If you think heaven is real, why are you still here?

[SalixIncendium]

I think I was clear about my target audience because of the phrasing of the question.

You were not, but I thank you for the clarification. I will now bow out of the discussion and return to heaven.

 

[an anarchist]

As the title says: If you think heaven is real, why are you still here? And I don't mean you should go kill yourself, I'm just wondering why you would work hard to extend your own life span if you think a perfect place is available to you after your life ends.

Because in the end, heaven is no guarantee...

Excellent question I think.

No matter what you believe in, death brings uncertainty. Life is certain... Till it's not. So let's hang on to what is certain, for heaven is not guaranteed for anyone.

 

[Sargonski]

As the title says: If you think heaven is real, why are you still here? And I don't mean you should go kill yourself, I'm just wondering why you would work hard to extend your own life span if you think a perfect place is available to you after your life ends.

Here is an analogy to better explain the meaning behind my words:

You are living in a cardboard box. You have the clothes on your back, enough food to last until you gather your next meal, and every day you work hard to maintain the box you live in.

One day a man comes up to you and tells you that he lives in the golden palace at the end of the street. Everything in the palace is of the highest quality, every mod con is available to all that live there, the food is cooked by the best chefs, every vehicle is available to drive, ride, sail, and pilot, and the in house doctor knows all the best medical knowledge of every culture. There is even every pleasure you can enjoy, on tap, twenty four hours a day.

He offers you a place in the palace as soon as the box is no longer a viable living space and tells you that as soon as you walk up to the golden gates someone will take you to get you settled into your new home.

The question is this: Why would you continue to repair the cardboard box? Why would you resist the opportunity to live in the golden palace for even a second more?

Even if you can't actively destroy the box, just let it fail to be inhabitable as quick as is natural.

Any and all answers are welcome.

Great Question .. and one of my most favorite movie lines "Everybody wanna go heaven - Nobody wanna get dead"

 

[Sargonski]

Because in the end, heaven is no guarantee...

Excellent question I think.

No matter what you believe in, death brings uncertainty. Life is certain... Till it's not. So let's hang on to what is certain, for heaven is not guaranteed for anyone.

"Life is Certain" how about we not take that check to the bank for cashing, and say we did

and of course heaven is guaranteed .. but only for those who believe .. in Idol Martin's free pass doctrine.

 

[Quintessence]

Is this just another way of asking "why do some humans (needlessly) pursue life-extending technologies when their lives do not end at their deaths?" except in a way that is a bit confusing and makes odd assumptions about theology and religion that often do not apply?

 

[F1fan]

As the title says: If you think heaven is real, why are you still here? And I don't mean you should go kill yourself, I'm just wondering why you would work hard to extend your own life span if you think a perfect place is available to you after your life ends.

There's that little shred of doubt that like a nagging itch that you can't quite reach.

At least Islamic terrorists take the afterlife seriously. Talk about commitment.

 

[Kathryn]

I probably work so hard to stay alive because the urge to stay alive is pretty primal. Also, though I believe in an afterlife and I believe I will spend my afterlife in Heaven, it's the big UNKNOWN and at the moment I'd rather pick my poison.

Interesting aside note - my beautiful, precious husband suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack at age 62. It was a massive, one time event and it really rocked my world. This was about 3.5 years ago. Anyway, I've recovered nicely but still...I have thought about death a lot since then, and what it may hold for us. For whatever reasons, I'm not nearly as scared of it as I used to be. I'm pretty ready actually. For instance, all of us have that appointment with death one day - why aren't we all running around freaked out about it?

 

[F1fan]

Is this just another way of asking "why do some humans (needlessly) pursue life-extending technologies when their lives do not end at their deaths?" except in a way that is a bit confusing and makes odd assumptions about theology and religion that often do not apply?

