Hooboy !!
August 2, 2005, 02:19 PM
I had a Jehovah's Witness come to my door some months ago, wanting to discuss an article in the Watchtower. On the front was the familiar image of a family frolicking in a garden like setting. In it were lions and sheep, happily coexisting. One person's point of view of "heaven" or "paradise" or "nirvana"... whatever lable you want to put on it. The young lady then asked me "Wouldn't you want to live forever in an earthly paradise?" I paused for about 3 seconds before I said "No."
Her puzzled expression was priceless. Recalling my own state of mind at about that same age, I could easily predict what was going on in side her mind...
Is he serious? Who in their right mind wouldn't want to live in a paradise? I mean, just look at that picture. Its awesome. No way he is serious.
The realization sets in that I am just pulling her chain, says "Well, have a nice day." and moves on to the next house. Too bad. She missed a real opportunity there. Oh well.
I grew up believing that at some point in my existence, that the pain and suffering that defines my corporeal existence was transitory, that at some point it would be over with and that things would be better. Not just better... perfect. But then, I had an epiphany. I have no way of even comprehending the concept of "forever".
I have had a few what I call epiphanies in my life. The word has a strong connotation and some would argue they were not epiphanies at all, but hey... its my story. Some come hard and fast and some come on kind of slow. This one was of the latter variety. It began in high school algebra class while I was studying the parabola. I was introduced to the concept of "forever" in a while new way. The line would approach, but never quite reach this limit. Ever? Ever. The space between would get incredibly small, so small that it cannot be represented meaningfully with a number, but it would always be a space between.
Fuck. That sounded an awful lot like God.
The epiphany ended one day when I made a model of a one dimensional object. It is simple really. Cut a strip of paper about an inch wide and 11 inches long. Twist it once and paste the ends together. Now, trace a line on one side. Guess what happens... there is only one side. It was a stupid illusion of course, but it hammered it home for me. It is impossible to fathom the concept of "forever", just as it is impossible to "see" a one dimensional object. It can only be modeled and metaphorically represented.
So asking me if I wanted to live forever is equivalent to asking me, can you see this one dimensional object. Of course I can't, duh! How is it possible then to want something that you cannot even begin to comprehend? I can want to eat a hamburger or watch a little TV, but it is impossible to want to live forever. Well, absurd at the very least.
The promise of life in heaven or on a paradise eath forever is meaningless to me. It therefore has no value. Why then do so many people cling on to the concept so tenaciously?
I think the answer to this question lies in the cruel conundrum of human consciousness. We are self-aware and capable of predicting the future based upon observations we make. Some predictions are more, some less reliable. One prediction though that is invariably accurate is that... we die. We are therefore not only aware of our existence, but we are also aware of our non-existence. As a living creature, this causes us a tremendous amount of suffering, because we... like every thing... seek to avoid that non-existence at all costs, short of self-sacrifice. There are amazing examples of this self-preservation at work. A recent one is a young man that sawed his own arm off with a pocket knife. Is it any wonder then that the cognitive dissonance created by our ability to know our own non-existence, results in the fabrication of another, entirely contrary ending where we do not die? I don't think so. In fact, I think it is perfectly natural.
So, when that look of puzzlement washed over her face... instead of feeling happy that I had struck a blow for atheism... I felt sorry for her. I had hoped she would have asked "Why not?" and then I could have explained it to her... gently of course. I wasn't wanting to crush her entire world view. I just wanted to plant a seed. All I wanted was for her to start thinking for herself for a change and confront the fear that was being used to manipulate her.
"That which does not kill us, makes us stronger."
I sighed as she walked away and I wonder to this day if she ever thought any more about what I said in that simple, one word response.
Her puzzled expression was priceless. Recalling my own state of mind at about that same age, I could easily predict what was going on in side her mind...
Is he serious? Who in their right mind wouldn't want to live in a paradise? I mean, just look at that picture. Its awesome. No way he is serious.
The realization sets in that I am just pulling her chain, says "Well, have a nice day." and moves on to the next house. Too bad. She missed a real opportunity there. Oh well.
I grew up believing that at some point in my existence, that the pain and suffering that defines my corporeal existence was transitory, that at some point it would be over with and that things would be better. Not just better... perfect. But then, I had an epiphany. I have no way of even comprehending the concept of "forever".
I have had a few what I call epiphanies in my life. The word has a strong connotation and some would argue they were not epiphanies at all, but hey... its my story. Some come hard and fast and some come on kind of slow. This one was of the latter variety. It began in high school algebra class while I was studying the parabola. I was introduced to the concept of "forever" in a while new way. The line would approach, but never quite reach this limit. Ever? Ever. The space between would get incredibly small, so small that it cannot be represented meaningfully with a number, but it would always be a space between.
Fuck. That sounded an awful lot like God.
The epiphany ended one day when I made a model of a one dimensional object. It is simple really. Cut a strip of paper about an inch wide and 11 inches long. Twist it once and paste the ends together. Now, trace a line on one side. Guess what happens... there is only one side. It was a stupid illusion of course, but it hammered it home for me. It is impossible to fathom the concept of "forever", just as it is impossible to "see" a one dimensional object. It can only be modeled and metaphorically represented.
So asking me if I wanted to live forever is equivalent to asking me, can you see this one dimensional object. Of course I can't, duh! How is it possible then to want something that you cannot even begin to comprehend? I can want to eat a hamburger or watch a little TV, but it is impossible to want to live forever. Well, absurd at the very least.
The promise of life in heaven or on a paradise eath forever is meaningless to me. It therefore has no value. Why then do so many people cling on to the concept so tenaciously?
I think the answer to this question lies in the cruel conundrum of human consciousness. We are self-aware and capable of predicting the future based upon observations we make. Some predictions are more, some less reliable. One prediction though that is invariably accurate is that... we die. We are therefore not only aware of our existence, but we are also aware of our non-existence. As a living creature, this causes us a tremendous amount of suffering, because we... like every thing... seek to avoid that non-existence at all costs, short of self-sacrifice. There are amazing examples of this self-preservation at work. A recent one is a young man that sawed his own arm off with a pocket knife. Is it any wonder then that the cognitive dissonance created by our ability to know our own non-existence, results in the fabrication of another, entirely contrary ending where we do not die? I don't think so. In fact, I think it is perfectly natural.
So, when that look of puzzlement washed over her face... instead of feeling happy that I had struck a blow for atheism... I felt sorry for her. I had hoped she would have asked "Why not?" and then I could have explained it to her... gently of course. I wasn't wanting to crush her entire world view. I just wanted to plant a seed. All I wanted was for her to start thinking for herself for a change and confront the fear that was being used to manipulate her.
"That which does not kill us, makes us stronger."
I sighed as she walked away and I wonder to this day if she ever thought any more about what I said in that simple, one word response.