a rabbi, a priest and a vicar walk into a bar. annalisa told me that judaism believes that all jews make it into heaven. however, there are apparently different levels of heaven. the better you do on earth, the better the heaven you get to go to. there's like a VIP heaven, a normal heaven and a bathroom heaven (with angelic attendents of course). if this is correct then where is the incentive to become a better person? without the threat of eternal damnation why bother going through the motions? why not convert, live the way you want to live and be assured of a guest list spot into the holiest of holies?



this kind of bothers me and it seems like a cheapened version of what religion is supposed to be about. if there is no institutionalized motivating force to improve oneself and do the right thing then why bothering trying? the VIP heaven can't be that much better than the bathroom heaven. once you're in eternal bliss you're eternally blissful. eternal bliss squared might be better but it can't be by that much.



now, if this were to be true (i want to research this idea first), i would be inclined to choose one of the other abramic religions. if you're gonna carry a stick you might as well make sure it's a big one. none of this "everyone gets in" business.



what appeals to me about eastern religions/philosophies is the idea that you're not necessarily doomed if you don't follow their ways. one can search for enlightenment or whatever but that is more of a personal escape. if you don't want to do it then there are no hellish consequences. this means to me that if one followed the precepts of an eastern religion, the purpose would be to improve oneself, to find a way to live correctly and morally in this earthly life. but, if you don't care about correctly and morally you can just indulge in hedonistic fun and rot all the same. and if you don't mind living this life, reincarnation probably isn't a terrible end. however, without a barrier to entry and consequences to actions, would anyone really care who died for whom and sacrificed for what? if all that separates admittance into heaven and hell is mere belief with no righteous action, then why act righteously?