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The source of human value
The fourteenth (and almost final) post in a series exploring “what is good about Christianity.” My answer to that question generally is: it is good because it is true. (If you read the last post you might see I am saying that if it is true, it is also beautiful.) But here I am not talking about whether it is true or not. The question is what good would be lost should it prove to be untrue.
The proposition defended in this post:
It is better to believe that each individual life is of immense value and is worthy of preservation than to to believe in the disappearance of the human self.
What happens to us when we die? That is perhaps the biggest question of all. The evolution of homo sapiens from a pre-human to a human may be defined by a specific moment in time, perhaps a year, perhaps a century, when the proto-humans became aware enough of themselves to fully grasp the nature of death. That self-awareness is unique among all species. Throughout history we have had many different answers to that most fundamental of questions. Today, the answer rather sharply divides those who are devoted to the atheistic-physicalist belief system that dominates our cultural drivers today and those who leave room for “something more.”
The fact that over 90% of Americans believe in some form of an afterlife while accepting almost everything…
