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For 88% of Judaism, there is no afterlife or to put it precisely, one has no idea if there is an afterlife, such as, heaven or hell. The 88% represents the reformed and conservative wings of Judaism. Conservative here has nothing to do with political orientation. In fact, most conservative Jews are progressives, or very liberal. The other 12% are Orthodox. They are taught that there is an afterlife. These numbers represent the composition of Jews in NYC. If you go outside NYC (in the USA) the Orthodox percentage gets much lower. If you go to Israel, the Orthodox percentage jumps pretty dramatically to the point where I would say Israel is a religious State. Although I was raised in conservative Judaism, I am definitely in the reformed camp. What that basically means is that I embrace people from all other religions (including Muslims) and backgrounds and don't consider my religion or faith to be any better than other person's religious faith. I don't go to synagogue to pray; I do that in my own home; I'm not a bible reader; I go directly to the source. I am not one who is fixated on rituals or require my friends or family to feel the same way I do about G-d.
In Judaism, you are punished by the way you live your life. A life of hardship, tension, anxiety, sickness, tends to be associated with a person who lives an immoral life. And make no mistake about this: war, killing, stealing, robbery are quite immoral activities. There is no way getting around that. And there is no intermediary or Christ out there to save you from your moral transgressions. If you murder someone intentionally, there is no forgiveness in Judaism. Now I am not saying this is right (though I think it is); this is the way it is.
A life of prosperity and peace tends to be associated with those who are moral and treat people as golden, as ends and not merely as means.
We don't know the hell that people go through in living their life. But you can see how some of these Presidents have aged and what they now look like. Reagan, for instance, suffered alzheimers disease; he sure did forget about what mattered most: every citizen in the United States. I couldn't think of a more pertinent, drawn out illness, to afflict a President who was so cruel and inhumane. |
