Honestly coming from this from the perspective of a recent, curious, but generally uninformed convert, I developed a question I'm not sure would occur to someone who is more involved with the faith. How can people possibly be natalist, that is, have children, in such a world as this?
I do not mean this in the "climate change/war/Earthly suffering" way. I mean, if you're enduring spiritual agony for every harm you cause your loved ones, and your loved ones are in actual peril of Purgatory and Hell, how can you possibly work to create more of them? I understand that we are told we should, in general, be fruitful and multiply, but creating new life seems at best incredibly perilous and possibly a dice roll on feeding the Devil more victims.
Overall I've always been a natalist, if a virgin one, under the assumption that I'm happy to exist, and I can assume most people would rather exist than not exist. However, I do suffer from clinical depression and am greatly concerned about harm I could cause to a wife and child or children due to my mental illness, so have refrained from taking steps to marry or have a family partly out of deliberation and partly due to the depression itself making general action more difficult.
It seems like the scale of the challenge and risk of life is blown up beyond all sensible risk-taking if the vision described from this near-death experience is literal and accurate. Anything besides something close to monastic life seems ridiculous if I could behave rationally and consistently, which admittedly I can't.
I am curious of your more informed opinion, based on much longer and deeper Christianity, and as a mother with a number of children and researcher of near-death experiences, on if and why my concerns are wrong.
I have read, literally, hundreds of near-death experiences. At one point, it was a huge interest of mine.
This one is very Catholic--and was very useful for the particular subject of trying to make powers of Hell seem more dramatic for writing fiction.
But not all near death experiences are like this. I don't know why some people see the afterworld like this, and others do not.
But let me tell you something that I read in one near death experience. A woman was talking to an angel, and she asked why God allowed the world to exist if there was so many wars and so much pain?
And the angel replied that, at all times, there was a great deal more love being shared world-wide than pain. Even in the middle of World War Two.
Strangers helping each other, families looking out for each other, a little act of kindness, these things were greater in their number world-wide than all the horror.
I think this is true of most lives. The good, the love, is greater than what we do wrong, then the sorrow we might create.
And we know from Revelations that eventually Hell needs to give up its dead. The people in Purgatory make it to Heaven. And it's always possible that the dead from Hell, when they're judged, will be able to call upon the blood of Jesus, even at that late time, and, thus, be saved.
Which means that is possible that no one will ever be lost, in the long run.
We don't quite understand what it is we get by coming here-to live on earth, but it seems to be something extraordinarily important.
There are hints from visions Christians have had that God has a certain number of souls waiting to be born, and life is going to continue here on Earth till they all get a chance. So apparently, being a parent is one of the most blessed ,most wonderful things you can do.
Because you give another one of God's image and likenesses a chance.
The father in the near death experience I quoted above were pretty rotten. That guy was deliberately committing adultery and would get horribly drunk. I don't think people get punished that way for being an ordinary person, making ordinary mistakes all humans do--because all humans make them.
And I've seen really beautiful life reviews, where people are shown how the love and kindness they expressed was reflected and created good in others.
Depression is an attack of the Powers of Darkness. It's not part of your soul.
So live despite it! Love despite it! Don't let it rob you of all the joy and all the wonder and all the greatness that you have to bring to the world.
A family may actually be the greatest thing we can do, especially now when so many are choosing not to have one.
Honestly coming from this from the perspective of a recent, curious, but generally uninformed convert, I developed a question I'm not sure would occur to someone who is more involved with the faith. How can people possibly be natalist, that is, have children, in such a world as this?
I do not mean this in the "climate change/war/Earthly suffering" way. I mean, if you're enduring spiritual agony for every harm you cause your loved ones, and your loved ones are in actual peril of Purgatory and Hell, how can you possibly work to create more of them? I understand that we are told we should, in general, be fruitful and multiply, but creating new life seems at best incredibly perilous and possibly a dice roll on feeding the Devil more victims.
Overall I've always been a natalist, if a virgin one, under the assumption that I'm happy to exist, and I can assume most people would rather exist than not exist. However, I do suffer from clinical depression and am greatly concerned about harm I could cause to a wife and child or children due to my mental illness, so have refrained from taking steps to marry or have a family partly out of deliberation and partly due to the depression itself making general action more difficult.
It seems like the scale of the challenge and risk of life is blown up beyond all sensible risk-taking if the vision described from this near-death experience is literal and accurate. Anything besides something close to monastic life seems ridiculous if I could behave rationally and consistently, which admittedly I can't.
I am curious of your more informed opinion, based on much longer and deeper Christianity, and as a mother with a number of children and researcher of near-death experiences, on if and why my concerns are wrong.
I have read, literally, hundreds of near-death experiences. At one point, it was a huge interest of mine.
This one is very Catholic--and was very useful for the particular subject of trying to make powers of Hell seem more dramatic for writing fiction.
But not all near death experiences are like this. I don't know why some people see the afterworld like this, and others do not.
But let me tell you something that I read in one near death experience. A woman was talking to an angel, and she asked why God allowed the world to exist if there was so many wars and so much pain?
And the angel replied that, at all times, there was a great deal more love being shared world-wide than pain. Even in the middle of World War Two.
Strangers helping each other, families looking out for each other, a little act of kindness, these things were greater in their number world-wide than all the horror.
I think this is true of most lives. The good, the love, is greater than what we do wrong, then the sorrow we might create.
And we know from Revelations that eventually Hell needs to give up its dead. The people in Purgatory make it to Heaven. And it's always possible that the dead from Hell, when they're judged, will be able to call upon the blood of Jesus, even at that late time, and, thus, be saved.
Which means that is possible that no one will ever be lost, in the long run.
We don't quite understand what it is we get by coming here-to live on earth, but it seems to be something extraordinarily important.
There are hints from visions Christians have had that God has a certain number of souls waiting to be born, and life is going to continue here on Earth till they all get a chance. So apparently, being a parent is one of the most blessed ,most wonderful things you can do.
Because you give another one of God's image and likenesses a chance.
The father in the near death experience I quoted above were pretty rotten. That guy was deliberately committing adultery and would get horribly drunk. I don't think people get punished that way for being an ordinary person, making ordinary mistakes all humans do--because all humans make them.
And I've seen really beautiful life reviews, where people are shown how the love and kindness they expressed was reflected and created good in others.
Depression is an attack of the Powers of Darkness. It's not part of your soul.
So live despite it! Love despite it! Don't let it rob you of all the joy and all the wonder and all the greatness that you have to bring to the world.
A family may actually be the greatest thing we can do, especially now when so many are choosing not to have one.
I imagine it must rankle the devil - proud spirit that he is - to play the harmless fool
That is a fantastic point. I hope you will not mind if I use it in a story at some point.
Go for it