Is life or death the greatest punishment? Is the possibility of hell or the certainty of nonexistence scarier? It depends on who you are and what you believe. Consistent with being a slightly (or more than slightly) strange person, I have been contemplating my mortality since I was a child. I am still less afraid of dying, if I am afraid of it at all, than I am of living. I understand that this might seem backwards to most people, but I find it quite logical.
I find humans more terrifying than death. They are capable of all manner of evil, and I would feel relieved to not fear them any longer. Contrarily, God is love. If one believes in God, then one is finally returning home.
When I was a child, I did not think of it as returning home to God since I was too unsophisticated to think of it in those terms but as my soul continuing in a different, non-earthly form. This was a comforting thought, not because I was suffering physically, but because I would simply be free of a corporeal existence and everything it entailed. Life is a great gift, but everlasting life, in whatever form, is peace – the greatest gift.
If one is Christian, one’s worst fear is likely hell (gehenom in the Jewish faith). One might also fear God’s judgment since that would be the determining factor. Perhaps I have too much confidence in gaining entry into heaven or perhaps I just trust God I would argue as one ought, but I do not fear hell nor I do I fear God’s judgment in this sense. I fear disappointing him, which is quite different. It has almost nothing to do with the afterlife and everything to do with fulfilling my purpose while living.
If one does not believe in God, one’s worst fear is likely death. In this enlightening conversation, Vidas (2020) said, “…the utmost punishment in traditional Judaism is not such eternal torments but the complete annihilation of body and soul — the lack of any type of afterlife.” In fact, this is what people who do not believe in God are contemplating – complete annihilation. They are effectively facing what I would argue is the greatest punishment. It is odd that many atheists pray (to whom or to what is unknown), but if one’s worst fear is death, i.e. oblivion, it would paradoxically increase the desire to pray.
I do not intend to write a comforting post on this topic since I am aware that my particular perspective is most likely not broadly shared. However, I put forth that one has two frameworks to choose from: heaven or hell (setting aside the concept of purgatory) to be determined by God or certain and total annihilation, body and soul, for all.
Given these two options, I think one is better off with the former framework and with the perspective that living is about purpose and death is about peace. Also, these concepts death/life and purpose/peace are really more about states: active versus still. I would also argue that the greatest punishment is in fact annihilation since it possesses neither activeness nor stillness. It is nothingness.
Yancy (2020) – https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/opinion/judaism-life-death.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
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