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Cadet Smirk
18 April 2004 @ 08:11 pm
Sound Off: The Afterlife
So I'm having a really hard time with Megan's death, as I've already mentioned in moderate detail, with more insight to come probably this Tuesday. I've got spiritual questions nagging at me, and I've asked a few people their own personal opinions--all answers have been varied, yet all insightful.

But, in the words of Pappy O'Daniel, "We ain't one-at-a-timin' here. We're mass communicatin'!" (Bonus points to the first person to reply with the movie that quote's from.) So I've decided to steal a page from LCDR Smash's playbook and invite, encourage, and perhaps offer bribes for people to comment on this entry and answer the following questions, in your own words and reflecting your own beliefs:

1. Assuming one dies and goes to heaven, are they able to "see" or "hear" the goings-on of our world?

2. If so, how can this heaven be perfection and paradise if they can see the evils and horrors of the Earth?

3. Can souls in heaven intercede for us/affect our world?

4. Is heaven the same for everybody, or is it more individualized?

Thanks in advance for your responses, and I'll try to make my next open "sound off" thread a little less melancholy.

Again, I strongly recommend The Lovely Bones: A Novel by Alice Sebold for anybody else facing similar questions and difficulties.

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Mood: curiouscurious
Music: "Where Did You Sleep Last Night (In the Pines)" by Nirvana
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Civil War Mancivilwarman on April 19th, 2004 03:48 am (UTC)
A Comment
For the bonus points: O Brother Where Art Thou

As for afterlife, I personally am a proponent of reincarnation. Seems to me that recycling souls is a much more efficient way of running a universe, assuming that the soul is built to last, which is something that I assume. Disposable stuff didn't come about until capitalism took shape. Before that everything was built to last, because that's how you got the most out of your work.

There is a lot of unexplained stuff, though, so I'll assume the premise that the afterlife is some concept of heaven.
1. I'd say that once in heaven, they are only able to see and hear the goings-on of the world if they want to.
2. It would be paradise because they can see if they want to, but don't have to if they don't.
3. I'd probably say no, but I'm not going to set that in stone. There are too many stories of strange luck and weird premonitions to say that nobody's getting any extra help.
4. As per 1 and 2, it would obviously be more individualized, since some would choose to watch, others not, and those who do watch would definately watch different things.

Anyway, that's my take on it assuming that there is heaven as an afterlife, but as I said I put more credence in some form of reincarnation. Could be some don't quite make it to the recycling center (which would explain ghosts, and the stories of strange luck and weird premonitions), but a vast majority would.
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alliemaddynalliemaddyn on April 19th, 2004 04:07 am (UTC)
Now, granted, we've talked about religion before, and I personally am still working on my own beliefs in God and Christ. I do believe in their existence, it's just that the church and I aren't on speaking terms these days.
1. I'd say one and three go hand-in-hand, and I do believe that souls in heaven can affect our world; I've been blessed in too many situations not to believe that there is someone taking care of me.
2. I believe that, from questions I have asked, heaven is paradise because one is absolutely surrounded by the magnificence of God, and those in heaven are aware that the sufferings of the world only prepare one for the world. So they realize that the sufferings of those still alive are nothing in comparison to what they will receive in paradise.
3. Yes.
4. I don't know. Honestly, I don't know how much individuality individual souls retain in heaven. I certainly think it's a much more abstract concept than pearly gates and halos and wings.

Now, imagine me giving you my best hug.
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