Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism...there are many major religions to choose from if one decides to choose at all. From the sidelines it seems extremely presumptuous for any one of them to say that their religion is the only true path. But it is necessary for each to do so. Without true belief, there is no value. You have to join a club if you have any expectation of having the epiphany of the club’s experience. Belief becomes reality for the individual and the group.
Some of us believe there to be many paths to the same place; all valid, all of great value to the participants. Human ego has a problem with viewing death as the end of the individual. Of course matter returns to matter and life begets life, but our “soul”, the essence of “me” is what we desperately want to believe will go on forever. We think that it can’t just blink out at the end of life, a flame no longer burning. So we attribute God like mysteries to address our own inability to understand or accept the finality. American Indians didn’t understand the sun and viewed it as a god, giver of life. We collectively demand a big story to address a big issue. All these years after the Kennedy assassination the conspiracy theories drag on. How could the life of a man of such high stature be extinguished by a man of such low stature? It needs to be balanced in our minds. It must be a conspiracy; a lone gunman couldn’t pull that off. But time and time again we’ve seen investigations that tell us that is exactly what happened. One guy in the right place at the right time managed to do the seemingly impossible. We just don’t want to believe it.
I was raised a Christian in a Christian nation. Had I been born in India I assume it would be different and most of my peers would be Hindu. That’s just a twist of fate. Like most people, I hope there is a “life after death”. I hope to see my friends and family and pets again. One of my daughter’s best friends died unexpectedly several months ago and everyone said the inevitable: “she’s in a better place”. Bullshit. This beautiful young girl should be here with her family and friends. This is the better place; this is heaven or hell depending on how we use our time and how we view the ride. Do I hope I’m wrong? Of course I do. Unfortunately I believe that it is what is, what we see is what we get, and that can be heaven or hell... and naming it can make it so.
What I for once would like to see is the brutal honesty of what we all think and feel. Unfiltered by what you are "supposed" to say or by what you feel your "friends" will think of you. Just simple, lay it out there unadulterated honesty.....then I think you'll get a lot of different answers from a lot of people. Thanks for the insight Hugh.
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