A terrific blog post earlier this week has me pondering the afterlife, and whether I’d live differently if I learned that heaven and hell don’t exist.
Welcome to the 127th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a simple living challenge for the week. Along with thoughts on the afterlife, this week’s edition has an update on solar panel windows, and washing clothes less often.
On my mind this week: Would you live differently if there was no afterlife?
On Thursday, blogger Edward Ortiz published the third post in his series on “The Questions We Don’t Ask—And Why They Matter”. This week’s question is a terrific one:
“If you conclude that the afterlife you believe in isn’t real, how would you alter the way you live?”
What a thought-provoking question! I read Edward’s piece, and the comments left by other readers, with much interest.
Doing the right thing for the right reasons
As a believer, I take the Christian values of love, compassion, respect, and humility seriously and try to live a life congruent with those values. I live that way because I believe living out these values makes life better during our time here on Earth—not because I think they’re a way to stamp my admission ticket to heaven or because I’m afraid I’ll go to hell if I don’t.
Many non-believers shun religion because they think all the rules get in the way of their freedom and pleasure. Part of me sees their point. Ultimately, though, when you strip all the man-made rules away, the teachings of Christ guide us to be good people today. Making it to the afterlife we believe in is a bonus.
We don’t know for sure if there’s an afterlife. But as a friend from church once said to me, “I’d rather live my life believing there is a God and find out later there isn’t, than live my life not believing and later find out that God does exist.” In a comment on Edward’s post, Wynne Leon shared a similar sentiment in this quote from Blaise Pascal:
“If I don’t believe and God exists, I have infinite loss.”
Blaise Pascal
I wouldn’t change a thing
So, if I found out tomorrow there was no such thing as heaven or hell, it wouldn’t change anything for me. I would still be guided by my Christian values and strive to make a positive impact on the world.
There is on ongoing struggle between good and evil in our world today. Many hypocrites call themselves Christians while doing evil things to their fellow human beings. My belief in the afterlife gives me some comfort in knowing there may be a special place in hell reserved just for them!
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Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- Monday was our great-niece’s 4th birthday, so we celebrated with a fun pool party.
- On Tuesday, my small group from this year’s Alpha course gathered for the first time since the course wrapped up in May. It was so wonderful to see and catch up with everyone.
- We finally got some much-needed rain after several weeks of scorching, dry temperatures. My tomatoes are grateful!
Things I learned this week
It was a quiet week on the learning front, but I did pick up this interesting nugget.
Solar panel windows
In an exciting new development in the green energy sector, Danish researcher have developed transparent solar panels that generate electricity while maintaining clear visibility.
Unlike rooftop solar panels, these solar windows work within existing window structures, significantly reducing the effort required to install them.
(Source: Happy Eco News)
This week’s simple living challenge – Wash clothes less often
Simplifying life is a big part of living more intentionally. With that in mind, I kicked off the year with 52 ways to simplify your life this year, including a downloadable checklist of weekly tasks.
In a society obsessed with cleanliness, the idea of wearing a piece of clothing more than once before washing feels wrong to many people. But those of us who live and work in clean, climate-controlled environments, can save time, money and energy by washing clothes less often. In fact, jean maker Levi Strauss suggests we can wear our jeans 10 times between washings.
I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
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Excellent answer, Michelle. I agree with you that there are many so-called “Christians” doing horrible and evil things in this world. It’s incredible. Thank you for the mention, and the Pascal quote that Wynne highlighted was awesome.
I think the way we are living our lives, based on Christian values, puts us in a position where we can accept it if the afterlife is different from what we believe.
Great information about washing clothes less. I usually wear my jeans a couple of times before washing them, except during the summer months.
Thanks for inspiring my post Edward. I agree that we’re well positioned in this life…and whatever comes next!
Yes, indeed. 🙏🏼
Probably not
I try to be a good person. Sometimes I’m not. I do it for myself, not for any possible future reward
That’s a great point, LA. I wonder if those who do nasty and evil things have any idea how good it feels to be kind to others.
Great Sunday Spark, Michelle. I loved Edward’s treatment of Dr. Stein’s question as well. Thanks for highlighting that quote from Pascal. I agree – I’d strive to make a positive impact no matter what. Great note about not washing clothes every time we wear them. You are speaking to my laundry heart – I can’t keep up if we do!
Have a great week!
Imagine what a great place the world would be if everyone thought like us, Wynne! 🤗 And yes to less laundry!
My answer would be the same as yours, Michelle. I don’t consider myself to be a profoundly religious person, although I believe in God and many of the teachings of Catholicism. I try to be a good person because I was raised that way. The “do unto others” philosophy fits my thinking. It wouldn’t change anything for me in knowing there isn’t an afterlife because we all share a responsibility to look out for the world and future generations.
Such an excellent point about how we were raised, Pete! It’s hard to break away from some of the mindsets—positive and negative—that were drilled into us as children. I always remember my dad saying we should treat others as we want to be treated and my mum is one of the best examples of service to others I’ve ever seen. I had great role models!
I wouldn’t change as well. Being good in life should be driven by bigger factors than a fear of hell.
Exactly! I think much of it comes down to the desire to be a good person and have a positive influence in the world.
Love your response to Edward’s question, Michelle. I agree – a terrific post! 💕
Thanks Vicki. Yes, it really did make me think about our motivations to do good. I think some people are just wired for good deeds. Enjoy your Sunday, my friend!
You, too! 🥰❤️🥰