Imagine for the moment that you have just arrived in heaven. What do you do? (Skeptical responses are welcome.)
Second question...
Things aren't going right--you have reason to believe that it's not really heaven. Maybe you were abducted by aliens, or you are in some kind of simulation. God is not available for comment (that's part of the problem). Where do you look for answers?
Posts: 1114 | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Imagine for the moment that you have just arrived in heaven. What do you do?
Kick something really hard. If it hurts, they can keep their heaven. If it smashes, I search for something harder.
quote:Things aren't going right--you have reason to believe that it's not really heaven.
No, really, Sherlock?! Anyway, I'd try to look for a phone booth and if I find one I'd start looking at the numbers in the phone book to see who's living there. I always wanted to talk to Einstein, ya know. That, and I might find a phone number for whoever's in charge of the city/world/whatever the place I'm in is called. I just hope those numbers are free of charge. o_O
Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Imagine for the moment that you have just arrived in heaven. What do you do? (Skeptical responses are welcome.)
Meet some of the people who are living there. If its full of the type of people who are always claiming that I'm gonna go to hell then I will find whomever is in charge and ask politely to be transfered. If not then I'll enjoy myself.
quote:Things aren't going right--you have reason to believe that it's not really heaven. Maybe you were abducted by aliens, or you are in some kind of simulation. God is not available for comment (that's part of the problem). Where do you look for answers?
Well that would depend on whats avalible to use for information. I'm pretty good at finding out what I need to know, I'd come up with something Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Imagine for the moment that you have just arrived in heaven. What do you do?
I could breathe a sigh of relief that despite an atheist life I still managed to be "good" enough to make it to heaven. I might be skeptical enough to wonder whether that hell business was all a big human mistake and that God is actually really forgiving.
Maybe that's it. Everyone decent goes to heaven and all the others just disappear in a puff of smoke; no retribution, only reward.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
There's a book by Peter Kreeft called Between Heaven and Hell which has John F Kennedy, Aldous Huxley, and C.S. Lewis (who all died over the course of a few hours) Arriving in a nondescript room, after their deaths, and having a socratic dialogue about where they are: each taking a particular viewpoint.
It's a fun read and Kreeft doesn't let the fact that he is a HUGE Lewis fan get in the way of his making points for the other two gentlemen as well.
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm go for the trite "get in touch with my loved ones who have passed on before". One of whom would definitely be the Lord. I would make a point to pass by the "spy on loved ones still living on earth" concession, because I think that's a big trap. Unless I was assigned to work there.
But one thing I imagine that happens after death is there is some pretty bad disorientation, and then I have to find myself in the net of life as it is perceived by the Lord. If I see myself or at least a few people I know as the Lord sees them, then I stand a good chance of entering his rest. If my life has been one of persistent self-deception, I may not be able to recognize myself or anyone else. I'm not sure this interpretation jives real well with the saving ordinances doctrine of my belief system.
But then I think saving ordinances go along with the feelings. Baptism, for instance, is the equivalent of being adopted by the Lord. He loves and died for everyone, even if they aren't adopted by him. But if they are adopted by him, there are obligations that go both ways with that. I obey him and he delivers me from hell. I guess in a sense I believe everyone passes through hell- the opposite of what Theca proposes. But it's not like a National Park/nuclear holocaust/ satan uses your head as a bowling ball. I think it will be like one of those dreams where you are almost awake and you keep doing the same thing over and over, and the really creepy thing about them is how realistic and hypermundane the setting is.
Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I can't envision an eternal afterlife. I simply can't. I have no conception whatsoever of what it might be like.
It makes more sense the LESS I think about it; any time I spend even a few moments actually analyzing what an afterlife might be like, it seems more and more ludicrous and miserable.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I just want the afterlife to be the ultimate library. If I woke up in a place like that, I'd be truly, truly happy and would spend an eternity reading, listening to fantastic music and hanging out with intellectuals.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:I can't envision an eternal afterlife. I simply can't. I have no conception whatsoever of what it might be like
You know, I get really creeped out when I think about eventually dying and finding out what happens. That the life you know will end and wondering if you will end. The idea of an afterlife is a comfort, but one that's akin to a loved and tattered blanket, falling apart and becoming less comforting with age.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Oh, I don't know if I answered the second question. If I wake up in an afterlife and I have enough awareness to know what's going on but things aren't going anything like I'd been led to expect, but things aren't terrible, I'd just go with it. If things are terrible, I guess I'll figure that my faith's practice of baptism for the dead really was as bad as some people made out.
Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Anyway, I'd try to look for a phone booth and if I find one I'd start looking at the numbers in the phone book to see who's living there. I always wanted to talk to Einstein, ya know. That, and I might find a phone number for whoever's in charge of the city/world/whatever the place I'm in is called. I just hope those numbers are free of charge. o_O
