Belief in Eternity Should Not Justify Being Obnoxious



Vice President Vance was rightly criticized for saying he hoped his wife, Usha, would convert to Christianity. Maybe he was not serious and the two of them have made peace about religion and he knows she is not considering changing and he knows this.

One whacko Christian columnist justifies Vance's "request" to his wife and all other hard sells of Christianity made by Christians everywhere. According to the columnist, Vance is doing his wife a favor by giving her a shot at an eternity in heaven. A few years ago, when I was preparing to attend an event we pilots attend to talk about flying and our airplanes, an obnoxious Christian member started posting about a morning church service he was organizing. He asked for volunteers to read from the Bible, conduct a prayer and give a "message." Several pilots chimed in and told him this was not appropriate. His reply was the same as the link, "Eternity is forever. I'm only trying to help all pilots so they do not make a mistake they will pay for forever." 

It seems like fear is something once implanted in the human brain is really hard to dislodge. Ron Reagan TV commercial that runs across the U.S. ends with, "I'm not afraid of hell." This line, which was not in the script, hits believers like dynamite. There are endless complaints in letters to atheist publications. 

In India, the various factions of Hinduism hate each other so much they kill. Two or three Prime Ministers have been assassinated in my lifetime. I don't understand what this hatred is about. I only know the kind that exists in Christianity. People have told me personally about hell. All of these people hated either abortion or gays and wanted those they disliked put in jail or worse forever. I've been warned. 

My theory of humans is deep inside our brains is a chip that makes us fear death. Whenever a religion comes along and tells us we don't have to die, we like that news. Only brains with another chip, the intellectual one, allows some humans to recognize the shaman really cannot stave off death. It allows some of us to keep our money and be happy people.

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