Nov 18 2008
My Thoughts on the Afterlife…
Yesterday, I included an email forward in my post so that I could talk about what heaven couldn’t be to me: exclusionary. Nor could I wrap my mind about the concept that a good person could be thrilled at the notion of spending eternity in heaven when everyone who saw life differently, had a different religion, or, in fact, failed to meet the “appropriate” level of sinning was existing in unending torment.
I mentioned at the time that I didn’t believe in Heaven or Hell and I meant it. But, since I think it makes an interesting topic for discussion, I will tell you what I do believe. Before I do, mind you, note that I have no intention of “converting” anyone to my way of thinking. I’m perfectly happy with a belief system of one. If you want to believe in little green men from Alpha Centauri, go right ahead. Ditto if Jesus, Buddha, or Osiris is your God. I’m cool with it.
So, why don’t I believe in Heaven or Hell? Because they don’t make sense to me. I mean, what’s the point? A vacation-land for all eternity - eternity’s a hell of a long time to kick back and do nothing and what a waste? What would be the point of sending us here to learn, to prove ourselves only to spend the rest of eternity retired?
And hell is even stupider. Tormenting people who failed for eternity. To what purpose? It’s not like you can work your way back from Hell. And Satan snatching up souls to beat out God. What for? He get a discount coupon at Starbucks if he gets so many souls? WTF?
Look at the world around you, and the glorious and logical world of nature. Everything has a purpose and is part of the system. Everything performs a function. Nothing is wasted. Now, am I the only one that sees the disconnect?
I guess my view on it is sort of Buddhist/Hindi crossed with a video game. Nature loves to recycle. You live this life, hopefully learning something, hopefully becoming the best you can be. If you die before figuring it out, you start “the level” over again. You’re supposed to grow, to become what whatever deity there is sees as your potential before moving on (and I’ll leave my view of the deity for another time). Once you pull it off, find your enlightenment and live in a way that makes the world a better place, hurting no one unnecessarily - your soul moves on to whatever level comes next.
So I’m not expecting a vacation when I’m through here, but a new struggle, a different test, perhaps a different lesson, a new proving ground. It may not be this life or the next, but I do believe I’m learning. I will beat this level and move on to the next.
And, when we’ve beaten every level and grown up to a mature soul, Heaven then? Pshaw! Why would you help craft something incredible to put it on the shelf? And why would you go through so many lives, learning so much, to not put it to use. I don’t know what my future holds for me, but I sure as heck intend to be useful.
Next time: My view on “God” - which is just as different. Probably.
Although I was raised Catholic here are my thoughts on the subject I believe we experience heaven and hell here on earth. Basically the good and the bad being both. I don’t believe in heaven and hell being a place. I think once we die we are then reincarnated with the same soul though different body. And, it just goes on and on through eternity.
http://insanfrancisco.today.com
I have this up in another spot as well and I’m surprised that my notion of reincarnation, so far, seems to be striking a chord. Either that or no one who doesn’t agree wants to comment.
Thanks for leaving a comment.
Well, whatever the afterlife entails, it will undoubtedly be very different from what is described in the Bible. That book gets so many other things wrong that it’s pretty much a sure bet the authors didn’t get that right either.
The fundamentalist versions of both heaven and hell are very illogical and disturbing. Fundies I have talked to say that heaven basically consists of doing nothing but praising God for all eternity, and hell of course is the lake of fire. If they (and the Bible) are correct, God is an egomaniac beyond compare. Why God, who created the entire cosmos, would need his creations (us) to lavish eternal praise on him in order to feel good about himself is beyond me. And likewise, why God would let his creations be tortured for all eternity if they either show imperfection or don’t believe in the Christian notion of the Christ is also beyond me. An infinity of quadrillions of years of torment seems a bit harsh for Gandhi, one would think.
I believe Jesus existed, and that he was (somehow) uniquely touched by God to deliver a message of hope in a largely hopeless world. He was called by God to remind people that there is more out there than meets the eye, and not to despair. However, I do not for one minute think that Christ is the only way to God. I also believe in an afterlife, and my personal hope is that I’ll be able to zoom around the universe, exploring creation at will. I do believe in karma to some extent, as I can’t see Hitler being allowed to enjoy the fruits of whatever heaven is to the extent that, say, Mother Theresa does. In other words, I do believe there are consequences to your actions here on Earth. What those consequences are, no one knows. Especially the fundies. They are so locked into their rigid literal interpretation of the Bible that out of fear they can’t bring themselves to ponder on possible alternatives.
The Bible has some great moral and spiritual messages in it. The rest is either fairy tales conjured up by well-meaning people who wanted to spread God’s word by way of allegory or parable, or nonsense meant to scare people into toeing the Church line.
Given Jesus’ propensity for allegory, it amazes me that so many take the old testament as absolutely true.
If you think about it, the notion that people would suffer for all eternity seems out of sync to the way Jesus lived.
I would be more impressed with Christianity if it emulated, in any fashion, the beliefs and attitudes of Christ.