Why can one believe that we survive death?
The human mind survives bodily death because subjective consciousness is not part of objective physical reality.
Also, because each mind has the ability to shape itself in a way that transcends the natural effects of ‘nature and nurture’.
This is possible because human beings have an inner freedom of moral choice that makes us responsible for who we are.
How is life after death
Swedenborg, as well as spiritual communicators, describe a non-physical realm of consciousness after death.
The environment after death is a projection of internal thoughts and feelings.
Time and space obey psychological rules rather than physical ones.
The individual wakes up in a spiritual body with sensations and movement.
The character of one’s mind determines the quality of one’s environment in the afterlife.
Individual character does not change with death.
Our individual mind reflects the character we have become before we die.
Our individual character is formed from the pattern of intentions that we choose during bodily life.
The inner character of a person can be seen in the light of divine truth, but it is not recognized in the darkness of self-righteousness.
Those with an altruistic character are separated from those with an egoistic character.
During the afterlife, those with basic good intentions go through experiences that remove their wrong ways of thinking so that they live in the light.
Rational understanding is eliminated in those who are basically egocentric.
In the afterlife, one associates with those with a similar character to one’s own who will be like-minded.
In the afterlife, how people want to live limits their happiness
When you yearn for what you want for yourself, there can only be restlessness and frustration because others want the same thing.
When everyone is like this, there is rivalry and no sense of shared community.
However, selfish people are only happy when they try to get their way.
However, a deeper kind of happiness arises from focusing our minds on the needs of others and fulfilling some useful function.
If the light of truth were to shine on the life that selfish people have chosen for themselves, they would suffer anguish and want to hide.
Those of a selfish character stay in their selfish state
During the afterlife, selfish people prefer to continue delusions of self-justification.
Only when the light of truth sometimes shines do they recognize their selfish character which is reflected in their ugly distorted features.
So they want to go back to their normal state where they don’t have to honestly face themselves for who they are.
Universal compassion wants to turn such people away from their selfish state of life, but not if it means taking away their freedom to choose the life they want.
conclusion
If we live after death, then we should live differently here and now. By improving our lives on earth, we can improve our circumstances in the afterlife. The longing for mundane things closes the door to the spiritual. Not indulging in worldly and bodily pleasures makes more room for deeper experiences. The afterlife of the spirit is not only accessible after death. It is also a real dimension of the here and now that we can become more aware of through meditation and reflection.
What Christian mistakes are made about life after death?
If what we are saying is true, then there are some Christian errors in thinking about the next life.
1: It is a mistake to believe that at some point after death, one’s existing physical body will be resurrected.
Although the churches widely taught this in the past, no geographer or astronomer has ever located a heavenly paradise or an infernal hell. It is one of the Christian errors to assume that the afterlife is a physical place where one will live in a physical body resurrected from this life on earth.
As I have described, Swedenborg says that after death we wake up in a spiritual, non-physical body. This spiritual body can see, hear, and smell, as well as think and feel. Consequently, the ‘spirit world’ follows psychological rules rather than physical ones.
2: It is not true that hell is an eternal punishment for a life badly lived.
The old idea in Europe was that if I have been a bad person, I will ‘rot in hell’. These days, however, the image of such a place of endless torture is very dubious. However, Christians still view the afterlife as a reward for good people and eternal punishment for bad people.
I would like to say that this teaching is not strictly accurate. It is true that it has the advantage of showing the importance of how we choose to live our lives. But I think it wrongly implies a process of judgment by a higher divine power; a deity thought to condemn certain people to eternal damnation. I don’t see how a loving God could adopt such an attitude by doling out rewards and punishments in this way.
An alternative view that I have presented is more associated with the idea of self-determination. The quality of life that is experienced will not be a reward for good behavior or a punishment for bad behavior during life. The afterlife state of each person will simply be a continuation of the type of life they led before death. We are the ones who cut ourselves off from the sphere of loving-kindness when we adopt self-centered ways.
3: It is a mistake to assume that hell is for those who lack religious beliefs
The account of an afterlife that I have given challenges the old Christian idea that getting into heaven is simply a matter of believing in God and going to confession when the time comes.
4: It is a mistake to think that an almighty God of love will rescue those who have paid the price for their sins
A loving God would certainly want everyone to be at peace, contentment, and joy. But this can only result from generosity of spirit, consideration for others, and other virtues of a selfless person. This is the divine hope for all. But by giving us the freedom to live as we want, God allows us to sabotage God’s plan, and tragically, many people do. Hence one of the statements about hell of the Roman Catholic Church:
“a state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed”.
Swedenborg affirms that, however, God’s compassion will do what it can. The power of love continually tries to lead people, if they so desire, away from the sadness of selfishness into the heavenly joy of kindness and compassion. However, if they were to cling to their egoism, then all that can be done is to try to bring them from a more painful hellish state to a milder one.
I would say that it is a kindness of a loving God to allow those who are not willing to give up their selfishness and all related evil desires to escape the light of justice. Because if they were continuously exposed to it, the light of truth would produce continuous discomfort.
The Lord protects those who are not ready to change. If they did, then they can go back to their old ways and be worse.
“Otherwise they will see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:10)
In reality, Swedenborg says, in the afterlife, people are as happy as possible given the way they want to live. Unfortunately, selfish people are only happy when they are trying to get their way.