>Sontag would have said this hope is preposterous. You may believe that I am in denial, equivalent to Sontag’s. Perhaps. I’d counter that my hope is based on faith and my experience of being loved by God. It’s based on the conviction that, astonishingly, the creator of the universe wants me to be a friend and companion (John 15:12-15). This hope is an extraordinary, unmerited gift. I don’t claim that there is objective evidence for it, but I believe it is the right way to live. Why not live in hope?
We are all dying. The question of when and how is of some personal interest for us and those who love us but it's a mundane question like which job we take or who we live with. Important in our personal lives but of little overall consequence.
You're taking The View From Nowhere. Which is fine, but the universe also includes The View From Where Bill Is and The View From Where Chuck sits, on out to infinity. Unless our constituent individual experiences matter, it's hard to see how The View From Nowhere matters.
>Sontag would have said this hope is preposterous. You may believe that I am in denial, equivalent to Sontag’s. Perhaps. I’d counter that my hope is based on faith and my experience of being loved by God. It’s based on the conviction that, astonishingly, the creator of the universe wants me to be a friend and companion (John 15:12-15). This hope is an extraordinary, unmerited gift. I don’t claim that there is objective evidence for it, but I believe it is the right way to live. Why not live in hope?
"Now there's a loss that can never be replaced
A destination that can never be reached
A light you'll never find in another's face
A sea whose distance cannot be breached
"Well Jesus kissed his mother's hands
Whispered, "Mother, still your tears
For remember the soul of the universe
Willed a world and it appeared"
-Bruce Springsteen, Jesus Was An Only Son
Both disturbing and sad.
We are all dying. The question of when and how is of some personal interest for us and those who love us but it's a mundane question like which job we take or who we live with. Important in our personal lives but of little overall consequence.
You're taking The View From Nowhere. Which is fine, but the universe also includes The View From Where Bill Is and The View From Where Chuck sits, on out to infinity. Unless our constituent individual experiences matter, it's hard to see how The View From Nowhere matters.
I don't disagree with the importance of individual perspectives but I do think there's a reality that transcends that.