Trecker

I could not imagine intentionally wanting to go to heaven where one would have the opportunity to intimately spend an eternity with an all-powerful deity that demanded worship from beings as limited as humans. The fundamentalist's heaven sounds much worse than hell is portrayed. At least in fundamentalist's hell, one can have the dignity of their own existence, albeit a rather painful existence. But we are talking about an eternity. I wonder if you get to go back and forth between the two? Like if you lead a very holy and good life here on earth, could you take a break from heaven and spend a few years in hell every now and then? You could have the best of both worlds.

Mageth

Burned into my memory by countless repetition:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace that fear relieved!
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come!
'Tis grace that's brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me on.

When we've been there 10,000 Years,
Bright shining as the sun,
There's no less days to sing God's praise,
Than when we first begun.

If eternity includes eternally singing songs like that, no thanks!

Anti-Creedance Front

Eternal life is a promise? I always thought it was more of a let-down. Considering many people in the Bible pursued immortality and YHVH struck them down for it. I doubt he'd give the same to Christians. Then again, maybe they think they're more "deserving".

SiliconWolf

I have mentioned before that the idea of eternal life terrified me when I was little, around the age when I figured out what "forever" meant. At first, I hoped that I could ask god to annihilate me if I got bored. Eventually I just stopped thinking about it. Now I find the idea of nonexistence a bit scary, but when I get older and grow more weary of life, I might not mind so much.

I don't really understand why reincarnation is better than nonexistence. Either way, you don't know it's happening, right?

DamagedGoods

Whenever eternal life comes up, I can't help but think of Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide books.

When I was a Christian, I usually bought the whole "God will change the way I perceive/enjoy things to make it fun" story. But then that would mean that I probably wouldn't enjoy all the things I enjoy now, and that isn't attractive to me at all. Which is just as well, since I don't think there's anyone waiting in the sky to make me into a happy-happy joy-joy praise-bot.

Mageth

An excellent short story on the question of immortality can be found in Jorge Luis Borges' short story The Immortal.

Purr

In my childhood Christian days, I was told that you're consciousness is sort of changed when you go to Heaven. That's why you won't feel sorry, or sad for those in Hell. I was always worried that I would go to heaven and people I loved would go to hell, and when I asked, that's what I was told. So if that were the case, I guess "eternity" wouldn't feel like "eternity" seems like it would feel.

I don't know if all xtians are told the same thing, or what they believe really, but that's what I was told. I can see how they'd believe it was a wonderful thing, if all of the sudden they're thoughts and feelings would change and make everything seem wonderful forever.

jkizer

I was told by my father that the joys of being in heaven were 1) being with God, 2) being reunited with lost loved ones, and 3) looking down upon the eternally tortured souls of those in hell. There was none of this namby-pamby "maybe everyone will eventually be redeemed and get into heaven" stuff, either -- you go to hell, and your ass is getting barbequed forever and ever and ever and ever, and forever again! So, I definitely got the "abandon all hope, ye who enter here" version of hell.

Personally, given that I have no reason to believe that I will maintain any form of sentience beyond the time when my brain stops functioning, my only choice is to value this life, and to try to make it as good as possible. That's a much better "motivator" for me than promises of eternity in some undefined form in an undefined place with undefined beings.

atheist_in_foxhole

The prospect of eternal life is absolutely horrifying. Just think...you could spend a trillion years studying each atom in the universe and wouldn't even be one percent of the way to eternity when finished.

Rhea

I've heard a lot of the "but god will make you enjoy it somehow" which never quite jived with the, "but God _needs_ you to have free will to love him" thing. But one day it all made sense, and humans are playing out the scene right now.

It's just like tv, see. Humans do NOT need free will to be content. They will sit down and watch whatever is available on the TV, even if they don't particularly care about it or like it, but they will sit and watch, and suddenly a whole evening is gone.

That's what an eternity in a heaven with a being who will make sure you are content but want to be able to say you have free will is all about.


Infinite channels. You just watch. You never do another thing ever. God produces and directs and acts and distributes. You watch. For eternity. Contentedly. Forgetting all other cares (like your children burning while you watch).

That's the only thing I see that can solve the contradiction(s).