Friday, November 2, 2012

Afterlife

I had a nice conversation with my friend Rob yesterday about spirituality, and I want to share it here so I don't lose it (just a warning, not all of it is genius):



Rob: I just heard a great quote:
“If God is the frontier of what we have yet to understand in the universe to you, then God is an ever-receding pocket of scientific ignorance.” - Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Erin: I think it’s too early for me to fully comprehend that. (this was at like 8:15 in the morning)

Rob: You should read it later then. Have you heard of that scientist? He’s one of my heroes.

Erin: No, I have no idea who that is. Why is he one of your heroes?
I think it’s just taking me a while, it gets better every time I re-read it. I’m not sure I completely get the comparison though.

Rob: He’s a brilliant scientist and a big advocate of science education. Which is important I think, as I think our society is getting more and more ignorant and stupid. In fact, he said that the quickest growing segment of the home-schooled population is from parents who don’t want their children being taught evolution. That’s frightening to me.

Erin: Oh yeah, that doesn’t surprise me. So I forget, are you not religious/spiritual at all?

Rob: Not really. I subscribe to what I call the “Church of I Don’t Know”….there may or may not be a God, but if there is one I doubt that humans can understand it at all. More than likely, what I think would happen when you die is that you just go to sleep. That sounds fine to me. :)

Erin: Ooh. That does not sound fine to me. I hope there’s an afterlife.

Rob: Do you think you need to “worship” to get to that afterlife?

Erin: Not really.

Rob: I think it’s more important to just be good. :)

Erin: I think so too. I guess I haven’t decided how I think we get to that afterlife. I just assume we all go there. I don’t think I distinguish between good and bad people. Check this out!
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/07/proof-of-heaven-a-doctor-s-experience-with-the-afterlife.html

Rob: That’s interesting. :)

Erin: Gives me hope :)

Rob: That’s good. :)
So you think you’d go to the same afterlife as say, Hitler?

Erin: Well, he’d be nice there. That’s what the afterlife does.

Rob: Hmm. Interesting. :)

Erin: And he would feel very bad about what he’d done, and he would do something extra good there, like…take care of all the kids who died before their parents or something.

Rob: That’s a good plan. I’d approve of that. :)


I think I might have ended up figuring out what sort of afterlife I believe in. I didn't realize it until this conversation. :) It's kind of a nice feeling.