23rd April 2003, 4:34 PM
I don't see the problem with believing that we'll go someplace better when we die. The only way that belief is going to affect our lives on Earth is that we'll have to follow certain rules to get to this "la la land in the clouds." Those rules are rules that humans should follow anyway, religious or not: don't kill, don't steal, don't screw someone you shouldn't, don't lie... For a lot of people, religion is what holds them back from doing what's wrong. (There are exceptions, I know.) And if there is no heaven, oh well... once we're dead, we're dead. It's not like we'll be around to care that we were wrong. It's not like the belief will haunt us for the rest of our afterlives. So yes, the world is a horrible place, and whether there's a heaven or not, things will improve when we die.