In 1999, the Miramax film company presented the comedy film Dogma to the general public. The plot of this picture is built around two fallen angels, Loki and Bartleby, expelled by God from paradise. And this couple lives on earth among people and dreams of forgiveness and return to the Garden of Eden. According to the plot, apostates find a technical loophole among various church dogmas, allowing them to become sinless again. After that, they should have died immediately - then they automatically go to heaven. And now the angels go all out in order to fulfill their dream. This comedy film touches upon a question that worries many people, although not everyone can admit it even to themselves: “How to get to heaven?” Today we will try to understand this, despite the fact that this topic is, so to speak, in the department of faith and religion. To date, science has not been able to provide evidence of the existence of paradise, however, as well as evidence of its absence. Well, let's hit the road…
What is "paradise"?
We propose to start our study with an analysis of the concept itself. If you delve into this topic, you can see that paradise is different. And in each religion, the vision of this place is completely different, each denomination describes it in its own way. For example, the main book of Christianity, the Bible, gives us the following information about it: this word refers to the Garden of Eden, which was home to Adam and Eve, the progenitors of mankind. The life of the first people in paradise was simple and carefree, they knew neither disease nor death. One day they disobeyed God and succumbed to temptation. The immediate expulsion of people from paradise followed. According to the prophecies, the Garden of Eden will be restored, people will live in it again. The Bible states that paradise was originally created on earth, so Christians believe that it will be restored there as well. Now only the righteous can get there, and even then only after death.
What does the Quran say about paradise? In Islam, this is also a garden (Jannat), in which the righteous will live after the Day of Judgment. The Quran describes this place in detail, its levels and features.
In Judaism, everything is a little more complicated, however, after reading the Talmud, Midrash and the Zohar, we can conclude that paradise for the Jews is here and now, it was given to them by Jehovah.
In general, each religion has its own idea of the "cherished garden". One thing remains unchanged. No matter what object is considered, whether it is the Buddhist Nirvana or the Scandinavian Valhalla, paradise is perceived as a place where eternal bliss reigns, granted to the human soul after death. Probably, it makes no sense to delve into the beliefs of African or Australian natives - they are too alien to us, and therefore we will limit ourselves to the largest religious denominations. And let's move on to the main topic of our article: "How to get to heaven?"
Christianity and Islam
With these religions, everything is more or less clear: lead a righteous life, that is, live according to the commandments of God, and after death your soul will go to the "cherished garden". However, for those who do not want to limit their freedom and are looking for easier ways, there are so-called loopholes to avoid the hellfire. True, there are some nuances here. A very striking example is jihad in Islam - diligence on the path to Allah. Recently, this concept has been associated with armed struggle and self-sacrifice, although it is much broader and is a struggle with one's social or spiritual vices. We will consider a special case of jihad advertised by the media, namely suicide bombers. World news feeds are full of reports of suicide bombings around the world. Who are they and why do they decide to take such actions? It is worth considering whether these people are doing a charitable deed or are they the victims of behind-the-scenes manipulators who do not hesitate to shed other people's blood in the struggle for power? After all, as a rule, it is not enemy soldiers who suffer from the actions of suicide bombers, but civilians. So their actions can at least be called doubtful, the murder of women and children is not a fight against vices, but a violation of the main commandment of God - do not kill. By the way, in Islam killing is also not welcome, as in Christianity. On the other hand, history remembers the wars committed in the name of God: the Church blessed the crusaders, the Pope personally sent the soldiers on their bloody campaign. So what's upIslamic terrorists can be understood, but cannot be justified. Murder is murder, no matter for what purpose it is committed.
By the way, in Orthodox Christianity, military service is also considered a charitable deed, however, this concerns the protection of the Russian land from an external enemy. And in the distant past, and today, priests blessed the soldiers going on a campaign; there are many cases when church ministers themselves took up arms and went to war. It is difficult to say unequivocally whether a soldier who died in battle will go to heaven or not, whether all his sins will be written off from him or, on the contrary, they will be pulled down into hellfire. So this method can hardly be called a ticket to the Garden of Eden. Let's try to find other, more reliable methods.
