LITR 5439 Literary & Historical Utopias

 Research Posting 2009

LaKisha Jones

The Oldest Utopia

Heaven

Heaven is a spiritual place of being and happiness. It is a place of love, freedom, equality, and existence. Heaven is ethereal in nature. Those that believe in a higher power believe wholeheartedly, that if one is saved and in the good graces of the Lord and Savior, then, one will reach Heaven. As Heaven is supposed to be reached in the after-life, many people try and duplicate Heaven in life itself. There is a plethora of literature available where writers create these fictitious lands, where the inhabitants supposedly live in Utopia. But, the real question is: “Is Heaven really a Utopia?”

Nashalos, a freelance writer on the cofc.edu blog site discussed Heaven, and theories of Heaven being the ultimate Nirvana. (http://blogs.cofc.edu/pols351/2009/02/24/the-oldest-utopia-the-afterlife/). As discussed in the blog, the Judeo-Christian, or Judaic-Christianity, view of Heaven is described in Matthew 5:12: “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in Heaven, you may also get treasure.” When one contemplates this scripture, it seems as if Heaven is Nirvana. There is no sadness, anguish, worry, hate, disappoint, or all the other horrid emotions we are subjected to in the “during-life”. There is no death, for one is already dead, and there is no need for crying or sorrow. Yet, the Bible also discusses how in Heaven, there are a plethora of rewards such as gold, virgins and treasure. This idea brings into question, if this is really a Heaven in which one wants to live eternally. Why such an emphasis on treasures such as gold and virgins? Wouldn’t such things be obsolete in Heaven,? What purpose would such materialistic things have in a Utopic place like Heaven? If a spirit has to deal with these materialistic and humanly treasures, wouldn’t there be some sort of potential problem that arises? For instance, “Why does Michael (the Lord’s Angel) own more pounds of gold than I do?” Maybe the Judaic Christianity view of Heaven was derived from someone who was oppressed and saw Heaven’s Utopia as Earthly treasures readily available on demand, and not the Utopia we think of now in the 21^st Century.

Every human being dreams of a better life and an even greater after-life. No matter the religion or non-religious belief, we all feel that at the end of life, there has to be something better than what we experienced during life. In “A Map To Utopia”, the author describes the after-life as the third dimension. The third dimension is simply the Infinity Theory of Creation. This theory and dimension is the only one to exist because from all infinite possibilities, only it could exist. Everything that is three dimensional must exist, with no questions asked. Yet, the author points out that religion is only a mere crutch that people use when life becomes too tough. For him, religion doesn’t exist. Heaven as the Utopia, is not handed down by God on a silver platter. Humans must journey through the third dimension. Humanity must strive to make its own Utopia, says the author. This general idea relates to general texts about Utopia, such as the non-novel, “Utopia”, by Thomas More and “Herland” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.  In both pieces, mankind and womankind, created their own Utopias through the third dimension.

Finally, in my opinion, I believe the theory of Heaven being a Utopia is plausible. Furthermore, the idea of what type of Utopia it is or is not is relevant only to the person that holds that particular view. Life itself, yes, is a quest through the named third dimension or the Infinity Theory of Creation. Although, maybe the Nirvana created on Earth, helps one to reach true Nirvana in the after-life. God does not hand out Nirvana, it is something that must be mastered in order to be earned fully. We cannot comprehend the true idea and feeling of Utopia. I have had students that have had near death experiences tell me that they felt the weight of their bodies subside immensely. They felt light, airy and at peace. So how can one refute the idea of Heaven, when during near death experiences, the lack of a body was pure Nirvana? Heaven is the oldest Utopia. It is hard to try to tell anyone that it isn’t. In all honesty, we need the idea of Heaven to keep a balance in our lives. Without Heaven serving as our Utopia in the after-life, it calls to question the point of life period. Why should I try to do good if there are no real consequences to doing bad? People can handle prison. They may think they cannot, but you can get used to that life, but one, no, one cannot get used to the idea of Hell. No one wants to fathom Hell, nor endure it. Though, the idea of Heaven as a Utopia, is not the uniformed idea of Utopia as is described in literature. Eternal Utopia, is a ethereal idealistic view that is derived from personal aspirations of what Nirvana truly is.

WORKS CITED

Nashalos. The Oldest Utopia, the Afterlife. 24, February, 2009. POLS 351, UTOPIA/DYSTOPIA, 19, June, 2009 <http://blogs.cofc.edu/pols351/2009/02/24/the-oldest-utopia-the-afterlife/>.

Will, Jon. The Ultimate Philosophy-Book 1: A Map To Utopia. (No Date) www.Erols.com. 19, June, 2009 http://users.erols.com/jonwill/utopiabook.htm.