Discussion How could it be heaven without choice?

[Forever Sleep]

Sometimes I wonder this. If an afterlife exists. If hell exists then, I presume they'll be no choice. We'll be sent there for punishment. Heaven though- surely one of the foundations for goodness is freedom- choice. So, will we get the choice on whether we exist in heaven or, not at all? Will we be allowed to just disappear?

But then, what if there are relatives in heaven who have waited decades to see us again? They won't be able to, if we decide to opt out. So- will they have their memories of us erased? Or, will we be forced to live once more in this new realm? In which case, it isn't based on choice and freedom so, how can it be heaven?

Or, will the type of existence be so fundamentally different to this one? So, we have very dulled senses as to who we were and we maybe just float about as joyful energy. But then- does that appeal to many people? Surely, the point of immortality is to be able to retain parts of yourself?

I suppose I just reached a pessimistic realisation in my early 20's maybe that even heaven could be shit! I really hope we get the choice this time- if there is an afterlife and we qualify for heaven.

 

[unluckysadness]

Nobody knows... I just hope that reincarnation is fake because I don't want to come back to Earth... But I believe in reincarnation Shit !

 

[Pluto]

 

[EternalHunger]

I always had this warped belief that if there WAS an afterlife, it would be similar to a permanent illusion; this idea mostly formed because of how vague the Bible was on heaven back when I was still a depressed but devout Christian kid, like a permanent euphoria and illusions of everyone/everything you ever wanted but those illusions aren't actually in any sense real or atleast only recreations of the real thing, with the only real thing being the being they call 'God'.

As a kid it never made sense to me how there could be a heaven of everything and everyone you wanted when people's interpretations of what they want would be so conflicting and convulted that, unless these people get entirely seperate versions of the same person/people, it wouldn't make sense.

Especially when those people that are wanted themselves would have things they want which might not even be the person who wants them being included and also those who don't even make it to heaven. IDK, I could tell this was a silly thought since childhood but I always liked entertaining it.

 

[Dejected 55]

Honestly... God, heaven and hell, afterlife... these are just products of our human mind being unable to contemplate non-existence. We know humans existed before we were born, and it is reasonable to assume they will continue after we die. We have seen people be born in our lifetime and we have seen people die. But as far back as we can personally remember, we have been conscious, alive... it is impossible to imagine what it would be like to not exist. We have no frame of reference for it. We have always been who we are and we have always been here. The closes we can come is being asleep or unconscious where we drift off but then wake up again later. We have gaps in our memory when we are unconscious, but we are still here.

What it is like to go to sleep but then never wake up again? It has never happened to us. We always wake up again... until that one day eventually when we don't. We have no way to imagine what that means. So we invent things. But we can't know until we know... and we might never know. If the end is just the end, we will never know.

 

[Forveleth]

Being raised Christian, I was told heaven would be everlasting joy (whatever that means) and we would spend our time endlessly singing praises to God. If I made it to heaven, I would be grateful and all, but I really do not want to spend eternity singing praises to some being. Like, can I do other things? I was also told that "all Earthly desires fade away". So basically the only thing you care about is praising God. Being a mindless drone eternally singing to my creator does not sound like a heaven I want to go to. Although, I guess once you get there you do not care anymore and willingly participate with joy? The more I heard about heaven the less excited I was to go.

Either way, I am an atheist now so I do not have to worry about it.