Hell, Purgatory or Paradise? Everything is here and now
Religion, afterlife, and purpose dissected: Is faith for the weak? Questioning God, doctrines, and the need for belief in a world driven by self-power.
Warning: this is a provocative piece of writing, hence it may hurt the religious sensitivity of some.
What's the point of thinking about afterlife?
Eternal damnation or grace, for what?
It would at least make some sense if after death there was a sort of "rehab" period, then given a second chance on earth. Although, this goes against the doctrines of most monotheistic religions. What about Satan? If god is all-powerful, he could at least get rid of him, easy-peasy.
So, if we really have to debate about this, god is either not all-powerful, or not completely good - he cannot be both at the same time, hence not perfect. Shocked?
You shall not be, look at the ancient Greek mythology, the gods are filled with human emotions: anger, love, lust, jealousy and more.
The trilogy of mess
Many of us consider ourselves as Christians, Muslim or Jewish.We all are mostly in this religions culturally, but not spiritually or by belief.
If you take a step back and try to look at things from afar we've had so far: East Asian gods, Western gods and the three big monotheistic religions (yes we have others, but we'll focus on these today).
These last ones are the scariest ones and I wonder, what will the next big faith be?
Is Jesus coming back for the day of judgement, to judge the living and the dead? But if the dead are already dead, why sentence them at all? In the Bible Jesus says "In truth I tell you", and in truth I'm telling you too, this makes no sense.
Faith asks you to put your mind away, not to think, shrinking yourself in front of the almighty god.
Christianity managed to make being a weak-willed individual almost a virtue.
- Poor? God has your back
- Someone tried to hurt you? Show the other cheek
At least Islam makes more sense than Christianity right?
- God speaks to an analphabet prophet (Muhammad)
- Sends him to war, and thus justifying violence when serving the purpose of the Jihad
- Carrying the last and most recent message of God, so is the one closer to the truth
Then we have the Judaism, basing most of their spiritual knowledge on the Old Testament, missing out on the next episodes of this trilogy.
In truth I tell you, that science and philosophy (when not corrupted by faith), have achieved in 300 years, more than religion has in 2 millennia.
We don't need faith, the worlds needs better humans
Do I need religion to be a good human? NO
Do I need religion to do good in life? NO
So, if I don't believe but I still do good in this world, will god forgive me?
If it wasn't clear earlier, it should be now:
The most important thing in life is to find a purpose, and use that as a gateway to unlock your potential.
Be-aware, this is often misunderstood. Achieving your potential does not mean that we should all try to become the best in our endeavors.
All the great eastern philosophies agree on this:
You can't ask a bonsai to grow as tall as an Oak.
What matters is that the bonsai becomes a beautiful bonsai, and that the oak gets to its fullest height.
This concerns all of us. We live in an era of comparisons, constantly having others telling us to do our best.
We project other people lives onto our, that makes us unhappy and we strive for paths that do not belong to us, making us even more depressed.
Facing Ourselves
It comes a time in our life where we have to come to terms with what we have done, what good and what bad, and we ask ourselves what is our place.
For some happens at the age of 20, others at 80, but it always comes.
The sooner the better, but if it happens late you have the benefit (hopefully) of wisdom.
Ever wondered why in modern times we have a lack of strong thinkers, Artists, and strong personalities in human endeavors?
The answer is simple, lack of urgency.
Life spans used to be shorter, so one was focusing on what mattered most: achieving their potential. Today we think of death as something distant, that will come sometime, but can be postponed, we don't really worry about it.
We have even created something that will make us rest, and enjoy our old years: the pension.
Men and Women, wake up, do not live for holidays and retirement.
Go our and create a life from which you do not need any of this!
Angry, upset, or not in agreement with what I wrote? Feel free to comment below and challenge this!
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