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Originally Posted by noa949
I embrace the fact that when I die, the particles that make up my body will be incorporated back into the planet and that I can contribute to life in another form. I am thankful every day that I get to experience humanity, but I know that my mortality is an important facet of that experience, and rather than hope that there is something beyond for my 'soul' or my 'self', I choose to embrace the inevitability that there is something beyond for my body.
I have a hard time believing in heaven or hell because these notions were invented by humans, and while some claim this is divinely inspired, who is to say which divine inspiration is correct? How do we know that Greek myths weren't divinely inspired, or Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife?
I believe that the Judeo-Christian beliefs in eschatology and heaven and hell are a result of the Israelites contact with Zoroastrians and other surrounding peoples, not because God sent his divine inspiration to tell a select few about the realities of heaven and hell.
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Interesting response. Some valid points too.
I'll repost what I said to Dave:
For the record, those many of us who are practicing Christians, but at heart really deists....and we simply find Christianity a convenient, and useful avenue, through which we can pursue a spiritual life. I'm not trying to speak for others, but in candid and in-depth conversations with other "Christians" many will admit as much when pressed on the issue.
You simply reject the choice we have chosen, perhaps because of some aversion or bad experience with institutionalized religion. Many practicing Christians also have "questions" about the precise nature and character of God--they (we) just choose a convenient and culturally, easy, path to satisfying our spiritual needs.