March 18, 2024
Is it safe to take an electric car through a car wash?
If it weren’t green, the save the climate crowd would ban wind turbines, solar farms and lithium batteries. Wind turbines kill whales, sea animals and nearly 1 million birds a year. Solar farms pollute waterways and their disposal constitutes an environmental hazard. It is estimated that solar panel disposal will reach a staggering 80 million tons annually. Lithium is mined by my relatives who were left behind in the Congo under horrific conditions and the batteries themselves are a fire hazard. Saving the planet through green energy is akin to the soldier in Viet Nam who said that “We had to destroy the village to save it”.
I have never believed in organized religion even as a child. I asked my bible school teacher why was there a hell. She said it was for sinners. I then asked her if anyone was in heaven.
I later asked my pastor why was there a heaven. He said it was a reward for being virtuous. Again asked if anyone was in heaven.
Later I asked my parents (Dad a good Baptist while Mother was AME) if only Christians go to heaven and Dad answered that Christian heaven was for Christians and other religions had their own heavens. I said “You mean heaven is segregated?” My parents then told me to go talk to the pastor.
My pastor essentially confirmed that each religion has its own view of the after death uniting with God. I then asked if was Christianity the only correct view and all the rest of the non-Christian world would go to hell. He demurred.
Of all the major religions only Buddhism does not have a concept of an afterlife where the soul leaves the body after death and transitions into another existence. So are the 600 million Buddhists condemned to Christian hell?
I came to the opinion while in high school that each person would transition (or not) to whatever they believed since it seems presumptuous to assume that only a few enlightened only know the truth. I remember seeing a woman with a t-shirt on that said “The Bible said it. I believe it.” I asked her what version of the Bible did she believe and she got totally confused. But if you believe in a heaven with angels, harps and cherubs strewing flowers then that will be your heaven. If you believe in hellfire and brimstone with a red devil beating you with cat-o-nine tails, then that will be your hell.
My mother would always make me blow leaves and weed eat several acres of land at the farm. I hated it so one of my hells will be to be greeted by St Peter who will have a weedeater in one hand and a leaf blower in another and condemn me to blowing leaves and whacking weeds for all eternity.
My second hell will be to have St Peter say “Welcome. You love craft beers so let me take you to my favorite brew pub.” Inside we see 38 taps of IPAs and I say “You would think in heaven there would be at least one stout” and St Peter would say “What makes you think you are in heaven?”
I hate sailboats. I love powerboats and have owned one continuously since 1971. It is that when sailboats tilt, it is time for me to get on shore. So my last hell would be stuck for eternity on a sailboat with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
What’s your hell (or hells)?
haroldblackphd.com 