Heaven, hell and reincarnation
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
I had a thought. Yeah, I know, there is probably a bunch of you typewriter comedians with a bunch of great lines you could throw at me so if your idea of a good target is a soft one, and you will feel better after it, then go right ahead. Otherwise, let me go on. The thought I had was with respect (and I do mean that in the truest sense) to numerous recent discussions regarding religion generally and Christianity in particular.
I was baptised and raised as a Catholic, raised to believe in heaven and hell, Satan and Jesus and the New Testament. Subconsciously, I believe I was weighed down with sinner’s guilt all of us are supposed to carry around despite doing my first Confession, Communion and Confirmation. As I was taught, I would find my way into God’s arms and I didn’t doubt it. I was an altar boy, attended Mass regularly and even, in my mid-teens, considered becoming a priest. Soon enough, I realised I was basing my beliefs not on faith but on the gullibility of a boy as opposed to the informed decisions of a man. Not too long after, my beliefs started unravelling as I started to see massive chinks in the armour of this particular faith.
It took many years for me to unravel this particular ball of confusion and then another bunch of years of following different threads until I found what I was looking for, spiritually. Even now, though, my beliefs are tenuous at best not because I don’t have faith but maybe because I have too much faith and I constantly question it in order to gain greater counsel from it. Personally, I believe blind faith is as naïve as blind trust and a true seeker constantly questions everything about themselves, including their faith.
The basic, bottom-line struggle for me is my inability to reconcile, in my own mind, the idea of heaven and hell. Quite frankly, I don’t believe in either, which makes it particularly hard to believe in any existing religion that holds to this belief. Heaven, as one song says, is where I make it. So, if this is the case, it is also safe to assume that hell, too, is where I make it. This makes much more sense to me than the idea of heaven being all fluffy clouds, cherubs and harp music or of hell being pits of tar, devils and pitchforks.
Last year, Sodaiho wrote an article titled ‘What’s In Your Moment’, where he says:
“heaven and hell are not in the afterlife, as if an invisible clone of ourselves leaves our body upon death and is either rewarded or tormented, they are our present reality. They are the exact same state of being with one degree of separation.” (See the whole article here: Link)
In a very simple sentence, he nailed a concept I had tried to put into words many times myself about the importance of this life, right down to this very moment. It seemed to me so many spent (and still spend) so much time concentrating on making sure they’ll get into heaven they forget about the life they have now. The contradictory, hypocritical nature of some of these ‘true believers’ went completely against the idea I had in my mind of what people of faith should be like. The tenets of forgiveness, compassion, understanding, humbleness etc., seem to be only applicable to those who are of the same beliefs. This smacks of a very large, very ripe hypocrisy. I’m am sure that if the man called Jesus actually existed, he would be shocked at how his words of peace have been so twisted around.
Then there is the question of those who don’t believe being judged by ‘true believers’. Non-believers are often called faithless, amoral and lost forever, all very compassionate and understanding (yes, I am being sarcastic). Having faith is fraught and can open up the faithful to ridicule, abuse and worse (just look at the what the Chinese have been doing to Falun Gong practioners recently for an up-to-date example). There are many stories, both fictional and historical, to illustrate this point. Yet it never stops anyone from having faith and from practicing their faith.
Why is it, then, if I profess to have faith, I am told my faith is of little value or even worse, I am judged based on what I choose NOT to believe as opposed to what I chose to believe? Why can’t my faith be manifest in me in the guise of optimism for the future of mankind now as opposed to optimism for MY future in the great hereafter? It is an interesting question and one to which I don’t have any answer.
As I see it, those who believe in the idea of heaven and hell are being selfish without even being aware of it. Why should they be concerned with how the world will be after they die, if only to make sure the place is still around for their children? They’re going to heaven so they won’t have to worry about it. Why should they concern themselves with such silly things as compassion and understanding for others of different beliefs when they have a church full of people who believe the same as they do?