This is a real issue. When I was in college for a heath psychology degree I was tunned at some of the examples described in my textbooks were of pateints that had the choice to change their eating/exercise/smoking/drinking habits and extend their lives, or not a die soon, some would actually opt for an early death. The goal of health psychology is to advise patients on their decisions. Some people just don't care about living.

The question I had was can bad habits that lead to an early death be seen as a sort of slow suicide?

 

[Stevicus]

Clarifications:

1. When a religious person says they are "going to heaven" the subtext of the language is that they are travelling to a place they envision that they will be in.

2. When I'm talking about heaven I am talking about any level of heaven. To try and split hairs about which level of heaven, which package deal is on offer, or anything else, is just a way of trying to side step the conversation.

3. No, I am not being rhetorical. This is a genuine question that I would like an answer to.

4. I think I was clear about my target audience because of the phrasing of the question. If I asked for someone to describe what it's like being pregnant then I'm obviously not asking those that haven't been pregnant. The same goes for asking why someone chooses to postpone going to heaven for as long as possible.

5. In all iterations of heaven that organised religions have put forward it is a literal place that the "soul" goes to once the body is no longer able to sustain life. This is the heaven I am talking about.

I don't know if there's any kind of heaven or hell; I don't really believe in any kind of afterlife. But I did earlier in life. It could be that some people might have family members and friends that they're not ready to leave just yet, even if they believe there's a place called heaven. Or maybe they're afraid they might go to hell. Or maybe, deep down, they don't really believe, and they're just as much afraid of dying as any other living creature. It's instinctive to want to stay alive.

 

[F1fan]

I probably work so hard to stay alive because the urge to stay alive is pretty primal. Also, though I believe in an afterlife and I believe I will spend my afterlife in Heaven, it's the big UNKNOWN and at the moment I'd rather pick my poison.

Interesting aside note - my beautiful, precious husband suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack at age 62. It was a massive, one time event and it really rocked my world. This was about 3.5 years ago. Anyway, I've recovered nicely but still...I have thought about death a lot since then, and what it may hold for us. For whatever reasons, I'm not nearly as scared of it as I used to be. I'm pretty ready actually.

My mom died about two years ago from brain cancer. It was a bad form and from diagnosis to her death was only about 4 months. Gotta say it put the zap on my head that mortality is real. It's definately changed how I approach living. I don't want to wither away like my mom did in home hospice, as that just seems immoral to let a person die of starvation. We opted for home hospice because she wanted to be with her cats, and because we did not have time to find a facility with a room. Seeing a loved one whither away is definately a hardship. Anyway, I digress.

 

[Kathryn]

My mom died about two years ago from brain cancer. It was a bad form and from diagnosis to her death was only about 4 months. Gotta say it put the zap on my head that mortality is real. It's definately changed how I approach living. I don't want to wither away like my mom did in home hospice, as that just seems immoral to let a person die of starvation. We opted for home hospice because she wanted to be with her cats, and because we did not have time to find a facility with a room. Seeing a loved one whither away is definately a hardship. Anyway, I digress.

I am very, very sorry for your loss.

 

[Kathryn]

I have to admit though, that my husband's death was great - other than the shock and timing of it. It was great for him, but not for me, if that makes sense. He didn't wither away or have to be a patient, which he would have totally hated. He was too young in my book, but here's what I believe about God - I don't think time matters much to God. So six minutes, six days, six weeks, six months, six years, or sixty two years is just not a big deal to God in my belief system.

 

[anna.]

This is a real issue. When I was in college for a heath psychology degree I was tunned at some of the examples described in my textbooks were of pateints that had the choice to change their eating/exercise/smoking/drinking habits and extend their lives, or not a die soon, some would actually opt for an early death. The goal of health psychology is to advise patients on their decisions. Some people just don't care about living.

The question I had was can bad habits that lead to an early death be seen as a sort of slow suicide?

A possibility, among many possibles: the person is so overwhelmed life events and/or personal mental/physical difficulties that they're incapable of helping themselves. You may remember the term learned helplessness.

