crucial than belief in God for attaining a favorable afterlife, if one exists. The piece draws on the wisdom of Epictetus, who emphasized the importance of understanding and living by God's nature, rather than debating God's existence. The author suggests that the key to a meaningful life lies in striving to embody virtuous qualities and acting in ways that reflect the highest good, regardless of one's belief in a supernatural deity.

Opinions

Some atheists believe that if there is an afterlife, being a good person is sufficient for favorable treatment, regardless of belief in God.
The article references Epictetus's teaching that knowing God's nature and living by it is more important than confirming God's existence.
The author posits that the philosophical debate over God's existence is less significant than the practical endeavor to live virtuously.
Acting "divinely" or "Godlike" is presented as a worthwhile pursuit, even if one does not believe in God.
The article encourages readers to focus on personal growth and moral behavior, aligning with the idea that "we need to know is God’s nature, in other words, what values we choose to adopt."
The author suggests that spreading joy and helping others is a core principle to live by, quoting Shri Radhe Ma's advice to "Live a virtuous life, help everyone and spread joy wherever you go."

Is Living Virtuously the Most Important Thing?

Sometimes you’ll hear an atheist say something like “the way I see it is if God doesn’t exist, he doesn’t exist, and that’s it, and we all die and we vanish into nothingness. But if he does exist, if there is an afterlife, well, he’ll let me into heaven because I’m a good person. If I’m a good person and there is a God he probably won’t care if I believe in him. He’ll just let me into heaven.”

Living “Divinely”

Of course, a lot of religions would disagree with that notion, but what people really mean when they say something like this is that they don’t care if there is a supernatural God. Rather, they believe that the more important thing is to live by “divine” values, or by “God’s nature”. Epictetus had a similar idea:

“The philosophers say that there is a God and that his will directs the universe, but the more important lesson is to discover God’s nature.”

Epictetus

Who Do We Want to Become?

We can bicker back and forth all day long (really, our entire lives) about whether or not God is real. However, to Epictetus, it doesn’t really matter. We don’t need to know if God exists. All we really need to know is God’s nature, in other words, what values we choose to adopt. What do we want to consider as the highest good? Who do we want to become? And then we need to make conscious efforts to move closer to that.

“Live a virtuous life, help everyone and spread joy wherever you go.”

— Shri Radhe Ma

Does it Matter if God is Real?

We don’t need to know if God exists; all we need to know is God’s nature, and how to act divinely. Maybe there is no God, after all, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t act Godlike.

Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in learning more, listen to similar reflections on The Strong Stoic Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.