The specter of eternal life

We all want to go to Heaven when we die and stay there forever, right? I’m not so sure... 

I found that quote from Mark Twain who allegedly said: “If Christians really and truly believed what their religious faith purports, they would be crying at births and dancing at funerals”. 

In reality they don’t, or at least they get it backwards, as like many of us, they feel joy at the coming of new life, and pain and sadness at its end. All this to speculate that few really believe in what their religion promises them, if it does. I often think that life after-death might be quite boring in fact.

How would you feel if you didn’t really like the place, its rules and conditions, God puts you in after death, and were stuck there forever? 

Would there be good food, booze, sex, loud rock-and-roll and of course, skiing? I’m not so sure. Forever is also a concept we can hardly imagine here on earth as we are constantly fighting against time, but if it’s “forever”, it better be good, or else, we’re “forever” screwed! 

Also, if we die old, limping and sick, God forbid, missing a limb, a few teeth too, when and if we resurrect, what kind of body do we get? A brand-new, fully restored, 25 years old one, a middle-aged version or the old carcass we now have? I don’t think the Bible or the Koran give enough details about the exact conditions of our eternal life. 

So, given the uncertainty, I’d rather not count on the kind of eternal life religion has promised me since I was a kid. It sounds terribly boring as well as uncertain, so I’ll continue to call this life down to earth a true paradise, in spite of all the challenges and suffering that may befall us from time to time...