Agnostic.com

2 0

Once again, I attended a funeral service wherein a major contradiction was claimed / preached to everyone. "There is no more pain or sorrow, anymore...the body is just a shell, and the soul goes on..." Every single time I hear this, the first questions in my head are: Why should anyone fear what happens after death, then? Why do they always preach fear of burning torment in a fiery Hell, etc. etc..? I mean, I've read the book and all. I know what it says, but once again...contradictions.

It's so hard to not smirk or grimace hearing it, and thankfully I can hold back from doing so. Thankfully more so, I can hold back from ever asking my questions aloud right there and then.

DaganCurie 6 Feb 26
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

2 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

0

The whole Christian proposition is that you get to decide whether the afterlife is blissful or one of torment, according to whether you are playing on god's "team" so to speak in this life. So I see no contradiction there ... the contradictions abound elsewhere. For example, the notion of infinite punishment for finite offenses doesn't constitute justice, but rather, sadistic torture. Even human penal systems do a better job of at least paying lip service to some worthy objective, like rehabilitation and restoration to society.

Christianity generates the fear of death in two ways (over and above the inherent psychological burden of being aware of your own mortality, which is just part of the human condition). First, it claims that your natural state is to be at enmity with god and therefore in need of its main product, which is salvation. Secondly, it claims to provide resolution in heaven for all the things it's not actually able to improve or resolve in this life, thus getting people dependent on the notion of heaven as a substitute for REAL hope and progress. As such it actively discourages people from reconciling themselves with their own mortality and the true scope and significance of their own existence.

1

The reason is that though the body dies many believe that the mind lives anyway. The mind is called the soul. Those who believe the soul continues to exist often believe it can go to hell and live in suffering forever.

You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:464151
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.