Heaven Can Wait

@jen_jen wrote:

I have what you might call a new age gift shop…to the local Christian community, who seem to think they have a god-given right to sit in judgement of me, that means that I must be Wiccan, Pagan or a Heathen. I have actually had printers refuse to do my printing “because of what you represent”. On Saturday just gone I had a local Christian actually leave his toddler in a buggy outside my shop (it’s a main thoroughfare) to come in and tell me about how Christ was the only way to heaven and all that I believed in and represented was just smoke and mirrors, an illusion that would stop me passing through the gates of heaven. He ranted for 10 minutes with his back to the shop window and oblivious to his child sitting outside. He only stopped when I asked him where he worked.
“Why do you want to know?” he asked.
“So I can come to see you at your workplace on my day off and tell you all about my religious beliefs” I replied.
“I don’t need to know about the devil, I see him every day” he replied and walked out.

I only talk about my faith and beliefs with people who ask and are genuinely interested, yet I am constantly judged and condemned by Christians, Jehovah s Witnesses, Mormons and more recently the Scientologists that set up their stall in town…hiding their identity but everyone knew who they were.

According to all these people, the only way to heaven is through their faith, their chosen prophet or figurehead, and that seems to give them the right to judge others. They seem flummoxed when I ask whether Mahatma Gandhi went to heaven or hell, or where they think the Dalai Lama will go and so on. My final answer is “there is only one that can judge me and I will happily answer to the One when the time comes.”

There are many roads to the same destination, your road is right for you, my road is right for me but as long as we travel our roads with love and compassion for our fellow man, help each other where we can and do no harm, then we will have lived a good life and be prepared for whatever we each believe comes afterwards or if we believe there is nothing, then with the knowledge that we lived the best life we could.

2 quotes that I like from Mahatma Gandhi:

“God has no religion”

“For me, the different religions are beautiful flowers from the same garden, or they are branches of the same majestic tree. Therefore they are equally true, though being received and interpreted through human instruments equally imperfect.”

that’s really interesting, Jen. The behaviour of the man – a born-again nut? – seems very typical of discussion these days on both sides of teh divide.

I think there has to be a balance between reason and faith, reflecting a balance between history and theology. I’ll debate and disagree with anybody, but as soon a you deny the right of the other to have different opinions, then you’re entering totalitarian territory.

Incidentally I am not Wiccan, Pagan or a Heathen…just in case anyone was wondering :lol:

You do not need to follow an organised religion to have faith, and you don’t have to have faith to follow an organised religion.

I do believe in a higher energy or being (although I prefer to think of it as central rather than higher). I do believe that we are all connected to this higher energy and via this higher energy…we are not separate from it or from each other. I do believe that this higher energy is one of love and compassion and not fear and judgementalism. And I believe that this connection continues after death, our energy or our soul or whatever label you wish to give it continues and it is this that enables us, in “spirit”, to have contact with and help those still in their earthly bodies.

I once had a visit from the mother of a therapist who was working from the shop. I had already been told that I would probably never meet this woman as she was a West Indian Catholic which apparently is “worse than Irish Catholics!” and that she would be against everything in my shop and never step over the threshold. I felt this was a great shame as her 3 year old granddaughter was a natural and intuitive healer and I suspected this might be quashed in a wave of religious fervour. This very upright and quite intimidating woman walked around the shop with pursed disapproving lips until she stopped at my shop counter. We had a discussion about her granddaughter (I won’t go into that here, it adds little to the topic) and then she said “I suppose you believe in spirits too.” I replied that yes I did and just got a very disapproving “hmmmmmm”. Then somehow I found myself asking:
“Mrs C, your faith is very important to you isn’t it?”
“Oh yes, it is indeed” she beamed…I swear she lit up from inside.
“And when you die, will you go to heaven do you think?”
“Oh yes, I certainly hope so if God finds me worthy.”
“You have a lovely daughter and a lovely granddaughter and you obviously love them very much.”
“Oh yes, with all my heart.” she beamed again.
“So when you die and you go to heaven, is that it?”
“What do you mean?” narrowed eyes.
“Well you go through those pearly gates and you never look back? You forget about this life and the loved ones you’ve left behind and never look back? Or do you? If you could look back and see your loved ones, if you could reach out and help them, wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t the bonds of love transcend death or do they all just disappear? Why is it such a leap of faith to think that might be possible?”
Then the words stopped, I had no idea where they had come from and was suddenly uncertain, thinking that I might have said too much.

Then this proud, tall, imposing West Indian lady pulled herself up to her full 5ft 11 height (I’m 5ft 1.5!), looked down her nose at me, nostrils flaring and I thought “oh oh now you’ve done it!”…then she softened, smiled and said “thank you young lady, you’ve given me something to think about today.” As she left I breathed a huge sigh of relief and thanked the powers that be for guiding me!

To me it isn’t such a huge leap of faith. Our connectivity doesn’t die when our earthly bodies die, we don’t disappear completely only physically, and our energy, our souls, our love goes on.

Awwwww sorry….passes the tissues….

Thanks for the post jen, see i told you was an interesting topic to discuss, its odd as i don’t actually follow a singular religion but have a singular deep faith, whereever that takes me, i agree with alot of faiths some more than others,but also disagree with parts of all, i’m a religious nomad always searching for a final stop :D

Conceptually speaking – it’s all in your mind :o