What I gathered from Hitchens's death

So, this is a little late in coming, but better late than never I suppose.

I have given much thought, research, and time to the--what is the best word?--aura surrounding Christopher Hitchens's death. Many Christians were praying and even after his death continued to pray that Hitchens would acknowledge Jesus' gift of eternal salvation at the end of his life, thereby avoiding an eternal afterlife in Hell. Many atheists were scolding the Christians and proclaiming that Hitchens died having done what he wanted to in life, with beliefs that he valued (namely atheism), and therefore can't all these Christians just leave the man alone? Besides, even if there is a (contested) afterlife, he chose his afterlife and is happy with it.

I understand both claims being made, both undercurrents, both statements, both beliefs. I just have a rhetorical question to make:

We assume, based on what we know from Hitchens in the press and from what he specifically chooses to place in writing, that he was a happy person and died as such. My question is a two-part one. Firstly, was he really happy? If the answer is yes, which I do not doubt, then why was he happy? In other words, what things/people/places/ideas did he place value on and gain happiness from?

What makes YOU, reader, happy?

Examples of things that can make people happy: having nice things (house, car, etc.), traveling the world, playing with or taking care of animals, caring for children, learning, helping make policies that will affect the world in a good way, relationships with people (family, friends, spouse), good food and drink, music, sports...the list goes on and on, but these are just a few examples from off the top of my head. Personally, mine is relationships with people.

The issue many people seem to be tiptoeing around: What does the afterlife look like? Also, is there an afterlife?

The answer to the latter question is either yes or no, and it depends on your beliefs. If you believe that this life is all that there is, and when we die we just go -poof- and stop thinking and that's it and there will never be any more of you except what others remember or write down, then your answer to "is there an afterlife" is no. If you are not 100% sure of that (which, to be quite frank, I don't know that anyone is 100% certain that this life is all that there is, and you can correct me if I'm mistaken), then you're faced with the first issue, which is what the afterlife looks like.

Again, depending on what you believe, your response to this question will vary. And we can look at and debate this issue for hours, and I would be glad to (because somewhere in this issue the whole question of a Creator/God is brought up, whether there is one, etc.).

I would like to look at one aspect of the issue which strikes me heaviest, which you may or may not deem to my own personal bias. Assuming a Creator God (which the three major monotheistic religions of the world do), what is he to do with someone who for his whole life has not wanted anything to do with Himself? Well, obviously, you don't bring him to Heaven to live with you, because that would be Hell for the person who went all his life without wanting anything to do with God. We're assuming that this person still wants nothing to do with God and says he is happy without Him. What do you do with this person? A loving God would put that person where that person wants to be, which is as far away from God as possible.

We give that place a name, which is Hell.

Normally the term evokes images of boiling lava pits and fiery monsters or whatever. I will not go there, because honestly I don't think that's what Hell is, and that's not what I have read it to be anywhere. Hell, when it comes down to it, is basically that place God's love does not touch. Seems reasonable and perfectly fine: If you want nothing to do with God, what does it matter?

But here we go back to my initial question towards you, reader: What makes you happy? Because physical possessions do not go with you after death, no matter if you believe in an afterlife. And assuming you believe in an afterlife, if less physical things like relationships with people are what make you happy, such things are at stake here. Because if your relationships were what kept you happy in life, and all of a sudden you lose them (because they died, or you died, or they wanted to be with God and you did not, or vice versa), I don't think you'd still consider yourself happy. Honestly, would you be? I'm not faulting you if you say that you'd still be happy even without your loved ones. I just want to make sure you know exactly what your beliefs entail.

"Well, Ashley, all of my friends and I want nothing to do with God, so we're all going to Hell together, and we'll have a party." Okay. Just remember that Hell is the place God's love does not touch. If God is the source of love, though, are you still going to be able to love your friends even with their faults? Because if we do derive love and forgiveness from God, and if that is nonexistent in Hell...I mean, I know I'm biased like anyone, but I really don't think you'd be able to maintain friendships the same way in Hell without love, as on Earth or that could be made in Heaven with love. Also remember that everyone else who doesn't want to have anything to do with God chooses an afterlife without God, too, and you're not necessarily going to get along with them. In fact, many of them may choose to hurt you, and that may be why they chose to not want to have anything to do with God.

I think if Hitchens was perfectly happy before, and there is an afterlife, he may not be so happy anymore. And that saddens me, because I like when people are happy.

I realize that this is only one side of a many-faceted issue, definitely one that I need to research more and one that has a lot more depth to it. But this is my blog, after all. This is currently how I feel about this issue. I tried sharing all of this as carefully as I could with the time frame I wrote this in, but I realize a lot of it may sound harsh. And I know I make assumptions, but hear me when I say that I do so for the sake of looking at a side of this dilemma that truly is possible, an outcome that may exist, something we should take seriously. Frankly, we lose nothing if there's no afterlife. But what if?

