Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Is Heaven Immoral?

I tend to commonly baffle my christian friends and family (not mention those I encounter online) with my statement "If heaven was real I'd rather not exist than go there, heaven is immoral". I'd now like to expand on to what I mean by that. As such for the remainder of this post I will be assuming Heaven is real (taken from a Christian perspective).

Firstly even the concept of a heaven/hell scenario seems horrible to me. IF we get our sense of justice/mercy from a god, how then does infinite punishment/reward for finite crimes fit our understanding of justice/mercy. True justice is when the punishment meets the crime exactly and mercy is alleviating punishment based on empathy/compassion/forgiveness. What crime could we possibly commit in a finite life that would justify infinite punishment?

Assuming heaven exists, I strongly believe that being there, for me, would either be a form of torture or completely immoral. It would be torture for me, mentally, for me to enjoy the "joys" of heaven while I know people I care for (or just people in general) are burning in hell. I care too much about the well being of the people I love to idly sit by and worship a deity that has deemed billions of people unworthy of "paradise". Based on my actions here on earth I know that I would begin a petition to release those in hell and if that didn't work I would out right revolt (is it possible Lucifer did what he did because he is more moral than God?) IF a god is truly responsible for our sense of empathy and compassion why allow me the ability to care for others on earth if for a far longer time (forever) I have to suspend those emotions?

The only way I could enjoy heaven is if God fundamentally changed who I am as a person in such a way that I am no longer me.  This, in my opinion, is an immoral act. We would not abide by those standards here on earth. Can you imagine the outrage if we tampered with someones brain to the point where they could no feel empathy (or any human emotion)?

If I die and a god tells me I have done well enough to receive the "gift" of eternity in heaven I will gladly and without remorse reply:
"Thank you for the offer sir (assuming male here) but I respectfully decline and would rather be non-existent"
I guess I can only hope he would be merciful and accept my request.

thank you for reading
thoughts and comments are always welcome

-Moon Walking Unicorn