In Love

A World Without Evil is Possible!

You could, of course, take away laws and police and jails and prisons, but evil would be gone in name only. You could take away everyone's weapons, but it would be easy to make more. You could scare people straight with fear of God, or rather fear of his agent the devil, who is the reason people fear hell. God doesn't want there to be a hell, or anyone to suffer there, or for the devil to have anyone to punish. But freedom is God's gift, so villainy remains a possibility, and therefore hell is necessary. Nothing lasts forever, but a thousand years of hell sure would seem like it. Humans only live a hundred years, give or take, but the promise of thousands (or millions) of years of bliss in a heavenly afterlife is a powerful incentive. If this were made clear, no one would ever cross God again. If the pain of hell were made evident, and the bliss of heaven made known, everyone would be perfect angels.

But only if the mind of God were known, his rules clear, and the law of what resulted in heavenly reward or hellish punishment perfectly understood, by all of humanity, in all cultures, and in all languages, for all time. But instead we have lawyers. We have politicians, in parties. Happy criminals, and miserable kindly folk. We have a mess. We have mortality, and little to no belief in an immortal soul, and heroin bliss and soldier hell, as well as thousands of gods, and even more devils.

What to do? Keep people separated into their own private, exclusionary utopias. A heaven of every flavor, something for everyone. People are different, and enjoy different things. But I am God, and this is what I want: no hell. Truly, heaven is simply not being in hell. If you've ever been there, you know what I mean. It doesn't have to mean heroin and sex on a tropical island. Masochists have their own little world of happy pain. But the rest of us are happy with friends and endorphins and restaurants and movies and music and hiking and camping and sex and comedy and tv and internet and magic and sports. Plays and museums and leisurely strolls through parks and people-watching and naps and libraries full of endless worlds of creativity and imagination.

Maximized happiness would entail no threats (security), universal healthcare (including free gyms), a social safety net guaranteeing a certain level of comfort (no homeless), and of course literacy, to enjoy the entire oeuvre of current and historical escapist delights. Nature and horseback riding, staying warm and dry in the rain, or sunbathing, or splashing around in a pool, or relaxing in a hot tub, or poetry readings, or listening to Joe Frank, or learning/teaching, or making crafts, or getting a massage, or going sailing, or maybe even besting an enemy in combat. Look good, feel good. Early to bed and early to rise. In love. Love is really everything, the last word: loving, loved, in love. Heaven and hell, in binary, comes down to the difference between Torture vs. Love-Bliss. Have a nice day, and a pleasant tomorrow, and may all your christmases be white! No evil=love! 

(in love=no evil, same letters :-)