Secular Maps
People who have opted out of participation in traditional religious activities, nonetheless, persist in affirming an afterlife.
But what do those non-religious folks believe?
One popular option could be the heaven described in books about near-death experiences. Beginning with the 1975 publication of Raymond Moody’s book, Life After Life, [1] accounts of near-death experiences (NDE’s) have routinely become best-sellers. NDE’s are characterized by testimonies about feeling peace, entering a realm of light, communicating with other beings – and then returning to this life, usually in the midst of a medical emergency[2]
The prospect of a joyful afterlife might console us, but that points to the real problem of these NDE’s. In this NDE–type of heaven, all is bliss and light – no matter what you did in life, however evil or destructive. NDE’s portray a heaven where what we do never matters.
Belief in an NDE-heaven is devoid of any moral implications for our life today.
So, in keeping with this inconsequential belief, we have inconsequential rituals. We have memorial services where there’s hardly a whiff of religion – “celebrations of life” that are like a Rotary luncheon, with speakers honoring the deceased, but no mention of God. No prayers are offered for the grieving, no calls are made for us to examine our souls, no reflections offered on eternal life and its meaning for today. Some religious songs might be sung, like “Amazing Grace,” but their sacred references are washed out by the secular setting.
These are the hollow rites of the Church of NDE’s.
If the validity of a map lies in how it guides our actions today, these NDE maps are – at best—mere sentimental consolation.
The Wilderness Around the Corner
Here’s a story, tragically too common, that demands a religious map.
As you were dressing for another day at school back in 2006, just around the corner a crime was being discovered. A family had been murdered inside their own tidy, suburban home. By afternoon it became public knowledge that the victims numbered a single mother and her two teenage sons, one a classmate of Erik’s at Meadow Park Middle School.[3]
Around three o’clock you both came home. Siri reported that, as classes ended at her grade school, the principal had announced over the intercom that the teachers were each to explain to their pupils about “what had happened.”
Siri now looked at me and asked, “Mommy, Mrs. Hansen said there were no children killed. Right?”
My face crumbled. I could hardly get out the words and tell her the awful truth. And then came her next question: “Why?”
What would you tell a child, facing evil so close to home? “I’m sorry dear, but bad things just sort of happen to nice people”? That “life is random and cruel”? That “children can be gunned down in their hallway, ending their lives too soon”? That “there is no final justice”?
I defy you to raise a child with such a worldview.
(To be continued July 28, Chapter Eight: Episode 33)
To Eight Trails readers: Does this post suggest a moment you’ve experienced and, perhaps, a photo you took? Share your reflections and photos with me by clicking “reply” to this emailed post. I would be delighted to include them in new posts — of course, crediting you!
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Life-After-Bestselling-Investigation-Experiences/dp/006242890X
[2]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10158795/#:~:text=There%20are%20common%20features%20such,realm%2C%E2%80%9D%20and%20communicating%20with%20%E2%80%9C
[3]https://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/2006/12/previous_stories_about_the_dea_2.html
Thanks, Deb, for your careful reading. I'll respond to these questions next Sunday, Episode 33.
Tough questions!