face to face

I just can’t get behind the idea of life after death. Our life on earth is unimaginably short compared to eternity. One could even say it’s infinitely short, since eternity is infinitely long. The concept that such a short existence determines our eternal fate is, at best, extremely unreasonable. My birth mother died when I was three years old. Immediately following this event, the idea of heaven and everlasting life was lovingly instilled in me by many caring adults. They told me that my mother would always be watching and that she was happy and doing well – I just couldn’t see her anymore. Photo by me However, upon the introduction of Christianity into my life I had to confront the fact that there was another place she could be. As far as everyone knows, she was not a Christian. Her family are not Christians. My father (her husband) was not a Christian when she was alive. It’s most likely that she died without confessing her faith in Jesus (this is the way ...

When people find out I’m an atheist, they sometimes ask me how I can find meaning in life. Indeed, when I began my journey away from Christianity, I often felt afraid of meaninglessness. Why are we here? What happens when we die? What’s our purpose? What is love, beauty, good, evil? What about this “God shaped hole” that we all have? For a while, I got into the habit of saying “I don’t know” to life’s big questions. During this time, some people would tell me that “I can’t keep living in limbo,” implying that uncertainty in life and death is unhealthy. However, my experience has been on the contrary. I can say, with confidence, that I have found peace, wonder, and comfort within a life of accepting the unknown. Photo by me. Studying physics has made me realise just how special it is to be human. The human brain, amazing as it is, cannot fully comprehend reality and the universe. Yet, we are able to come close, little by little. For me, the most amazing thing a...