If Heaven Exists Then Why Weren't We Born There? | Unveiled (+Mystery Ep.)

<h4>

If Heaven Exists, then Why Weren’t We Born There?</h4>

According to multiple religions, if all goes well then you’ll end up in Heaven after you die. An ethereal paradise where nothing bad ever happens, everything is exactly as you’d like it, and you might even get to rub shoulders with saints, gods and celestial beings. From the Elysian Fields of Greek mythology to the golden streets of Christian lore, it’s quite the place! But, for those who don’t follow a religion, it can be a little difficult to imagine. All while Heaven, in general, is at the center of an endless stream of philosophical problems and potential paradoxes.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; if Heaven exists, then why weren’t we born there?

Hands up if you haven’t heard of Heaven. There’s probably not that many of you. It’s a universal, ubiquitous concept that likely everyone on Earth is at least aware of, in one guise or another. Of course, the precise definition of Heaven changes depending upon the belief system through which it’s viewed. And obviously not everyone believes in Heaven. But still, it’s an idea (an idea without any kind of empirical evidence) that the whole of humankind is familiar with. 

Nevertheless, there’s also a long list of seeming issues that have been used to question its existence. One of the most common arguments against Heaven is the "problem of evil”. If Heaven is a place of perfect goodness and happiness, how can it coexist with the evil and suffering that does exist in the world? If God is all-powerful and benevolent, why would he create a place in which innocent people suffer and die? Similarly, there’s the “problem of Hell”, which debates whether Heaven is ever truly possible if the knowledge of that other place, Hell, remains? How good can any higher realm ever really be if you’re even aware of another place that’s spilling over with fire and sin?

Along a slightly different track, there’s the "problem of free will”. If Heaven is a place where everyone’s perfectly happy and content, then does that in itself mean that people have no free will? And then, if they have no choice but to be happy, does that truly make them happy?

Finally, and more specifically to today’s question, there’s the "problem of Heaven's capacity". Here, if Heaven’s a place where everyone who’s ever lived will eventually go, how can it possibly be big enough to accommodate us all? If it can accommodate us all, then how enjoyable would such a busy place ever really be? And, then, if it does have infinite capacity, then why wasn't everyone just created there in the first place, instead of being born within the limited confines of Earth and having to "earn" their way into the endless wonder of Heaven?

So, let’s get into it. First, and broadly, many philosophers have argued that these paradoxes and problems can be resolved simply by understanding Heaven as a state of mind rather than a physical place. They suggest that Heaven is a metaphor for the experience of perfect happiness and fulfillment, which can be achieved in this life or, depending on your beliefs, in the afterlife.

Meanwhile, others have proposed that Heaven is a place that we create for ourselves through our actions and choices; and that this act of creation is intrinsically tied into why it’s so unimaginably good for so long as we live as we do. By living a life of virtue and compassion, we can create a "heaven” that’s actually reliant on our own free will (rather than it simply being a place that God made for good people in general). In turn, this could be why we aren’t just automatically born there; because we need to create it for it to be good. And perhaps there’s some logic here, although of course still no actual proof of anything.

There’s a darker side, however, as to some degree it ties into a wider field of thought known as Irenaean theodicy, or more commonly the soul-making theodicy. This is a proposed solution to the problem of evil… suggesting that while evil exists, God is neither responsible for (nor guilty of) its existence. Instead, evil is a seeming necessity as part of a process to develop the soul ready for Heaven. It can be an extremely controversial take, as some have understood it to justify suffering; a clearly very dangerous idea. A scene in the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s final novel, “The Brothers Karamazov”, has before been highlighted as capturing the terrible balance. In it, one character asks another whether he would enable eternal happiness in mankind if the only way to do so were to torture an innocent child. The other character replies that he wouldn’t. 

Bringing it back to the concept of Heaven specifically, and while it perhaps makes sense that people can create their own Heavens based on their actions, the implication that evil  exists in order to shape that is… disturbing. Again, how can Heaven be good if it needs the bad to compare against? Zooming further out, why would we be born in this place where evil does exist, simply to make our way to a better place where it doesn’t? In many ways, couldn’t even that existence of evil make Heaven impossible?

Another, seemingly more straightforward possibility is that when we die we actually enter into a state of non-existence. This is what’s known as the Eternal Oblivion Theory, a popular idea among atheists in particular. It says that, after death, our consciousness simply ceases to exist; that we return to the same state of nothingness that we were in before we were born. From the point of view of Heaven, however, the prospect of eternal oblivion places an interesting spin on things. Because suddenly, with nothing to come afterwards, Heaven actually only exists in the here-and-now. If it does exist, then it only exists for us as we are.

