Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Soul Man? Part 2

I think the idea of a soul is not unusual, we don’t know what death is, and it is something we do not have control over. In the person of Jesus of Nazareth you have the story of a person who overcame death by his so-called resurrection. It does not bother the average believer in Jesus that he conveniently ascended to heaven to no longer be heard from or seen again; or at least until his "second" return. He symbolizes our desire to overcome our greatest enemy, death. Mankind have conquered almost everything on this planet except his death. I think it is our imagination and desire to be associated with something that is eternal and supreme. For example, If you listen to any contemporary gospel or "inspiration" station and if you listened to an average song that the words will be how god was worthy of worship because he is holy and if you asked yourself how do we know this is true, that there's a god who is holy and worthy of worship, to be honest we don't, I have yet seen a sea part or a talking snake. I cannot fault Christianity or Islam because they give the answers to one of our greatest fears, the fear of no longer existing. In Islam and Christianity you are given the promise of immortality, which I think is wishful thinking and nothing more. I hate to be the bearer of reality but this is it folks, there is no second chance, no reincarnation, no resurrection, yes your atoms will be absorbed into the natural ecosystem like other natural things but the you who you think you are, this egocentric identity will end when the brain dies. We need to get over the fear of death and live this life, as Epicurus allegedly stated "Death means nothing to us, for when we are, death isn't and when death is, we are not" and that's the way it is. Think about it...