RE: desire for afterlife
April 8, 2019 at 1:26 am
(This post was last modified: April 8, 2019 at 1:26 am by Belacqua.)
(April 8, 2019 at 1:21 am)robvalue Wrote: I just realised that there’s usually the implicit assumption that an afterlife would be eternal. Since it’s all entirely hypothetical anyway, there’s no reason it has to be that way. It could be any finite length of time, followed by another finite length of time in another life, followed by permanent death, or whatever.
The only afterlife I’d be interested in is one I had total control over, or one I could end whenever I want. Enforced permanent existence is a horrifying thought to me. Knowing I’ll eventually be gone is the only thing that keeps me sane.
I think that in Buddhism and in some strains of Judaism afterlives are time-limited.
If you're reborn into a Buddhist hell, or as a Hungry Ghost, that doesn't last forever. And Jewish Sheol is sometimes said to be a period of purification before rejoining God.
In both those cases, though, the final state is a complete loss of the individual person and a rejoining with the universe -- either as Nirvana or as a re-absorption into God.
Also good to remember that for theologians, "eternal" doesn't mean "lasts forever." Eternity is outside of time -- there is no passing of time in heaven. You can't get bored.