Thoughts on the Hereafter

[Robert_Sock]

Imagine a great reservoir of knowledge, greater than the water of all the oceans. Also imagine having a limited amount of awareness where you could acquire the knowledge one cupful of knowledge at a time, at best, and only with considerable effort; and because of your limited awareness, imagine having still greater difficulty trying to integrate one cupful of knowledge with the next. Think of this as the current scenario for man as we live this life on earth!

Now imagine a Supreme Being who is aware of it all at once, with each piece of knowledge fully integrated with all other related knowledge, without any effort whatsoever! Imagine entering into a new world and living an enjoyable life where there was great cooperation between you and the Supreme Being; perhaps clothed in a body of a different form, and possessing a keen sense of awareness. Imagine Him providing everyone with the exact knowledge that each of us needed to know, at the exact moment the knowledge was needed. And because we have been fully reconciled with Him, and the world of His judgment has come to pass, imagine that our level of cooperation with one another reached close to perfection.

Absurd? Are these thoughts a sign of a fool? Perhaps, but which of the two would be a greater fool: the person who assumes that a greater world does not exist simply because they have never seen or experienced it, or the person who is willing to consider such a possibility? Look around you and notice the speed, accuracy, and dependability that already exist in some computers within our world. And, especially look at the advances in artificial intelligence! Could there be a Supreme Being who is making it all happen? Did our being simply evolve by random chance as described in science? Or were we, and our world, fashioned for a specific purpose? Might something similar to the world I just described be a reality?

These particular ideas are not a part of any religion that I am aware of, but merely thoughts of imagination. However, they reflect a purpose in this life that is somewhat consistent with many of the world’s great religions. More specifically, many of the world’s religions maintain the view that our soul is able to enter into some kind of an existence after bodily death. According to the more traditional views held in Judaism and Christianity, this existence will be in the World to Come. But, it is also maintained that we must undergo some degree of spiritual purification before we will be allowed into this Kingdom; our soul must be purified like that of silver, or that of gold.

 

[tonyrey]

Robert, I agree with you that Design is a far more reasonable, convincing and fertile explanation of life than the theory that it is purposeless. The quest for knowledge and the need for purification are also borne out by the fact that wisdom and moral integrity are essential conditions for harmony and happiness. The novelty of Christianity is that it puts freedom and creativity above everything else. God is no longer the supreme Judge but the Father who has sent His Son to convince us that we have more power than anything else in the world! We now know that like Him we can transform ourselves and the world by following His example, seeking to be perfect as He is perfect, appreciating the immense value of every living creature, being positive in our attitude to life and motivated by love in all our thoughts and actions…

 

[colmcille1]

Very good topic. As I understand it, there are three “meanings” of Heaven.
Given the extraordinary breadth of knowledge and wisdom inherent in said “meanings”, is it not curious, as the OP alluded to, that there are people who cannot or will not find a relevance of the hereafter for themselves?
God Bless,
Colmcille1.

 

[GratefulFred]

The OP’s imagery is enticing.

Paraphrasing:
God’s ways are so far above man’s ways.
In my Father’s house are many mansions.
I go to prepare a place for you.
Christ was lifted up.

These and other statements tell us about the glory of Heaven where we will be in the presence of God for all eternity. We cannot fully (hardly, actually) imagine what that will be like, but the OP’s imagery is enticing.

Thanks to the Hubble telescope we now know there are millions of galaxies in the Universe, maybe more we have yet to detect. Many are thousands of light years away. Some power had to create them all. That power is part of God.

Why do so many people we encounter refuse to consider the existence of God in spite of all the evidence? No one knows for sure. But, again paraphrasing:

A third of the angels (who know God) left Heaven to follow Lucifer.
The devil and his have been working to get humans to also reject God since Adam and Eve.
The OT is replete with stories of those who rejected God or grew impatient with Him and left.
Many rejected Christ Himself knowing about the miracles He performed.
Christ sent His apostles and followers to teach all nations but also to shake the dust off in towns that reject Christ.

In the end we are called to be INDIVIDUALLY faithful to Christ. Called to teach all nations, but not to worry about those who reject Christ. Rejection may be temporary and turn to acceptance at some point in time we do not observe. Or it could be permanent.

We can only HOPE and PRAY for an increase in Wisdom and Faith. Theirs, and ours.