THE AFTERLIFE

            Most cultures and religions have a common belief that there is something beyond death; however the concept of what it exactly entails differs.  Some believe that their bodies will become part of the earth and that their souls will receive either a reward in heaven or a punishment in hell others believe in reincarnation and some believe that our bodies are recycled into nature.  This blog is not meant for you to form an opinion about the afterlife and its existence but rather, how the fate of afterlife is determined in my own view.

            In recent news, a principal of a Tennessee high school told students in an assembly that gay people will go to hell.  It seems absurd to me that a principal, the main advocate for its school’s students, would send such a hateful message to them.  Not to mention that this is a public institution funded by the state which should take no stance on religious issues such as the theory of afterlife.  I find it offensive that someone can assume that gay people will automatically be punished in the afterlife for expressing the way a higher power made them.

               I was raised a Roman Catholic and have received all of my sacraments of initiation.  I even went to Catholic elementary school and junior high, so I am not ignorant on the subject of religion.  Throughout my education, one thing became very clear to me about my faith; we treat everyone with love and respect no matter who they are.  This is a mark of character and what I believe will be the main determinant for the fate of your afterlife.  I don’t believe that there is any loving higher power out there that would create me to have a certain belief, and then punish me for acting upon it.  Instead said higher power would reflect on my experiences helping others, giving back to the community and trying to better the world for future generations.

            I would hope that my God would not make his judgment on me based upon the way he created me.  I took this gift of thinking differently and I am trying to make a positive impact on society.  Through this blog, I try to raise awareness about tolerance and self-acceptance.  I’m not sending a message of hate and disgust that others do to people like me.  I am trying to hopefully leave this world a better place than I was born into.  In my religion, Jesus never once said to hate a specific group of people.  Instead he sent a message of love and acceptance.  He spent his whole life helping the beggars, the prostitutes, the thieves and lepers.  He worked to help the underdog.  There was not a single person on this earth that Jesus predetermined to go to hell.  I believe the same as him.  He was the prophet of my religion who saved us and who gave us the new covenant to treat everyone equally with love.  The afterlife will be determined by your actions on earth to make a positive impact on yourself and others.  So love everyone you meet, treat every person with respect and never stop trying make a difference.  Your actions will be rewarded someday.