 

[anna.]

My mom died about two years ago from brain cancer. It was a bad form and from diagnosis to her death was only about 4 months. Gotta say it put the zap on my head that mortality is real. It's definately changed how I approach living. I don't want to wither away like my mom did in home hospice, as that just seems immoral to let a person die of starvation. We opted for home hospice because she wanted to be with her cats, and because we did not have time to find a facility with a room. Seeing a loved one whither away is definately a hardship. Anyway, I digress.

I empathize with how difficult that must have been for you and I'm so sorry. I've also accompanied parents through hospice, one fast, one slow. The slow one broke something in me.

 

[PureX]

"If you think heaven is real, why are you still here?"

I think this is a naive question. Thinking is not knowing. Hoping is not certainty. Certainty is not something we humans can honestly possess. And that is why we have to take whatever existence gives us. We don't get to play God because we're not gods. And when we try, disaster is the usual result.

 

[anna.]

I probably work so hard to stay alive because the urge to stay alive is pretty primal. Also, though I believe in an afterlife and I believe I will spend my afterlife in Heaven, it's the big UNKNOWN and at the moment I'd rather pick my poison.

Interesting aside note - my beautiful, precious husband suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack at age 62. It was a massive, one time event and it really rocked my world. This was about 3.5 years ago. Anyway, I've recovered nicely but still...I have thought about death a lot since then, and what it may hold for us. For whatever reasons, I'm not nearly as scared of it as I used to be. I'm pretty ready actually. For instance, all of us have that appointment with death one day - why aren't we all running around freaked out about it?

May his memory be a blessing for you.

These days I too think about death more than I used to. The fear I keep pushed to the shadowy corners of my mind is of something happening to my children before me.

 

[Kathryn]

May his memory be a blessing for you.

These days I too think about death more than I used to. The fear I keep pushed to the shadowy corners of my mind is of something happening to my children before me.

Oh goodness, same here. I prayed for their safety just yesterday in fact. I was thinking about my husband and how I am finally feeling like I am truly a better person than I was before he died, and I thought to myself, "Please, not that." Meaning of course, please don't make me live through losing a child.

 

[Wolf_Bloodbeard]

This is a real issue. When I was in college for a heath psychology degree I was tunned at some of the examples described in my textbooks were of pateints that had the choice to change their eating/exercise/smoking/drinking habits and extend their lives, or not a die soon, some would actually opt for an early death. The goal of health psychology is to advise patients on their decisions. Some people just don't care about living.

The question I had was can bad habits that lead to an early death be seen as a sort of slow suicide?

Doing things that shorten your life, without the intent to end your life, is not considered a form of slow suicide, otherwise sun bathing, or breathing, can be considered a form of slow suicide, so no. Interesting idea, though.

 

[Wolf_Bloodbeard]

I don't know if there's any kind of heaven or hell; I don't really believe in any kind of afterlife. But I did earlier in life. It could be that some people might have family members and friends that they're not ready to leave just yet, even if they believe there's a place called heaven. Or maybe they're afraid they might go to hell. Or maybe, deep down, they don't really believe, and they're just as much afraid of dying as any other living creature. It's instinctive to want to stay alive.

There are religious people that are as certain as it is possible to be that there is a heaven, and that they are going there, and that no matter what they do they will only go to heaven when they die, that still try to do everything they can to extend their lives. This is a cognitive paradox, in my opinion.

 

[Wolf_Bloodbeard]

"If you think heaven is real, why are you still here?"

I think this is a naive question. Thinking is not knowing. Hoping is not certainty. Certainty is not something we humans can honestly possess. And that is why we have to take whatever existence gives us. We don't get to play God because we're not gods. And when we try, disaster is the usual result.

I would argue that there are people with more certainty in many things that they have no warrant in having. As for "playing god", there is no such thing. I think you are mistaking using intelligence to influence the world around us to what we, as individuals, desire.