rcd@opus.UUCP (03/31/84)
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I got a mail message from a religious-minded netter who asked about my
position that I don't believe in heaven, thus certainly not in hell (or
more reasonably stated, that I don't believe in an afterlife). The
question was, in essence, "Why bother? Why put up with the hassle (if
there's nothing at the end of the road)?" I tried to give a good answer,
but I have realized that this question might somehow be a central one in
the [a]theist discussions, so I'd like to explain a bit and see if others
can post some opinions.
Basically, I see life as sometimes rewarding, sometimes frustrating, but
generally interesting and usually entertaining. (It's a good show.
Sometimes the plot is silly or stupid, but at least it's realistic!) I
would think it a problem if I thought life to be mostly toil - and I would
try to fix the problem. If someone told me that life is supposed to be
drudgery, but that there's a pot of gold at the end, I'd suspect him of
trying to use me.
I am in life for the journey, not for the end. There's a fundamental
philosophical difference here. I don't care for goals. When you reach a
goal, you get (maybe) a brief elation at achieving it, followed by the
cosmic sense of "So what? Now what?" Then you get to set another goal to
achieve. If you orient your life around goals, two things happen: (1)
You spend your time working for those brief moments of elation, but you can
end up suffering most of the time, working for the reward. Bummer. (2)
It's all too easy to fall prey to the "end justifies the means" sin.
Why not arrange to enjoy the journey. Achieving a goal is actually
reaching a plateau. In other words, it's a time to stop and figure out
where to go next.
Thus, even though I am not promised heaven, I feel no need to commit
suicide to get the hassle over with. The reason is simple: It isn't a
hassle unless you choose to make it one.
(By a strangely similar course of reasoning, an atheist is not immoral in
any "traditional" sense save the lack of belief in a deity. I behave as I
do because it's obviously right to do so - not because I must do so for
fear of going to hell. A morality enforced by fear of hell is not real
morality; it's just good behavior induced by blackmail! I'm living for my
journey through life, so I'm responsible for my actions AS I TRAVEL, not in
some pie-in-the-sky court at the end.)
--
Relax - don't worry - have a homebrew.
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd