pem1a@ihuxr.UUCP (Tom Portegys) (07/25/84)
Here is a small story which I respectfully submit:
---------------------------------------------------------
Your chest rises for the last time. Then falls and is still.
In some way you are aware of your brain cells dying like stars
blinking out in the dawn...
Suddenly, you find yourself awake and aware. You are standing on
a white stone platform surrounded by immense pillars which shoot
up through a sifting mist and pass out of sight above. A young
woman stands between two of these pillars, leaning against one,
smiling at you.
Your mouth falls open, and strangely enough you feel utterly foolish.
They were right after all, those religious turkeys. Every last one of
them. From the chanting dirt-caked shamans to the frothing red-faced
Bible-thumpers. They had it right and you had it wrong:
there really is an afterlife.
The young woman comes forward and extends her hand. You take it
and follow her out of the place of pillars. You are vaguely
aware of walking through the mist, which looks strangely luminescent,
being composed of a multitude of tiny swirling patches of light.
Much like tiny galaxies...
Then you step out of the mist into a sleeping green forest. It is unlike
any forest you have ever seen - so green, so full of life - yet
somehow you sense it is not the forest which is different, but you
who are different, who could never see things clearly before. Your
guide turns and speaks to you for the first time:
"Here is your new home, woman. Welcome to it. Your strivings
are over. Your senses will never again be veiled"
Then you ask, "But how is it that I deserve such a place? Doesn't
this kind of reward belong only to the true believers? I thought
doubters like me at best get recycled to another round of life on
earth, again and again until we get it right. Some say that people
like me should burn for eternity"
"Woman, you were indeed wrong about many things, myself and this
place included. Yet hear me: when I created the world, I gave
to each a special thing. To the bird I gave flight, to the
horse I gave speed, to the snake I gave stealth. To your kind
I gave a wondering and doubting mind. And for each gift, I
made the universe in a way for it to be exercised to the limit
of its bearer's will. For your kind, the cosmos was the sky where
your minds might take flight; an endless cathedral of mirrors, cause
ever chasing effect. For you see, I created it that way; it was my
intention for my own reasons, and look as you will as long as you will,
you would never find me in it. I erased all traces of myself, so that
you might never run out of space to stretch forth your minds.
"Then, then, I stand here because I chose to doubt you?"
"Exactly. You did not close me out, for that would be another form of
blindness, but neither did you relinquish your true doubt. Through all
the trials of your life you held fast. For you see, the only true faith
for your kind is steadfast disbelief."
"But, what of all those hordes of preaching believers? How did they come
to be?"
"Some were, I'm afraid, beaten down by powers greater than they, and my
heart goes out to them. Other were seduced by a few who betrayed me."
"Betrayed you? How?"
"Throughout your history, there have been those who have from time to
time started life damaged. Their spirits were, I knew, not able to
bear the gift I had given them. And on some of these, I took pity,
and revealed myself to them, so that they might have comfort while their
time passed. And from these I extracted a promise, that they keep their
knowledge secret. Alas, a handful broke this promise, and used the
knowledge that they held, which also gave them great power over the spirits
of others, to their own various ends. Most of these held good intentions,
and strove to spread the good news of myself to others. But in no
way could they truly back up their claims, and yet vast societies and
covenants sprung up, until the earth was covered with them. That is
the shame of your kind."
"But enough of this talk for now, though we will talk again many times,
for look, the welcoming party draws near."
And though the trees came beings like the young woman, laughing and
looking at her with great joy.
But you squeeze her arm once more.
"I have one more question, please. What are you called?"
The young woman chuckled, and said "there are two answers to that
question, and one I will let you find out for yourself. The other
answer is: 'you', for this flesh is now yours, your new body in this
place"
And so it was.
--------------------------------------------------------
Tom Portegys
Bell Labs, Naperville, Ill.
ihlpg!portegys or ihuxr!pem1adsaker@iuvax.UUCP (07/25/84)
[] Reply to Tom Portegys I really enjoyed your story, and I agree with many of the points it made. One thing, however... >And for each gift, I [god] >made the universe in a way for it to be exercised to the limit >of its bearer's will. It has always seemed to me that one of the greatest tragedies of our lives (at least our lives as they are lived here in this world) is that we are not given the opportunity to exercise our abilities, our potentials, to their full. Daryel Akerlind ...ihnp4!inuxc!iuvax!dsaker
ab3@pucc-h (Rsk the Wombat) (07/25/84)
Sorry, the title is a contradiction in terms, sort of like
military intelligence.
--
Rsk the Wombat
UUCP: { decvax, icalqa, ihnp4, inuxc, sequent, uiucdcs } !pur-ee!rsk
{ decwrl, hplabs, icase, psuvax1, siemens, ucbvax } !purdue!rsk
Purdue is THE Indiana University.cher@ihuxi.UUCP (Mike Musing) (07/25/84)
For an alternative description of afterlife (a more amusing one)
I turn to Mark Twain's Captain Stormfield's Journey to Paradise.
MMMMMMmrlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (07/26/84)
The way I heard the story, a non-/anti-religious person died and arrived, much surprised, in heaven. The "angel" in charge welcomed the new arrival to the afterlife. "But, I wasn't religious, I didn't believe in God. Why am I here?" "Because, first and foremost, you led a good life, you lived well with your fellow human beings, and you accomplished many good things." "Does that mean that *everyone* who does those things will get into heaven regardless of their religious beliefs or lack thereof?" "Certainly." So the new arrival began looking around, and sure enough, there were members of all religious and non-religious denominations: Jews, Buddhists, atheists, wombats, trivial pursuit players, ... Then our friend noticed a large wall, and beyond this wall could be heard the voices of a rather substantial number of people. Curious, this person climbed the wall to view what was on the other side, only to be stopped by the "angel" in charge. "No, I'm sorry. You must not climb that wall." "But why not? I only wanted to see the people on the other side." "I'm afraid you cannot do that. You must not ever reveal yourself to those who live on the other side of the wall. You see, the other side of that wall is where the Christians reside, and they think they're the only ones up here. It just wouldn't really be heaven for them otherwise." [IT'S A JOKE, OK?] -- WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Rich Rosen WHAT IS YOUR NET ADDRESS? pyuxn!rlr WHAT IS THE CAPITAL OF ASSYRIA? I don't know that ... ARGHHHHHHHH!
ww@ccieng5.UUCP ( Bill Walters) (08/07/84)
The article about the woman who leads the person around a forest and the person is saved by her doubting sounds a lot like Mormon Theology. 1. God has a body of flesh. 2. You will make it to paradise because you're really not to bad. 3. Very unbiblical. 4. Because of #1 therefore we are all gods. William Walters (ww) @ ccieng5.
brianp@shark.UUCP (Brian Peterson) (08/12/84)
* 1. God has a body of flesh.
* 2. You will make it to paradise because you're really not to bad.
* 3. Very unbiblical.
* 4. Because of #1 therefore we are all gods.
* William Walters (ww) @ ccieng5.
Does that mean that if I have a pencil, and you have a pencil,
that you are Brian Peterson?
Why (in 3) does it matter that someone's idea of an afterlife
doesn't match someone elses? Or are you saying that Mormons
are unbiblical?
Brian Peterson (I own a pencil, you see)
{ucbvax, ihnp4, } !tektronix!shark!brianpstout@uiucdcsb.UUCP (08/17/84)
#R:ccieng5:-50600:uiucdcsb:11900025:000:137 uiucdcsb!stout Aug 17 13:33:00 1984 [..] It should remind you of Mormon theology only if you're not familiar enough with the latter. Bryan Stout (ihpn4!uiucdcs!stout)