A fabulous delusion? July 3, 2008
Posted by ocmpoma in : supernaturalism , trackback“I was watching the 1966 classic film, A Man For All Seasons, about the Thomas Moore’s principled stance in opposition to Henry VIII’s grab for power. Ultimately, Moore is found guilty of treason, and in the final scene, after giving his executioner the customary tip for a clean blow, tells him, ‘don’t worry, you are sending me to God’. Considering the fear of death is one of the greatest anxieties for a conscious being, what a fabulous delusion!”
That’s how a post on investing behavior begins at OB. And the analogy is quite fitting. But, I fixated on the last phrase quoted above, describing the delusion held by one about to die that paradise awaits as fabulous. I would say that it is hardly so. Rather, a belief that death is merely a passing on to something better — or, in the case of most afterlife beliefs, something vastly or even infinitely better — can’t have much of an effect other than to render the believer much more willing to die. And I don’t see much good in that at all; even if one discounts the negative consequences that come to mind — an increase in reckless behavior, a willingness to ignore the future, and of course the perhaps too-obvious example of our time, suicide attacks — anything that makes people less likely to struggle to exist, to continue to live as much as they possibly can, is something that can only work to deprive them of the only thing they have: their lives.
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Let us not disregard the inherent hypocrisy of the entire notion; the religious view is that God has some awesome afterlife in store, but at the same time he requires that we first pass the test of mortal life in the appropriate way. Under this milieu the right thing to do is respect all life (as it is God’s way of testing you, before the afterlife) and do everything possible to keep it going. What if, in the fragmented moments before his death, extended by a fierce fight, Tommy M had suddenly passed the God test and been tagged for heaven? Since we never know when this amazing result may come we have to live for every possible second, and similarly, killing others is bang out of order. If we die just before passing the test that’s like moving out and not collecting your security deposit. It’s very wasteful and should be avoided.
As a godidiot, godidiots should understand this and act accordingly. That is is also the proper response to the more rational realization that this life we have now is all there is only means that, like a stoped clock, theists can sometimes be right anyway.
it is
stopped clock