So, what if in fact we were born into Heaven? What if this is it? Bizarrely, it’s something that has been suggested before; that Earth is Heaven itself. Advocates argue that the beauty and wonder of the natural world, the love and compassion that we share with others, and the moments of pure joy that anyone can experience at any time… are all evidence that we’re already living in paradise. If true, then the purpose of life isn’t to earn our way into Heaven, but to appreciate and enjoy what’s already here. It’s a perspective that could lead to a more grateful and fulfilling life, as well as to a deeper sense of responsibility for this world and the people in it. 

But, of course, not everyone’s buying it. And far from it. For many, if this is Heaven then it’s simply terrible, and we’ve gotten our understanding of it all wrong. Clearly, we have war, famine, injustice; crime and punishment; lies and manipulation. Where do any of those feature in a true Heaven? How can any of those be explained? Again, we’re back to those opening paradoxes; the problems of evil and hell. And ultimately, if this were Heaven, or indeed if this were any kind of afterlife, then why do we eventually die our way out of it? 

Still, the overall question of whether or not Heaven exists is a matter of faith. There is no scientific evidence to prove or disprove it, and each person must decide for themselves what they believe. More broadly, however, the idea that Heaven is a state of mind that we can create for ourselves might, in particular, be a powerful and transformative one. Whatever anyone thinks of Heaven, it’s a point of view that puts it within reach for everyone… which may be comforting or inspiring.

The problems of evil, hell and free will simply cannot be ignored, though. Many religions pitch life on Earth as something of a test, proposing that the struggles and trials of living are all part of our journey toward eventual perfection. But the argument against asks; how can that be? If an existence without suffering is available, then why aren’t we offered it from the beginning? If Heaven exists, then why weren’t we born there?

For now, perhaps the only takeaway is that we should all try our best to enjoy this life above all, and to help others to enjoy it, as well. At times it can feel like an impossible dream, but there is always hope and kindness; love and art; beauty and laughter. In this world even without another place beyond.

What happens after we die? It’s a big question, and one of the most popular answers is that we go to Heaven… and that Heaven is pure paradise. Think of the best, most agreeable, most enjoyable place you can imagine, and that’s what we’re dealing with here. Everything is good, nothing goes wrong, and it all goes on for eternity. But… how can that be?

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; what if Heaven is terrible?

For today’s video, we’re not debating whether Heaven does or doesn’t exist. We’re not especially concerned with the form it takes (if it does exist), either. And we’re not about to tell you how to get there! We have covered most of these topics in other videos, though, so be sure to check them out after this!

But, for today, we’re more simply imagining that Heaven is a place where people go after they die. For every one person in this life, there’s the possibility of one more soul (or spirit, or consciousness) in Heaven. We know that broadly speaking, the promise of an afterlife provides comfort, guidance and focus to millions on Earth. But statistically speaking, it triggers a bit of a headache.

First of all, who gets in? There’s potentially a huge population issue. If we take just the modern human as having even a chance of entry into Heaven, we’re casting our net up to 300,000 years back across history.Even the most conservative estimates claim that around 100 billion people have lived on Earth during this time - roughly 7.8 billion of which are alive today. That means that even if only half of everyone who’s ever lived gets into Heaven, there’s around 50 billion people there. Say the figure is more like eighty percent, and that’s 80 billion souls all in one place. 

When you imagine paradise, do you see 80 billion people? Or would you rather it be a little quieter? 

Consider, too, that the population of Heaven will have started to spike in recent years, in line with the fairly spectacular figures we’ve seen down here on Earth. In the year 1800, the global population was around 1 billion. By 1900, it had grown to about 1.6 billion. By 1950, it was 2.5 billion. And then the figure truly took off, so that by the year 2000 it was at more than 6 billion… and today, in 2021, we’re speeding ever closer toward the 8 billion people mark. 

The effects of this recent, rapid change are continually debated and analysed by experts in the modern world… but, in Heaven, the effects are pretty simple. There are more people than ever, and they need to make way for more people still (at an increasing rate) every single year. In 1950, there were 50 million annual deaths in the global population. Today it’s up to 58 million - a relatively small increase, you might say. But projections by Our World In Data say that by the year 2050, we could be past 90 million deaths per annum. Whoever’s keeping the books in the afterlife, then, is about to see their workload skyrocket! And, again, it could be argued that this doesn’t tally with the stereotypical image of Heaven being a peaceful and harmonious place. Really, it’s less bliss and more bustle. Less serene and more, well, stressful.

