I’ve been “un-invited” back to my fair share of bible study groups for asking odd and uncomfortable questions. This question is without a doubt the most troubling for people who worship in a religion don’t really want to answer:
What if there is no heaven?
I took some time and explored this question online. It’s not an original question, but I found some of the replies to be very interesting. There seems to be three?very common replies from the religious minded.
- Heaven is real, end of discussion.
- If heaven didn’t exist, I would still have lived a good life.
- I don’t want to take my chances.
Now please keep in mind, this is a hypothetical question. I strongly encourage a respectful and spirited discussion; my purpose is not to insult anyone’s religion or beliefs. I believe that asking questions like this is essential to our humanity, and that they fertilize our minds with possibilities born from introspection.
But not everyone feels the same way. So if the question upsets you, whether you are a believer or non-believer, please don’t try to fight with me or anyone else over it. It doesn’t serve anyone, nor will it likely change any minds. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. I just ask to consider the true value of arguing over a hypothetical question.
I will share four?videos exploring this question,
The first Video is a good ole-fashioned American Christian hellfire and brimstone sermon. If you don’t want to sit through the whole thing, just skip to 7:16.
The second Video represents a follower of Islam’s answer to this question. It’s a very interesting answer and speaks to the “strength in numbers” mentality many religions have.
The third video represents a non-religious person’s perspective on this question.
The fourth video is a variation of the original question. In this video the man asks “What If I don’t want to go to heaven or hell?” I can only imagine how many of us has had the same question in our minds at some point in our lives.
Share your thoughts in the comments.