Indulgence
How do people get to heaven? In the first half of the 13th century, Hugh Saint-Chersky in his writings developed the theological justification for indulgence, recognized a hundred years later by Pope Clement VI. Many sinners of that time perked up, because they had a great chance to get rid of their sins that stood in the way of eternal bliss. What is meant by this concept? Indulgence is a liberation from temporary punishment for committed sins, in which a person has already repented, and the guilt for them has already been forgiven in the sacrament of confession. It can be either partial or complete. A believer can receive an indulgence for himself or for the deceased. According to Catholic teaching, complete forgiveness is possible only if specific requirements are met: confession, communion, it was necessary to prayin the intention of the Pope, as well as to perform a number of specific actions (testimony of faith, ministry of mercy, pilgrimage, etc.). The Church later compiled a list of "excessive good deeds" that allowed indulgences to be granted.
In the Middle Ages, the practice of issuing forgiveness often led to significant abuses that can be characterized by the modern concept of “corruption”. The hairy hydra so entangled the Catholic priests that it served as an impetus for the reform movement. As a consequence, Pope Pius V in 1567 "closes shop" and forbids the issuance of pardons for any financial settlements. The modern procedure for granting them is regulated by the document "Guide to indulgences", which was released in 1968 and supplemented in 1999. For those who wonder: "How to get to heaven?" it should be understood that this method can only work if you are on your deathbed (so you will not have time to sin again). Although a person often manages to make unforgivable mistakes in his dying state.
The Sacrament of Baptism
How to get to heaven? The sacrament of baptism can help with this. The fact is that, according to Christian teaching, during this ceremony, the human soul is freed from all sins. True, this method is not suitable for the bulk, because a person can go through it only once, and in most cases parents baptize their children in infancy. Only representatives of the royal dynasty underwent the ceremony twice, and then only at the coronation. Sothat if you are already baptized and do not belong to the royal family, then this method is not for you. Otherwise, you have a chance to get rid of all your sins, but just don’t fall into all serious troubles and finally do something that you will later be ashamed to tell your grandchildren about. By the way, some representatives of Judaism prefer to accept Christianity in old age. So, just in case, because - according to their belief - paradise is here on Earth, but what will happen after death? So you can insure yourself, and at the end of your earthly existence, go over to another camp and secure eternal bliss already in the Christian paradise. But, as you can see, this path is available only to the elite.
Egyptian, Tibetan and Mesoamerican Books of the Dead
How does the soul get to heaven? Few people know, but for this there are exact instructions that serve as a guide for the deceased in the afterlife. Many people have heard of them, Hollywood has made several films about these treatises, and yet almost no one is familiar with their content. But in ancient times they were studied with great zeal by both noble people and servants. In fact, from the standpoint of a modern person, The Book of the Dead resembles a computer game like a quest. It describes step by step all the actions of the deceased, indicates who is waiting for him at one or another level of the underworld, and what needs to be given to the servants of the underworld. The yellow press is full of interviews of survivors of clinical death. People who have seen heaven and hell talk about their feelings and experiences about this. But few people know that data researchvisions conducted by R. Moody showed the colossal coincidence of such narratives with what the “Books of the Dead” describe, or rather, those parts of them that are devoted to the initial moments of posthumous existence. However, all “returnees” reach a certain stage, the so-called point of no return, and they cannot say anything about the further path. But the ancient texts speak, and in great detail. And the question immediately arises: how did the ancient civilizations that lived on different continents know about this? After all, the content of the texts is almost identical, there are minor differences in details, names, but the essence remains the same. Either it can be assumed that all the "Books of the Dead" were copied from one, more ancient source, or this is knowledge given to people by the gods, and everything that is written there is true. After all, people who have "seen paradise" (survived clinical death) are talking about the same thing, although most of them have never read these manuscripts.