But perhaps we shouldn’t get too bogged down in the numbers? Heaven, after all, is endless and eternal… so it’s a good bet that it can handle any number of occupants. Indeed, the more the merrier, because a busy Heaven means that less souls will have wound up in that dark, miserable and fiery other place - Hell, or the underworld. So, let’s imagine that you’re a soul departed from this mortal plain, but your ticket into Heaven is stamped and verified. It’s a little louder than you might have anticipated, yes, but otherwise it’s all good. Now, to find your friends, family and loved ones.

But here lies another potential pitfall with how Heaven would actually work. What if one of the people you had been expecting to meet up with… actually isn’t there. Or, perhaps even worse, what if it’s impossible to recognise them in amongst the celestial, angelic crowd?

As we’re dealing with a broad version of Heaven in this video, there are no set rules for getting in. But we know that there are variations of these rules between religions and belief systems on Earth. Thereby, in some instances, you might be permitted entry via one religion, but denied it by another… and, so, your fate hangs in the balance until such point as it’s revealed to you which rules were the right ones. That is, until such point as you’ve died. What happens, then, if for whatever reason your best friend doesn’t get in? It would be bad enough for them, naturally, but also terrible for you because you’d be facing eternity without someone who’s important to you. So, how could Heaven ever be that enjoyable under these circumstances?

There’s also the issue of perfection. Many versions of Heaven include that those inhabiting it are either already perfect souls, or they’re elevated to become perfect souls. But could this state of invariable perfection actually cause more harm than good? Mightn’t it take away individual traits and personalities, for example? And for anywhere to ever be considered truly perfect, would this mean that even the concept of Hell will have had to have vanished, too? 

Universal salvation is one way around that last question, wherein everyone is saved and sent to Heaven regardless of their Earthly deeds. God reconciles with all, and everyone ends up happy. But, with such complete happiness already in the bag, one question asked by sceptics of Heaven is… what would motivate the souls that inhabit it? What would inspire them, or even please them? And, as a result, would they even need such ties as friendship and family? Amongst some of the harshest criticisms levelled at the idea of Heaven is that, according to some, it might not even be possible to employ free will there… because that would risk imperfection. And, so, can a place where free will doesn’t exist ever be that great?

And all of this is before we’ve considered whether it’s only humans that get into Heaven? Is there also a place for pets, for example? If there isn’t, then wouldn’t it be imperfect from the outset (from a pet-owner’s point of view)? And why stop at just domesticated cats and dogs? Say you’re a naturalist and you’ve dedicated your living years to saving pandas. If there aren’t pandas in Heaven, then wouldn’t you be a bit… disappointed. Or, say you spent your life as an explorer passionate about the Arctic Circle. If you were asked, you’d probably like Heaven to have polar bears, rough seas and extremely cold temperatures… but none of those descriptors really fit the bill for what we’re usually told Heaven will be like. Again, there’s argument that all eternal bliss would really achieve is stripping us of what makes us… us. But there’s also the problem of physicality, here.

Across almost all versions of Heaven, we accept that we’ll be inescapably leaving our physical bodies behind. So, even in an afterlife where free will does still exist, and we are still motivated and capable of seeking out loved ones… there are no hugs to give them. There are no hands to hold. And there isn’t conversation to be had, in a physical sense, without mouths, vocal cords, lungs, et cetera, to make it happen. Even if your pet dog does get into Heaven, you can’t pat it. And if Heaven is like the Arctic Circle, then you can’t feel it. According to some versions, feasting is a big part of the afterlife… but eating and drinking would surely be difficult, too? Finally, imagine that you have a favourite tree in this world, and fortunately for you it does get replanted in the ever-after. Unfortunately, you’ll never be able to climb it, sit by it, or potentially even see it. But still, in theory, the leaves would grow forever.

And that’s arguably the final, faintly frightening aspect of Heaven - it’s said to be forever. Eternity is really impossible for us mere humans to get our heads around… so much so that even eternal bliss is daunting to some. Even an alternate, physical domain with free will comes with the caveat that; this will never, ever change. It’s a whole new, wholly alien, level of existence for us. A place where everyone is universally satisfied. And while, for believers, that’s reason enough to accept that it’ll be fantastic… for sceptics, it’s difficult to buy into. 

The concept itself is never likely to disappear. The hope that we go to a better place is strong… but that’s what could happen if Heaven is terrible.