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"Nobody gets out of life alive." Anon |
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"Nothing is certain other than death and taxes,"
Anon |
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"Life is a disease; it is inevitably fatal,"
Anon |
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"There is no murky pit of hell awaiting anyone ... Mind cannot arise alone without body, or apart from sinews and blood ... You must admit, therefore, that when then body has perished, there is an end also of the spirit [that was] diffused through it. It is surely crazy to couple a mortal object with an eternal." Lucretius (Roman poet and philosopher, who lived circa 94 BCE to 49 CE) |
Human beings, apparently alone among all the life forms on earth, are aware that their life is finite. According to many theologians and mental health professionals, one of the main comforts that people obtain from their religious faith is the assurance that life will not end at their death. They believe that they will continue to exist in some form for all eternity.
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Søren Kierkegaard "... proposed
that the awareness and fear of dying is so fundamental to human nature
that it underlies most human beliefs and ways of behaving." 1 |
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Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong wrote that only humans are self-aware enough to realize that our lives are counting down toward some unknown end. And it scares us, so we invented religion to give us solace. Religion tells us that good deeds in this life will be rewarded with a place in heaven in the next, while bad people will be sentenced to hell. 2 |
Another reasons for the widespread belief in an afterlife might be the desire for justice. In some sections of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) the reward for righteous behavior is said to be a long life and many children. But this does not necessarily work out in practice. The world is often not a very fair place: Many good people die young, and childless. Good people sometimes suffer in poverty and/or with disease. Many evil people lead rewarding, rich, healthy, and long lives. Many religions offer a belief in the afterlife that includes a resolution to the justice problem. If there is a final judgment after death, and if some people go to eternal punishment Hell while others go to an eternal reward in Heaven. Evil will be ultimately punished; goodness will be eventually rewarded. The scales of justice, which do not seem to be particularly well balanced during out time on earth, may be compensated for after death.
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Most Western religions, including most Christian faith groups, have historically taught that there are two possible eventual destination: a reward in Heaven or Paradise, or extreme pain and misery in the torture chambers of Hell -- either for a finite time, or for all eternity. The most popular religions in North America teach that individuals will be sent to either Heaven or Hell, based upon one or
more of the following factors:
Even within Christianity, there exists a range of beliefs on how one gets to Heaven; all are firmly based on biblical passages:
In addition, there are many variations in belief about what sequence of events happens after death. Most faiths group assert that their particular beliefs are correct and are firmly based on accurate interpretations of Bible passages. Obviously, most faith groups must be wrong. In fact, it is even possible that all may be mistaken. Some conflicting belief systems are:
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| Eastern religions generally teach that, at death, one's soul is transferred into another living being -- either a human or other animal, who lives another life on earth. Depending on their behavior during their previous life on Earth, they will experience a better or worse next life. Some will eventually escape this sequence of repeated lifetimes and merge with the Ultimate. |
Some people experience Near Death Experiences (NDEs). One member of the group that sponsors this web site had an ectopic pregnancy decades ago which had ruptured. She has a memory of rising up to the ceiling where she was able to look down at her body on the operating table, and hear statements by medical personel. She recalls staying in the operating room. However, In many NDEs, the person recalls going through a tunnel towards a light and emerging in Heaven. Some even recall meeting previously deceased friends and families there, and even talking to God before returning to Earth.
I have always assumed that many more people would experience NDEs ending up in Heaven than Hell. However, a Google search for:
The two destinations appear to be almost equally reported.
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
Copyright © 2001 to 2018 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2001-FEB-24
Latest update: 2018-AUG-14
Author: B.A. Robinson
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