Follow-up to this previous thread (“Give up everything to know for certain what happens after death”).
There was only one taker over there (tough room!), but let’s say it was you, and you have been given the truth that there IS, in fact, an afterlife. However the magical being was short on details, he had a hair appointment he was running late for, and all he could tell you before disappearing was “YES, there is absolutely life after death.” And as both a gift for your trust in him and an apology for having to run off, he lets you keep your stuff.
So now you know there’s existence in the great beyond, but the vagueness of the answer provided means there’s still quite a bit of mystery to it.
How do you live your life differently now, if at all?
No poll this time, too many possible responses. Freestyle!
I wouldn’t change anything. Short of instructions from The Being on the requirements to attend, I’d have no way to know what they expect.
For all I know, I could live like a monk and die, only to show up for heaven and be told that I’d botched it because the being required quarterly puppy sacrifices.
Now, if one of the godly being that are currently familiar to us appeared then at least I’d have some reference for what they might expect. And I’d immediately convert to that religion and be as orthodox as possible.
Is there still Judgement? I’d do okay, unless it was strict orthodox or something, so I wouldn’t change. I believe I am a good person in every way that counts, and my flaws are largely to my own detriment rather than affecting others. The scales would weight in my favour.
I do believe there is an afterlife, but l don’t believe reward or punishment figures in. I don’t have enough imagination to live my life differently. <shrug>
I change nothing and proceed through life as my conscience and nature indicates. If I fail to “qualify” for some great reward, then the blame rests with the creator who flawed me, and I’ll make sure that is well understood by all in attendance.
Like I said in that other thread I am pretty comfortable with me/myself. The only difference is that knowing for sure I would maybe ponder my Final Judgement a little more but I don’t think I would do anything different. Right down to flipping off that moron who cut me off on the West End Bridge.
If it specified what you needed to go to “the good place” or “the bad place” (assuming there was a difference), I’d probably follow “the good place” rules pretty well.
This is pretty much a retelling of Pascal’s Wager, assuming the false dichotomy of “no afterlife” / “Christian afterlife.” Knowing that some form of afterlife exists but not knowing the rules for getting there or the conditions there gives you no guidance whatsoever on how to modify your life accordingly.
I would have actually gone thru with my suicide at age 15 to directly address why God felt it necessary to thoroughly shit on my family for the previous 7 years.
I am not Job, I am not patient and by that point I was no longer trusting. I was scared and frustrated that everything I had been taught wasn’t working.
I was furious at God. If I could have known I would have seen Him upon death? I’d have lined up the knives so I could actually go kick the shit out of His sanctimonious ineffective ass.
The only reason I did not at the time was that I was starting to have glimmers of a suspicion that the entire belief system was a crock and there was no point in just being dead.
Now? I’d figure it was an alien or a schizophrenic break and just go on with my bad self. Without details, what’s the point of worrying about it?
Knowledge is overrated when it comes to some human behavior. I know that Old Bay cheese puffs/home improvement shows/hot showers/cozy mystery novels are not ideal for my health and well-being, but I indulge because I want to. I think even if you said “There really is an afterlife, and this is exactly how to get there,” if it didn’t align with stuff I’m already doing, I probably wouldn’t do it. I think it would be a good idea, mind you, I just don’t think I’d likely be able to comply. So Old Bay cheese puffs/home improvement shows/hot showers/cozy mysteries/impious behavior/straight to Hell would likely be the result.
Make it more vague than that? Yeah, there’s nothing to be done.
I don’t see how knowing changes anything for me. If there is an afterlife, I’ll see what it is when I get there. If there’s not, it won’t matter, will it?
Something tells me the nuns from my elementary school wouldn’t like that answer.