6. Is there life after death? Explain
This one is complicated for me and you can blame my parents. As much as I like taking things on faith, as much as faith in the unexplained is important to me, as much as I believe in God who can’t be proven in any empirical way, I simply can’t take life after death on faith. I don’t spend much time thinking about what happens after we die and I have no particular hope that anything happens after we die. I remember very clearly as a young child crying about death and my father very calmly and kindly explaining that I wouldn’t feel anything and there was nothing to worry about. I must have been about 5. That idea was reinforced in my household. I hear people who don’t believe in God hardly at all talk about how they just can’t accept that they won’t be reunited with loved ones after death. Even they can wrap their heads around an afterlife, albeit one without God. And I just can’t. Deep down I believe 80% that this life is it and 20% that there will be a Judgment Day. I don’t believe what I believe about God because of that 20%. I don’t do a thing because I fear judgment or feel hopeful about a reward. I live the way I live because I believe that what we do matters. It matters for our own potential for continued growth, and for our potential for good and for evil. It matters to the people in our lives. It matters to our communities. And it matters to God. But once again not necessarily because I think there’s anything after this life.
7. What about heaven and hell? Explain
So, I believe 20% in Judgment Day. What is the implication for heaven and hell? I’m jut not sure. The easy way out would be to fall back on UU thinking. The Universal part of Unitarian Universalism holds that all people will be allowed into the presence of God. That God’s mercy is sufficient for all human beings. That there is no hell. As long as I don’t know, I think I’ll go with that. Islam is also pretty huge on God’s mercy and I’m good to take that to the extreme.
8. Do you believe in salvation, then? If so, what is it?
I’m going to try to answer this question without looking up a dictionary definition of salvation. Because, really? I could use one about now. I’m going to say that salvation is God’s mercy and protection for your soul
9. What about human nature? Do you believe in original sin?
I don’t believe in original sin. I think we’re responsible for what we do and only for what we do. And that we are accountable to God and our fellow human beings in this lifetime for how we behave. I don’t believe that human nature is basically good or evil but that we are all capable of both and that we all engage in both good and evil actions. UUs tends to think we’re getting better all the time (took me a while to realize they think that. They’re just endlessly optimistic.)
10. Do you believe in sin at all? Explain
I definitely believe in sin and have no trouble at all with that word or the concept. I believe that sin is intentionally harming other people or the environment. My greatest source of guilt is my half-hearted efforts at recycling.
11. What is your idea of Ultimate Reality?
This is a concept that comes up a lot with UUs but I have no idea what they mean by it.
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