Life’s contrasts are the source of ideas
September 25, 1991
Here’s the latest skinny from Siberia. Some scientists from a European drilling expedition drilled nine miles into the earth to listen to geological rumblings. However, something else was heard.
The scientists heard, instead, the wailings of thousands or more human beings condemned to an eternity of ultimate suffering. And they recorded temperatures of over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
They thought they had found hell. The bottomless pit equipped with a flaming lake and no light where people are punished forever—that hell.
Three magazines reported the story: Christianity Today, the Biblical Archeology Review and the All Africa Press Service. Readers of the Biblical Archeology Review had complained about the story and the magazine responded by printing that they were just kidding.
Oh, like finding the abyss of the damned is even remotely funny. Of course, chances are, this is just a rumor sparked by religious fervor. (Or perhaps its not a rumor and was sparked by the flames of hell).
The focus of this has nothing to do with the ramifications that would exist if the geologists did indeed discover the underworld. That would be too much for people to deal with, especially those who are prime candidates for the free ride down, not to mention all the nonbelievers who would have to re-evaluate their ideas.
The point is, people hold different beliefs and it is this heterogeneity which makes life so interesting. Where else, but on this great planet of ours, could we have a story about a group of geologists stumbling upon the pit of torment by accident?
Some orderly conduct must exist for safety purposes, but there seems to be an unnecessary struggle to make sure everyone is the same. Conformity will not help solve the problems of the world.
It is the contrast in life which defines all things. Try to imagine one dimension. It’s impossible. Or define up without using down? They must exist to define each other.
There is a book, WE, by a Russian author about a united state where the inhabitants are known by numbers and not by names. They are sheltered from nature and all that is uncontrollable. They live by a table of hours which tells them when they can eat, sleep and have free time.
The state officials tell the citizens that ultimate happiness exists. Sorrow and hate have been eliminated, the leaders said.
The joke was on the people. They stopped thinking for themselves and actually believed they were truly happy. The truth was, no one knew what happiness was anymore.
How could a person say he was happy when he did not ever feel sad? There was no contrast, and two sides must exist in all situations.
Now, the story about the geologists finding hell is surely just a rumor. People like to make up stories. Supposing, however, this hell did exist, there would be a cause for great alarm.
But, remember, if two sides exist, then there would have to be something to contrast with hell. If there was proof of hell, somewhere a heaven would exist.