"The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this:
that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed;
but a thing created is loved before it exists."
- Charles Dickens
A friend of mine, thinking about hell, said: "You know, I think it would be worse if I didn't exit! I think that eternal suffering in fire is BETTER than not existing."
I think my friend is at the very front doorstep to wisdom. I've even heard semi-famous Christian talkshow hosts say the same thing, that "not being" is worse than eternal suffering. Because think about it, say you don't make it, and you find that God is very merciful, and instead of torturing you forever, you are obliterated in a moment, gone in a flash of fire, less than dust, more insubstantial than ash. Poof.
Those you love, those that make it. Perhaps in a million years from now, will they remember you? I mean, you do not exist. You have been wiped from all of
eternity. The "you" of you? Gone, less than a whisper. Time heals all wounds, but you are gone, and those you love, those living for eternity in bliss, they someday will forget you, and then you really will be gone.
Think about it. It is difficult to wrap your noodle around this concept. Being gone. Not existing. My friend and "Bible Answermen" would choose eternal torment in its place, all for the blessing of existence!
Man wants to exist. Man cringes and huddles in the corner at the thought of disappearing. Man does not wish to vanish. LIFE at ALL cost. Please.
Keep me alive. Torture me, just don't annihilate me. I want to exist, even in pain -- we, simple creatures, invent many things to escape TRUTH.
- Oz Moses
