Paganism Lesson 5 (assignment)

Universal Life Church

The Afterlife My view of the afterlife has greatly evolved from my childhood to now. Having been raised in conservative Protestant Christianity, I naturally believed in Heaven and Hell (Purgatory or any sort of intermediate state not being accepted by most Protestants). As I learned more, I began to have more and more doubts about many aspects of my beliefs. The first belief I abandoned was the belief in a physical hell (one of actual punishment), which gradually led to an abandonment of the idea of hell altogether (although for a time I believed in a sort of temporary state of punishment/education that preceded admission into heaven). NDE studies had a great impact on my views about the afterlife. The common traits shared amongst NDEers from many different cultures and backgrounds presented me with strong evidence in favor of an afterlife – and a positive one at that (I tend to discount the NDE of "hell" as these are relatively few and are inconsistent). My current views of life after death accept reincarnation as a reality. However this reincarnation is always progressive in nature, not regressive – meaning we either progress to better situations (or even higher beings), or remain at the same level (i.e. we do not reincarnate as animals or plants – although lower life forms can progress to the point of crossing the threshold into humanity). It is also not immediate – the soul spends a period of time in the spirit world (where it rests and receives instruction) before reincarnating on the physical plane.  This cycle is universal and involves all living beings. This means that one could have been an animal soul in the distant past (though not in the future). This also means that we will not necessarily be reincarnated on this planet – incarnation on other planets in other solar systems is possible, as is ascension to higher forms (the Ascended Masters of certain traditions, bodhisattvas in Buddhism, for example). J.P.A.