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Originally Posted by romansh  Quote:
Originally Posted by Om Not sure how to answer your question, exactly. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're coming at the question from the perspective of someone who has accepted that there IS an afterlife of some kind, and, because of that, part of the motivation for living "as best you can" is to be sure you do everything in your power to ensure safe passage.
Is that in the ballpark? I'll hold off on saying more until I'm sure I understood you right. | My question is general ....in the afterlife: from nada, all the way to 72 virgins. My question rephrased is, is it truly "impatience", us wanting to know or do we need to know now so we can live this life accordingly?.... And speaking personally, I'm expecting the big and long nada. |
Clearly, concern over the potential impact one's life choices might have on a possible afterlife is one of the reasons people behave as they do. I accept that as an axiom. I think I'm coming at this from a different perpective, though.
To me, the "impatience" I wrote about is one of the reasons we even HAVE the concept of an afterlife. I also called it a "fear of the dark," as I recall (but that's a slightly different discussion for another day.)
Both go to the idea that there seems to be a very strong need among our species to "fill in the blanks" of those things we do yet understand. The biggest questions of all--the origin and nature of the universe we perceive--to me are simply unknown and unknowable at this time. We may
learn of them in time, but through our history, and as of today, we do not.
Despite this, throughout our history we have set about filling in the blanks with artificially constructed mysticisms that are both unproven and unprovable. Talking here about everything mystical, religious, supernatural, speculative.
Don't get me wrong. I dont' criticize it, and I do understand it. Life experience has taught me that the majority of human beings prefer the comfort and solidity of a fully-formed universal view shared by a group, to the uncertainty and often quite UNcomfortable life choice of admitting to oneself, "hey, I just don't know. And I'm going to be okay with that, even in the tough times."
To me, that is the very definition of the agnostic choice. And it strikes me as the ultimate expression of "patience," the exact opposite of the "impatience" I used to describe those who, for whatever reason, choose to believe in and live their lives around a universal view based not on fact, but conjecture, human construct and choice of faith.