Ancient knowledge and equipment of the deceased
In ancient Egypt, the priests prepared and trained the citizens of their country for the afterlife. In what way? During his lifetime, a person studied “magical techniques and formulas” that helped the soul overcome obstacles and defeat monsters. In the grave of the deceased, relatives always put items that he would need in the afterlife. For example, it was necessary to leave two coins - this is a payment to the boatman for transportation across the river of death. People who have "seen paradise" often mention that they met there dead friends, good acquaintances or relatives whohelped them with advice. And this is easily explained by the fact that a modern person knows nothing about the afterlife, because they don’t talk about it at school, you won’t get such information at institutes either. In the church, the priests will not help you much either. What remains? This is where people close to you appear who care about your fate.
Court of the gods
Almost all religions say that after death a person will be judged, where all the good and evil deeds of the defendant will be compared, weighed, as a result of which his future fate will be decided. Such a judgment is also spoken of in the Books of the Dead. The soul, wandering in the afterlife, having passed all the trials, at the end of the path meets with the supreme King and judge Osiris, who is sitting on the throne. A person must address him with a certain ritual phrase in which he lists how he lived and whether he followed the commandments of God throughout his life. According to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the soul, after turning to Osiris, had to justify itself for each of its sins before the other 42 gods responsible for certain sins. However, no words of the deceased could save him. The main god placed a feather, which is a symbol of the goddess Maat (truth, justice, world order, truth), on one side of the scales, and the heart of the defendant on the second. If it outweighed the feather, it meant that it was full of sins. And such a person was devoured by the monster Amait.
If the scales remained in balance, or the heart turned out to be lighter than a feather, then the soul was expected to meet withrelatives and friends, as well as "eternal bliss". People who have seen heaven and hell have never described the court of the gods, and this is understandable, because it is beyond the “point of no return”, so one can only guess about the reliability of this information. But we should not forget that most religious denominations speak about such an "event".
What do people do in paradise?
Oddly enough, few people think about it. According to the Bible, Adam (the first person in paradise) lived in the Garden of Eden and did not know any worries, he was not familiar with illnesses, physical labor, he did not even need to use clothes, which means that the climatic conditions there were quite comfortable. That's all, nothing more is known about his stay in this place. But this is a description of an earthly paradise, and as for heaven, even less is known about it. Scandinavian Valhalla and Islamic Jannat promise the righteous eternal bliss, they will be surrounded by full-breasted beauties, and wine will pour into their goblets, the Koran tells that the goblets will be filled with eternally young boys with bowls. The righteous will be spared the torment of a hangover, they will be all right with male power. Here is such an idyll, however, the status of boys and buxom beauties is not clear. Who are they? Deserving paradise or exiled here as a punishment for past sins? Somehow not entirely clear.
Slaves of the gods
The Books of the Dead tell about a completely different idyll. In accordance with these ancient treatises, "eternal bliss" comes down only to the fact that there are no crop failures, and, accordingly, hunger and wars. Men inparadise, as in life, continue to work for the good of the gods. That is, man is a slave. This is evidenced by the books of both the Mesoamerican Indians and the ancient Egyptians, and, of course, the Tibetan manuscript. But among the ancient Sumerians, the ideal picture of the afterlife looks much gloomier. Having crossed to the other side, the soul of the deceased passes through seven gates and enters a huge room in which there is neither drink nor food, but only muddy water and clay. Here begins the main afterlife torment. The only indulgence for her can be regular sacrifices, which will be carried out by living relatives. If the deceased was a lonely person or his relatives treated him badly and did not want to perform the ceremony, then a very bad fate awaits the soul: she leaves the dungeon and roams the world in the form of a hungry ghost and harms everyone she meets. This is the idea of the afterlife among the ancient Sumerians, but the beginning of their works also coincides with the "Books of the Dead". Unfortunately, people who "were in paradise" are not able to lift the veil over what is beyond the "point of no return." Representatives of the main religious denominations are not able to do this either.