I have strong faith beliefs, and my faith is based off more than just the hope that there is a Heaven, therefore writing the previous two sentences was difficult for me because it make what I believe seem like a safety net. My intent, however, was that you, dear reader, would understand that when there is no possible way to obtain scientific evidence for something one way or another, caution should be taken about what you choose to believe.

Hate and judgement

Before you decide that you hate someone, before you decide that you absolutely cannot stand someone, before you decide to label someone or judge them, before you decide to keep as far away as you can from that person...remember, you don't know them.

I'm not saying that people are excused from hurting you, if they have done that. I'm not excusing anyone from abusing other people in a variety of ways, whether petty or large. I'm not asking you to go be friends with everyone. What I am saying, though, is that there are so many people who are very good at keeping up appearances and at hiding their dark secrets, and you may judge them without really knowing, for example, that that person is struggling with family issues, or that she has a mental disorder, or that he is a victim of abuse. You don't know whether or not what he/she does stems from such a thing, or even something else. You don't know why she's so moody all the time. You don't know why he acts like such a jerk in general to everyone.

You don't know. So why are you jumping to conclusions? Why are you judging?

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Matthew 7:1-5

Dear reader, please at least take a look at yourself before you start hating on other people. Remember that you, too, have faults. You, too, are nowhere near God's standard of perfection. Remember that He does not require anyone to be perfect, but remember too that as you go around making assumptions about other people, others are doing the same back to you, wondering why you should assume so much.

If you don't believe in God, the same truth still applies. People will judge you for judging others, and who are you, with all your faults, to be judging to begin with? Do you really see yourself as better than any of the rest of us in your morality, your actions, your ways, you with all your faults and imperfections?

I do not deny that I, too, am guilty of being judgmental. But I recognize that I am not right with people when I judge them. I am doing people, and myself, a huge disservice by judging them. Please realize that every moment you spend hating someone is a moment of your life that you toss away as though that minute of your life were meaningless to you, that it wasn't worth anything. Trust me, those minutes add up, and you'll be wondering at the end of your life what you could have done differently with all of those minutes you wasted.

Perspective and eternity

I was lying on my back gazing up at the stars the other night. It was a brisk evening, but I was warm in my hooded sweatshirt and fleece sweatpants and able to just lie there, look up at all those stars, contemplate life, all that good stuff. As I continued to lie there, I began playing around with my vision, trying to focus in order to see more stars, as many as I possibly could. What I quickly found myself realizing was that as soon as I tried to focus more on any one specific star or gathering of stars, and especially as I tried hard to stare at the sky and see all the stars, I could not see that many. When I stopped trying so hard, didn't focus on any one particular star, and simply let the view of the thousands of stars appear, they did.

Of course this is a metaphor in addition to a real experience; what else did you expect of me, Reader, especially after seeing all my previous posts? ;)

Sometimes we do get caught up in all the little things. Our focus shifts onto the worries of our lives, the in-the-moment type stuff, and it makes it hard to see the big picture and especially to live the kind of life Jesus calls us to. I probably posted this verse before, but here it is again... John 16:33 = "'I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.'" Because Jesus sacrificed His perfect self on the cross (essentially bearing a burden that we should have rightfully bore) so that we could be in a loving relationship with the Creator of the universe, we have the knowledge that He knows the sort of things we go through daily. He was God in the form of a human, taking the form specifically so that He would be able to relate to us! In addition, His sacrifice allows us to have this relationship not only here on Earth but on into eternity.

What is eternity? It's foreverness. It's existence completely outside of time itself. And you get to choose how you want to live it: With God, or without God (Heaven or Hell; that's all those two places are when you get down to it). Everything on this Earth will cease to be of importance in eternity, especially when it all passes away. Keeping a perspective on eternity, the long-run, we can see how interesting it is that humans such as myself get caught up in the everyday, oftentimes meaningless, worrisome little things. For example, I've caught myself becoming anxious regarding drama in my relationships with people, my reputation, my job, my savings, my homework...the list goes on and on!

What it's crucial to remember, however, is that while all of these things definitely have importance and significance in my life, they are all quite insignificant when compared with eternity. These things will all pass away eventually. Right here, right now, they are indeed worth something, but only for the moments that they occur in. God is eternal, and He desires for us to have peace in our hearts regarding life. Peace does not mean easiness, nor does it mean a lack of difficult times. What it means, rather, is an ease of worry.

By keeping our eyes turned towards Him, we can be reminded that there is so much more to life than all this little stuff. I fully believe and trust that one day I will be able to spend eternity with God, and that's something that brings a smile to my face and overrides small anxieties. While we do need to carry on here on Earth and continue living our lives instead of letting them stagnate as we just kick back and admire our God, we can do so while walking with Jesus by our sides, knowing that He, indeed, has overcome the world already and will always be with us through the things we do go through.