On Dennis Prager's radio show today, he invited comment on his axiom: "If there is a God, and if He is just, then of course there is both heaven and hell (or if you prefer, ultimate reward and ultimate punishment)."
One caller said his position is that even the "bad" stuff that happens is, in fact, good. So Dennis offered him a hypothetical. "Let's say a family is burned to death in their home by some monster of a human being, that would be good?"
The guy said, "Yes, because they pay in this life for their sins of their previous life." He believes in reincarnation.
Dennis suggested that this perspective would prevent people from being sympathetic to human suffering, and then it was time for the commercials.
He's right, and then some. If you take the view that the burned-up people deserved what they got, then why would we bother to have firefighters? Shouldn't we let the people burn? Wouldn't the firefighters just get in the way of these people getting what they should? If the people are saved from the fire, calamity would just have to come their way on another day.
And shouldn't we get rid of the police and the military too, and let chaos run rampant, because wouldn't that be the best way to make sure everyone pays for their sins?
Let's pretend this caller decides one day to beat up his wife. Did she deserve it because of her past life? If she did, how did he know? How is he able to decide what punishment other people should get? But if she didn't deserve it, then he's going to be punished in his next life for having beat her up. But how is it "good" for her in this life?
This guy's point of view is, as Prager said, an excuse for a lack of compassion. We can look the other way when people suffer, because it's forging better things for their future, and the more they suffer now, the better off they'll be in the long run.
It's disgusting. I'm so glad I believe in the simplicity and logic of heaven and hell.
4 comments:
Amen!
Dennis, Michael Medved & Hugh are a few of the things I miss about Cleveland. Talk radio stinks here, unless you're a Buckeye sports fan.
Janice,
You can try listening online at kcbq.com or krla870.com
I enjoy Dennis a lot but I don't always get to hear his show.
I have always had a vague uneasiness about the reincarnation idea. With this post, I now have in hand a tangible reason why the idea bugs me.
Ideas have consequences so it isn't surprising that hospitals, schools, social services are often set up by Jewish and Christian groups.
A culture built on the foundation of reincarnation would not have much motivation to do likewise.
Thanks for sharing the post!
Rene,
I know a couple people who are Hindu or Sikh, and they're amongh the sweetest, most generous people I know, so I don't want to paint too broad a brush on reincarnation's believers. My comments were about what this one guy said on Dennis's show and where his comments lead.
My guess is that the Eastern religions have a concept that accounts for undeserved suffering and this guy was just latching onto the parts of the believe he liked best.
When individuals take a religion and interpret its tenets in a way that allows them to ignore (and even approve of) the suffering of others, then they've gone beyond the realm of normal human feeling. The guy's comments were repulsive.
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