When a person suffers from a delusion
it is called insanity.
When many people suffer from delusion
it is called religion.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance.
Robert Pirsig
Like most
Americans, I was introduced to Christianity as a child; and being a child never
thought to question what parents and society told me was correct. At Christmas time we had a tree, we listened
to Christmas music and I attended church services. After all, it was about the birth of Jesus;
and everyone knew if you didn’t believe in Jesus you weren’t going to heaven.
Without the
promise of everlasting life and a Heaven, there is no reason to adhere to a
religion.
I never
thought to question what happened to all the people born before the birth of
Jesus. And what happens to all the
people in India that are Hindu, the Buddhist in China, Tibet and South East
Asia? What about the other two
monotheistic religions, Islam and Judaism; they believe in the same Original
God as good Christians, but not Jesus.
Then there
is the idea of a human soul, which leaves open a basic question. Exactly when was this immortal soul
inseminated into the human lineage. I
am sure the monkeys didn’t have a soul, so we can probably leave out
Ramapithecus – a small ape that walked mostly upright.
But then, Australopithecus strolled across the
plains of Africa on two legs, lived and hunted in bands. But they
looked more ape like than human so maybe we should leave them out of Heaven.
Homo Habilis constructed shelters and made
tools – exactly what is the criteria for receiving a soul?
Homo Erectus had language and was the first
hominid to leave Africa, so perhaps he was soulful. I am sure Christians of the Bible probably
don’t want souls originating in Africa, so Homo Erectus might be it.
Then we have Neanderthal, a close cousin that
our ancestors mated with. There is Neanderthal DNA in most people of European
descent. Surely Neanderthal must have had a souls.
Cro-Magnon
was barely distinguishable from Homo-Sapien (our kind.) so he definitely deserves
a soul.
But of
course, they were all before Jesus.
So, at this Christmas time, perhaps Christians should pray to Jesus for all the souls that don’t have a ticket to join them in the magical wonder land of Heaven, but instead are burning in the everlasting fires of Hell.
I know which
afterlife I would choose.
the Ol’Buzzard
Some people still do not have souls. I do like Valhalla. Sign me up
ReplyDeleteValhalla DOES make a compelling argument.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit of an Immanentist---that is, I believe everything that exists was brought about strategically and deliberately by some Cosmic entity comprising energy and intellect who (or that) blueprinted and brought about all that comprises the entire universe, including galaxies, solar systems, planets, and even the various life forms.
ReplyDeleteBut I still don't subscribe to the notion of some cartoonish "man-in-the-sky" and I don't like man-made religions because of their dogmas and cult-like "loyalty" factors and fantasy-like notions of how creation took place.
The only thing an Immanentist has in common with those who believe in a "God" is the underlying believe that inter-species evolution was both impossible and improbable, and that that everything in existence did come about by means of deliberate efforts and planning by a central cosmic source of which humans are also among the "end products", although an immanentist does not pretend to know what those creators were and think investigation into such should actually be among the realms of science.
After all, science DOES have awareness of invisible entities: radiation, radio waves, gamma rays, and the such. Other invisible elements could also exist as well.
By the way, I don't believe in "life after death".
ReplyDeleteBringing the same life back into existence again would seem an unnecessary function for the ecosystem of a cosmic system.
Vikings are the ultimate party animals because they know how to celebrate the afterlife.
ReplyDeletePastafarianism believes in the life after. Those who have spread their goodness as commanded by the Spaghetti Monster are entitled to enjoy the beer volcanoes and stripper factories with the Spaghetti Monster Himself in the Great Pasta Bowl for all eternity.
ReplyDeletehttp://spaghettimonster.com/church-of-the-flying-spaghetti-monster-founded/the-gospel-of-the-flying-spaghetti-monster/
"Pastafarianism" seems as good a religion as any.
ReplyDeleteEven has its own idiomatic "afterlife" scenario and brand of perfunctory "rituals"
...and is more fun than the traditional religions with their stoic attitudes and humorless scripted edicts.