Hick's parable describes two people traveling together along a road. One believes in God and sees the road as leading to the Celestial City; the other is an atheist and thinks the road leads nowhere. Do the two travelers have different expectations about what they will experience AT THE END OF THE JOURNEY?
Hick's parable describes two people traveling together along a road. One believes in God and sees the road as leading to the Celestial City; the other is an atheist and thinks the road leads nowhere. Do the two travelers have different expectations about what they will experience AT THE END OF THE JOURNEY?
They expect very different experiences at the end of the road. The believer expects to experience the Celestial City; the atheist doesn't. When they turn the last corner, it will be clear which one of them is right. At the end of the journey, the disagreement becomes an experimental one.
Similarly, believers and atheists have very different expectations about what will happen after death. If the believer is right, we'll have continued conscious experience, including an experience of God, somewhat as predicted by the Christian tradition.
Hick's parable describes two people traveling together along a road. One believes in God and sees the road as leading to the Celestial City; the other is an atheist and thinks the road leads nowhere. Do the two travelers have different expectations about what they will experience AT THE END OF THE JOURNEY?
They expect very different experiences at the end of the road. The believer expects to experience the Celestial City; the atheist doesn't. When they turn the last corner, it will be clear which one of them is right. At the end of the journey, the disagreement becomes an experimental one.
Similarly, believers and atheists have very different expectations about what will happen after death. If the believer is right, we'll have continued conscious experience, including an experience of God, somewhat as predicted by the Christian tradition.