woah holy shit a bio?
While I agree that RELIGIONS do that, it is why I point out that I don’t think the original authors (ancient as they may be) had the individual intent to control people, but help them.
Like the Bible as a whole is clearly constructed for control. Same with the Torah, Quran, Vedas, and at LEAST to some extent the Tripitaka.
But, taken individually, understanding the historical context, and understanding the identification of different authors, the patterns arise that there was some good intent.
All I did was say my interpretation of afterlife?
I’ll be completely honest, the idea of “faith” is a bullshit concept. Also the study of "philosophy " at least for the required classes I had to taken in college (I don’t encourage liberal arts schools for science) is bullshit too.
So, in my personal opinion, religions are for people who can’t or choose not to think critically (as I have learned, a lot of people find that uncomfortable). Philosophies are just personal opinions on life. And if my interpretation of afterlife is a philosophy, great, that doesn’t really change anything.
So athiesm and agnosticism aren’t religions, but they aren’t philosophies, they’re just labels to say “I don’t believe in bullshit.”
Time to narrate my interpretation of “afterlife” when considering several religions, novels, and philosophers. Lets ignore the power aspects of religion for this though, I don’t think the original authors had the slightest idea that their works would be used to control people.
Lets start with my primary observations.
The first point, I think, is the important one. Universal suffering. Bhuddism calls this out in plain language. It suggests a path to “enlightenment” that is very similar to modern mental health techniques.
The logical conclusion is that if life is suffering, death is comfort. But we fear death, and mourn the dead. So, we are faced, individually, with a choice. We have an extremely tiny fraction of the age of the universe to experience it and how incredible it is - do you choose to experience it, in its full nature with the suffering included, and make the best of it? Or do you choose to say “fuck this shit” and skip on that unique journey?
Soren Kierkegaard:
‘Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.’
Frank Herbert adds:
‘A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it.’
So, personally, I’ve chosen to experience reality. Accept that it has a lot of suffering, but enjoy the beauty of watching a lunar eclipse. Studying the intricacies of quantum mechanics. Observing how life has evolved over millions of years.
I take my experience with me to the grave. No one else will be able to experience it. And in the end, I will no longer suffer.
Its not a doomsday cult. Its a death cult. Its far worse.
They worship death not Armageddon.
I was wrong. Doomsday cults are scarier.
Look, I understand the concern.
But these guys are actually a death cult. Just like Nazis were. Maybe we should, you know, point out that the rapists are murderers too.
Im don’t disagree with that. As you can tell toward the end of my Ted Talk I find joy in life, and death naturally has the absence of suffering.
The idea of Heaven and Hell are concepts for those who can’t grasp that life is complex, and are used to control people.