Heaven/Hell

Just looking to stir up the pot a little more....

On 20/20 tonight the question was raised about if there is a hell. Naturally, there were all sorts of viewpoints represented. Personally, I don't believe in hell. While I'm at it, I don't actually believe in "heaven" either. {"Heaven" is in quotes there because I'm not saying that I don't believe in life after death...I just don't really buy into the whole "pearly gates, Jesus, angels with harps" thing). So, here's my take on the afterlife:

I believe that we are energy. Our souls are unique and are comprised of energy. When your body ceases to exist, your soul/energy still exists. For that reason, I subscribe to the whole "seeing your deceased loved ones again" idea about Heaven. I really, really think that my Paw Paw will be waiting for me when it's my time. I don't think that he'll be in a white robe (he wasn't a white robe guy...maybe more of a navy corduroy robe kinda guy about 7pm, when it was almost bedtime and you'd accidentally stop by after dinner to see them and he'd pretend that it was totally ok and that they weren't about to head to bed--and I know that it was always ok because he always wanted to see us [sniff, sniff]}. BACK ON TRACK NOW: So, I'm not sure what happens to your "energy" but I do think that you hang around a bit. And this might explain ghosts. Also, when Anna Claire was itty bitty, I'd rock her in our recliner and she'd always look over my shoulder (and thus, over the back of the recliner) and smile and sometimes giggle--and this was WAY before she was "supposed" to be able to smile or giggle. I'd always ask her if she was playing with Paw Paw again. I can't help but wonder...(backstory: Paw Paw died about a month and a half before A.C. was born).

Ok, as for hell: I don't believe in it. I believe that hell is something that you live with. If you've done something bad, you live with that. It eats you alive. That's hell.

So, I'm not sure where these ideas put me in the grand, Christian scheme of things. But it's what I believe. On this show, they also mentioned the Buddhist idea that after you die you go to a sort of Purgatory (like the Catholics) but in this Purgatory, your soul is cleansed of it's bad karma to prepare the soul for re-incarnation. I thought that made some sense.

Moral to this story? I don't know, but I liked what one minister said: "Hell isn't someplace you go TO it's something you go THROUGH".

Sorry Ashley. Your former pet sitter is not very godly. Probably should've told you that when I first started visiting T&T back when they were twee little kitties. I'm probably the reason why Tinker got possessed by the devil (oh, and Quincy too, I suppose).