On many occasions, in discussions of religious nature with believers, I am asked to explain my views regarding life and death. It's a common enough thing. After all, one of the favorite features most believers like to talk about in their religions is the idea that they'll live in heaven forever. It's so natural to them that they find the idea that someone wouldn't believe the same thing ... well, unbelievable. Heck, I've even been asked how I expect to get into heaven without believeing in Jesus. But that comes from the lunatic fringe, I hope.
As I've mentioned in other essays, I don't believe in a "life after death." The concept is patently contradictory, to begin with, but to go a little further, the idea that anyone's mind -- or "soul," if you will -- would be expected to last forever is not believable. By this, I mean that in light of all the evidence I've seen and looked into, I have no reason to accept such an idea. Keeping in mind, I'll add, that any personal desire about wanting to continue my existence indefinitely hardly counts as a "good reason" to believe in such a thing.
So I (and most other atheists) don't believe in the continuing existence of the human mind after the brain stops working. You'd think that would be the end of the conversation, wouldn't you?
Nope. Instead, I get a variety of reactions. "I can't see how a person can live without having God in their life!" "Since you're not going to exist after you die, why don't you just end it all?" or (more to the point of this little diatribe) "What a sad thing it must be to see things that way!"
Now hold on there. Just a second. "Sad"?? It's only "sad" if the default assumption is that one would live forever in happiness after death. This leads to an interesting corollary, which I will mention a little later.
But let's take a look at the Christian view of "life after death." If I'm reading the Bible correctly (and I rather think I am, regardless of what believers might say), believing in Jesus is the only way one could possibly hope to get into Heaven. If a person doesn't have that little thing going for him, he's toast. Literally. So here we have the Christian, supposedly "happy," outlook on life: A minority of human beings can look forward to existing in Heaven, where everything is happy and there are no problems. Except possibly for boredom, but we won't get into that. On the other hand, the vast majority of all humans who have ever lived will be destined for Hell, a place of torture, pain and misery (and eventually boredom, too, I expect) for all of eternity.
Personally, I don't consider that a "happy" outlook. Honestly, if you had in your mind the thought that you were surrounded every day with co-workers, neighbors, friends and relatives, the majority of which most likely will end up in Hell for eternity... would that be a happy thought? I mean, I know some believers who consider that a person who believes he's a Christian, but doesn't follow the faith "correctly" (orthodox, in other words), is as much bound for Hell as any atheist who writes upsetting articles to put on the internet. Such people have to wonder about the eternal fate of every loved one who dies, if they are honest with themselves about their theology.
But I consider it a little odd, this thing of Christian beliefs (this is the corollary I mentioned earlier). I know of very few Christians who would even consider that they personally are bound for Hell. Similarly, when asked about friends or relatives, I think that many would find some way to justify in their minds the notion that the ones they care most about are also going to be in Heaven. It just goes to show that religion is not about logic, so much as it is about feelings.
But my heart goes out to those religious fanatics who have friends and/or relatives that they feel sure are going to Hell. I can't see how they could possibly see their expectations about life after death as "happy." After all, they think they'll be in Heaven at the same time that people they know and care about are in Hell. I know of one such person, a friend of mine who was determined to help me "see the light" in order to set his mind at ease regarding this very problem. I had to end that process somewhat forcefully, and I don't doubt that it still gnaws at him, the poor fellow. No, I don't think his is overall a happy way of viewing things.
But what about the "happiness level" of my view of life? I see this in two ways. First off, I don't see why the idea of an everlasting existence should be happy and the idea of a limited existence unhappy. I see life as a limited thing, but one that ought to be filled with as much happiness as I can manage. And there are plenty of things that one can be happy about, if you have a mind to look for them.
But the other thing that occurs to me is to ask why my happiness should be linked to what I believe about anything? I believe that the Earth moves around the Sun. Should my happiness about that idea be taken into consideration when we discuss this idea? In fact, it shouldn't have any bearing on my belief at all. If I need to have an emotional response to an idea or a fact, it really ought to be a matter of accepting a truth and finding a way to be as happy with it as I can withing the framework of the truth as I see it.
This is what I (and most atheists) do. We accept this truth, and we don't let it bother us too much. Yes, death is something to be avoided under most circumstances. I personally am not happy to think of my own death. But I don't let that keep me from enjoying the life I do have. It seems to me that setting my sights on an existence after death and living my life in such a way as to get the best post-death outcome is a sort of tunnel-vision. It keeps one from experiencing life as fully as possible, and is (in my opinion) a sad thing indeed.
