Those of us with religious convictions care about our souls. Is that not the purpose of living a moral and just life, the preservation of the soul ? That is as it should be. As for those that have no belief, I can not speak to their condition. It is not in me to understand the complete lack of concern with their souls. As to the disposition of their soul following their passing, I am also at a loss for an explanation. I believe in a caring and loving God. It would seem to me that as long as that individual led a moral and just life, their soul would be preserved. The central question would seem to be a simple one. Is God punitive ? Will you be punished for failure to worship him ? The answer is not so simple. Certainly ,as a believer, I would have to say failure to follow the laws of God would certainly result in some negative consequences. The sticky part comes in the definition of those laws. The " golden rule " pops to mind immediately. The Ten Commandments are imperative. The whole of the Bible both old and new testaments are full of guidelines for living a good and just life. If one was to follow all those laws, but deny the existence of God, would that person then be punished ? Are they condemned for that failure ?
I think you first must decide if this existence, this life we know here on earth, is all there is. Do you believe there is something further ? Or do you just pass away, return to nothing and all that is left is your memory ? In order to deny the existence of a God one must first deny the existence of a soul. That seems right to me. Are our souls nothing more than conscious ? Is that the guilt we feel or at least that we should feel ? When we say, is your conscious bothering you, do we mean God ?
These are all heady questions. There are no academic answers to any of these. It is beyond our comprehension. It all hinges upon faith. Is faith a revelation or nothing more than a big guilt trip ? The answer, for me, is that it really doesn't matter what you call it. It is the principles that are the substance. As long as you practice the principles of a good and moral life, your soul is saved. Is there a heaven and a hell ? That too, is a matter of faith. Really more a matter of trust. It has been taught that only true believers entire the kingdom of God. Those that fall short of that mark are condemned to hell. There is only one judge. If you believe you know all the answers you can proceed without faith. If you believe you do not know all the answers would it not be prudent to examine the questions closely ? The final exam really is quite final.
Let us assume that we each posses a soul. In our passing our souls joins a collective consciousness. This consciousnesses would, by necessity, have to contain all the forces of the universe. In it's simplest form, good and bad. Now suppose, with each passing , this force is increased, decreased or a balance achieved.. One of the three would have to happen. This consciousness would then create an affect. The effect would then have to be in one of the three categories. Either good (positive) bad (negative) or neutral (no change ). It is our choice, our free will, to determine the application of this force by the actions in our lives. The continuation of the world as we know it hinges upon this choice. The consciousness that we create can destroy as well as create.
I do think we all want the same thing. We all want a better future for our children,friends and families. We all want a positive outcome. I think we can all agree on what is a basic moral behavior, ie: The Golden Rule. Even the most ruthless of us have guilt. We may choose to ignore that guilt,rationalize it or attempt to medicate it away, but it exists in all of us. So maybe you want to call it guilt or having a conscious, I may call that God. Either way you look at it you do make a difference. You do influence the world. How you choose to influence is free will. I choose to make a positive impact.
I think you first must decide if this existence, this life we know here on earth, is all there is. Do you believe there is something further ? Or do you just pass away, return to nothing and all that is left is your memory ? In order to deny the existence of a God one must first deny the existence of a soul. That seems right to me. Are our souls nothing more than conscious ? Is that the guilt we feel or at least that we should feel ? When we say, is your conscious bothering you, do we mean God ?
These are all heady questions. There are no academic answers to any of these. It is beyond our comprehension. It all hinges upon faith. Is faith a revelation or nothing more than a big guilt trip ? The answer, for me, is that it really doesn't matter what you call it. It is the principles that are the substance. As long as you practice the principles of a good and moral life, your soul is saved. Is there a heaven and a hell ? That too, is a matter of faith. Really more a matter of trust. It has been taught that only true believers entire the kingdom of God. Those that fall short of that mark are condemned to hell. There is only one judge. If you believe you know all the answers you can proceed without faith. If you believe you do not know all the answers would it not be prudent to examine the questions closely ? The final exam really is quite final.
Let us assume that we each posses a soul. In our passing our souls joins a collective consciousness. This consciousnesses would, by necessity, have to contain all the forces of the universe. In it's simplest form, good and bad. Now suppose, with each passing , this force is increased, decreased or a balance achieved.. One of the three would have to happen. This consciousness would then create an affect. The effect would then have to be in one of the three categories. Either good (positive) bad (negative) or neutral (no change ). It is our choice, our free will, to determine the application of this force by the actions in our lives. The continuation of the world as we know it hinges upon this choice. The consciousness that we create can destroy as well as create.
I do think we all want the same thing. We all want a better future for our children,friends and families. We all want a positive outcome. I think we can all agree on what is a basic moral behavior, ie: The Golden Rule. Even the most ruthless of us have guilt. We may choose to ignore that guilt,rationalize it or attempt to medicate it away, but it exists in all of us. So maybe you want to call it guilt or having a conscious, I may call that God. Either way you look at it you do make a difference. You do influence the world. How you choose to influence is free will. I choose to make a positive impact.
No comments:
Post a Comment