Pater Diy about religions
In Russia there are many religious directions of the so-called pagan direction. One of these is the Old Russian Church of Orthodox Old Believers-Ynglings, the leader of which is Khinevich A. Yu. In one of his video speeches, Pater Diy recalls the assignment received from his teacher-mentor. The essence of his "mission" wasnext: find out from representatives of the main religious denominations what they know about hell and heaven. As a result of such surveys, Khinevich learns that Christian, Islamic, Jewish clergymen have comprehensive information about hell. They can name all its levels, dangers, trials awaiting a sinner, almost by name list all the monsters that will meet with a lost soul, and so on, so on, so on … However, absolutely all the ministers with whom he had a chance to talk know amazingly little about heaven. They have only superficial information about the place of eternal bliss. Why is that? Khinevich himself draws the following conclusion: they say, whom they serve, they know about it … We will not be so categorical in our judgments, and we will leave it to the reader. In this case, it would be appropriate to recall the words of the classic, the brilliant M. A. Bulgakov. In the novel The Master and Margarita, he puts into Woland's mouth the phrase that there are many theories regarding the afterlife. There is one among them, according to which each will be given according to his faith…
Is there enough space?
Various information resources often discuss topics related to the Garden of Eden. People are interested in various issues. And how can you get there, and how many people are in paradise, and much more. A couple of years ago, the whole world was in a fever: everyone was waiting for the “end of the world”, which was supposed to come in December 2012. In this regard, many predicted that the same “Judgment Day” was about to come, when God would descend to earth and punish all sinners, andthe righteous will be granted eternal bliss. And here the most interesting begins. How many people will go to heaven? Is there enough space for everyone? Or will everything happen as in the plans of the globalists who want to leave a "golden billion" on the planet? These and similar questions haunted many, making it difficult to sleep at night. However, the year 2013 came, the "end of the world" did not come, and the expectation of "Judgment Day" remained. Increasingly, Jehovah's Witnesses, evangelists, etc. turn to passers-by with a call to repent and let God into their souls, because soon everything will come to an end, and everyone must make their choice before it's too late.
Heaven on Earth
According to the Bible, the Garden of Eden was on Earth, and many theologians believe that in the future it will also be restored to our planet. However, a reasonable person may ask: why wait for the Day of Judgment, maybe you can build a paradise on your own? Ask any fisherman who met the dawn with a fishing rod somewhere on a quiet lake: where is paradise? He will confidently answer that he is on Earth, here and now. Maybe you should not sit in a stuffy apartment? Try to go to the forest, to the river or to the mountains, wander in silence, listen to the birds singing, look for mushrooms, berries - and, quite possibly, you will discover this "eternal bliss" during your lifetime. However, a person is arranged in such a way that he always waits for a miracle … They say, some kind uncle will appear and solve all his problems - he will wean sluts to throw garbage past the trash can, rude people - to swear, boors - to park in the wrong place, corrupt officials -take bribes and so on. A person sits and waits, and life passes by, it cannot be returned … Muslims have a parable called "The last person who entered paradise." It most accurately conveys the essence of human nature, which always remains dissatisfied with the true state of things. A person always remains unsatisfied, even if he gets what he dreams of. I wonder if he will be happy in paradise, or maybe some time will pass - and he will begin to be burdened by "eternal bliss", he will want something more? After all, Adam and Eve also could not resist the temptations. This should be something to think about…
Terraria: how to get to heaven
Finally, I will have to cover this issue, although it is difficult to tie it to the topic of the article. Terraria is a 2D sandbox video game. It features customizable characters, dynamic daytime changes, randomly generated worlds, the ability to deform terrain, and a crafting system. Many gamers are scratching their heads, asking a similar question: "Terraria": how to get to heaven? The fact is that in this project there are several biomes: "Jungle", "Ocean", "Land World", "Dungeon", "Hell", etc. In theory, "Paradise" should also exist, just find it fails. It is especially difficult for beginners. This is the biome that is torn out of the logical chain. Although experienced players claim that it exists. To get there, you need to craft the wings of the harpy and the spheres of power. You can get the necessary components near the "Floating Islands". itpieces of land floating in the air. Their appearance is not much different from the ground surface: there are the same trees, resource deposits as on the ground, and only a lonely standing temple with a chest inside stands out from the rest of the landscape. Nearby, harpies will surely appear, dropping feathers we need so much, and other monsters. Stay alert!
This concludes our journey. Let's hope the reader finds their way to "eternal bliss".