I don’t have children and I’m not a Christian. But I want to see the world survive. I want to see it get better, cleaner, healthier and more compassionate. I am also realistic enough to know I may not see any of these things happen in my lifetime. But I want this generation, my generation, to be remembered as they ones who kick-started changes to make the world a better place. In this, I have faith.
I was baptised and raised as a Catholic, raised to believe in heaven and hell, Satan and Jesus and the New Testament. Subconsciously, I believe I was weighed down with sinner’s guilt all of us are supposed to carry around despite doing my first Confession, Communion and Confirmation. As I was taught, I would find my way into God’s arms and I didn’t doubt it. I was an altar boy, attended Mass regularly and even, in my mid-teens, considered becoming a priest. Soon enough, I realised I was basing my beliefs not on faith but on the gullibility of a boy as opposed to the informed decisions of a man. Not too long after, my beliefs started unravelling as I started to see massive chinks in the armour of this particular faith.
It took many years for me to unravel this particular ball of confusion and then another bunch of years of following different threads until I found what I was looking for, spiritually. Even now, though, my beliefs are tenuous at best not because I don’t have faith but maybe because I have too much faith and I constantly question it in order to gain greater counsel from it. Personally, I believe blind faith is as naïve as blind trust and a true seeker constantly questions everything about themselves, including their faith.
The basic, bottom-line struggle for me is my inability to reconcile, in my own mind, the idea of heaven and hell. Quite frankly, I don’t believe in either, which makes it particularly hard to believe in any existing religion that holds to this belief. Heaven, as one song says, is where I make it. So, if this is the case, it is also safe to assume that hell, too, is where I make it. This makes much more sense to me than the idea of heaven being all fluffy clouds, cherubs and harp music or of hell being pits of tar, devils and pitchforks.
Last year, Sodaiho wrote an article titled ‘What’s In Your Moment’, where he says:
“heaven and hell are not in the afterlife, as if an invisible clone of ourselves leaves our body upon death and is either rewarded or tormented, they are our present reality. They are the exact same state of being with one degree of separation.” (See the whole article here: Link)
In a very simple sentence, he nailed a concept I had tried to put into words many times myself about the importance of this life, right down to this very moment. It seemed to me so many spent (and still spend) so much time concentrating on making sure they’ll get into heaven they forget about the life they have now. The contradictory, hypocritical nature of some of these ‘true believers’ went completely against the idea I had in my mind of what people of faith should be like. The tenets of forgiveness, compassion, understanding, humbleness etc., seem to be only applicable to those who are of the same beliefs. This smacks of a very large, very ripe hypocrisy. I’m am sure that if the man called Jesus actually existed, he would be shocked at how his words of peace have been so twisted around.
Then there is the question of those who don’t believe being judged by ‘true believers’. Non-believers are often called faithless, amoral and lost forever, all very compassionate and understanding (yes, I am being sarcastic). Having faith is fraught and can open up the faithful to ridicule, abuse and worse (just look at the what the Chinese have been doing to Falun Gong practioners recently for an up-to-date example). There are many stories, both fictional and historical, to illustrate this point. Yet it never stops anyone from having faith and from practicing their faith.
Why is it, then, if I profess to have faith, I am told my faith is of little value or even worse, I am judged based on what I choose NOT to believe as opposed to what I chose to believe? Why can’t my faith be manifest in me in the guise of optimism for the future of mankind now as opposed to optimism for MY future in the great hereafter? It is an interesting question and one to which I don’t have any answer.
As I see it, those who believe in the idea of heaven and hell are being selfish without even being aware of it. Why should they be concerned with how the world will be after they die, if only to make sure the place is still around for their children? They’re going to heaven so they won’t have to worry about it. Why should they concern themselves with such silly things as compassion and understanding for others of different beliefs when they have a church full of people who believe the same as they do?
I don’t have children and I’m not a Christian. But I want to see the world survive. I want to see it get better, cleaner, healthier and more compassionate. I am also realistic enough to know I may not see any of these things happen in my lifetime. But I want this generation, my generation, to be remembered as they ones who kick-started changes to make the world a better place. In this, I have faith.
make you feel guilty and bad for not believing.
I can remember lyrics pretty well, too. 