The Twin Powers

Many of us have been raised with a certain religious idea about Heaven and Hell. They always come together like a Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde being our only way out of life whenever it is your time to say goodbye. I call them Twin Powers. I myself was raised as christian but never have felt to be one and most certainly not in the traditional way. I have a joke with a good friend of mine in RL. We like to call ourselves agnostic atheists and yes we know that’s  in fact impossible. We are convinced there is no God in the way we were made to believe, but also do not have all answers to all we do not understand yet or maybe never will  get to know.

Divine Placebo effect

Science/evolution theory alone is not enough to be able to proof God is just invented to suppress or control people around the world and  that it only ‘works’  because you believe it to work. A divine placebo effect exists I am sure, but when I see very troubled persons still believe there is not much ‘to placebo’ anymore.  Still,  logic and common sense make it highly unlikely to defend any form of religion with some sort of traditional God, without lacking proof as well.  The strict atheists and strict believers all focus on hard evidence in a mostly non-material issue where hard evidence does not proof everything. Also the way of interpreting holy books makes a difference in how atheists and believers are each others opposites or not at all. There are too many unanswered questions and variables on either side and too much things that cannot be measured or verified in a way we could call watertight or only true proof. We are too little developed to know all.

The Agnostic Atheist

Even so I prefer to not belief, with a very tiny space for  . . maaaaaybe there is a kind of God or something else I cannot possibly explain and comprehend. I only would believe it however if I would have a clear experience of it myself to at least know someone is not trying to lure me. On the other hand we regularly cannot trust our own brain with experiences. People who have been dead a few seconds often experience an after death situation they call a religious experience and proof of a higher something and after life. The famous white light in a tunnel.  For me I immediately start to think your brain is still working (it really is  for a while, even when you already are officially dead) and messes with how you experience ‘life data’ as a dead person with a slowly fading out brain. It is not so simple and only relying on such stories will not work for me. I do understand the impact it will give and that it makes people feel different. The ones who claim to be cured by God’s intervention I also do not belief. They simply cannot know that, but like to believe so to empower their feeling of being saved and blessed.

My own brain experiences

During my younger years I suffered from epileptic attacks triggered by body health issues. I had several very weird experiences during that time. Like reading in a book and hearing the exact words  on the radio as well. Or walking with the dog and see it switch on and off like a light. During these experiences it felt like totally normal and real. Miraculous however and I would tell my parents in a hyper excited mood what I just saw or heard. It never took long for me to be convinced by them I had experienced a seizure with some hallucinatory elements in it. When I experienced a really heavy attack and would fall down on the floor losing conscience with a shaking body, I remember very well to wake up again in a kind of euphoric feeling, half asleep, half dream, confused but not scared at all. I am sure what others saw and experienced at that same moment was less pleasant and my body later that day also felt like having run a marathon and not at all pleasant. So, what we experience is not always in line with what actually is there.

My brain never was my best friend in those days anyway.  Back then I developed many irrational beliefs of which I now know they made me belief things that never were there. The huge gap between knowing and experiencing also can completely tackle you. I can know I am safe, but when a different FEELING is triggered by something my brain is traumatized with,  that knowledge is pretty useless until you get more insight and control over it. Many people believe in God but doubt it as well when lives are destroyed. Our brain often cannot make sense of all we see, hear and feel and can be fooled in many ways. God can be the biggest fraud ever in that way, used by smart people who have an eye for the religious hunger in the world. A beacon and haven as life savers.

…

Does it matter?

For me it does not really matter if someone believes in a God or not. If it helps you and comforts and guides you, be my honoured guest. Another thing matters much more to me. The fact so many believers claim to be the one and only indisputable truth with simplified biased interpretations of their holy books to take control over their children, a community, a town, a region, a country, the world  . . . yes even heaven and hell they claim to know who has access, that fact makes me stay away from all religions. The endless suffocating and not very modern rules, the dogmatic commandments, the exclusion of different believers, the condemnation of non-believers, the preaching of hell as your future and heaven for the happy few who will get entrance by Saint Peter etc etc,  is by far the most anti-christian way of believing I can imagine.

Then what?

A heaven and hell for me only exist where present life is as well and no where else. I look at things in a metaphorical way more than being the literal translator of whatever holy book. I do believe in the power of a good set of rules and  law and justice that come with it. Be it divine or not, I also believe we need some sort of guidance to make sense of our lives and to know what is wrong and right or a bit of both. This guidance can exist in many ways: parents, teachers, law officers, partners, judges, work, study, reading, self-development, society etc, and the more soft things like music, love, art and joie de vivre. The good and bad we experience and rules we are asked to respect can be seen as a God if you like. Who says God is a person anyway, or a man or woman. Maybe he or she or it is an avatar nowadays on occasion :)  Maybe we just should strip God of all superior divinity as we know it and act as if he likes to go for a drink with you tonight or sleep with you . . in the form of a human that matters for you. Not taking all too literal, except the wisdom it can provide you with.

Flash’N The Pan- Hey St, Peter  |   Heaven and Hell in New York (or wherever)

The cloud

As a kid God for me was someone sitting on a throne in a cloud watching us. Hilarious yes. But I swear many have this visual in their head. We have our own cloud these days, the digital one. Maybe invented by someone with  positive harmless ideals trying to launch a digital service to help you (Google once was like that) but then the bosses who pay for it all and users (yes we as well) make a devil of it by abusing the idealistic approach. Humans are capable to corrupt everything when money becomes their god, err, devil.  So now BIG DATA DEVIL is watching all of us. WikiLeaks used to be more a god than a devil for many, but nowadays they switched roles since Julian Assange has become a trivial character for other reasons.  Everything is related in this insane world.

I seduced Saint Peter in Second Life

Second Life is not free of religion as well, but at least not as present and dominating as in RL. That’s kind of refreshing. I also have become the owner of the one and only Heaven and Hell in Second Life. I seduced Saint Peter and threatened to expose him to his Boss in the cloud, so now he offered me the keys of Heaven and Hell. I have 2 parcels in Second Life. One will be Hell, the other Heaven. My orb is relentless, just saying. To hell with mercy. I should deed my orb to the devil for my bad act, yes I know. Anyway, if you happen to meet some God, he or she or it is welcome of course. Only as avatar please. We need a Cyber God to wave at us from his super cool skybox and to assure us our avatars shall not be doomed. Thou shall not be doomed is a rule I can live with.

Note: I used some old pics because they fitted in and because it was late :)