Me: Okay, now a have a couple of questions here, uh, this is one I already know the answer to, but I guess I’d like it to be phrased for the book. Is there a hell, and what happens to very religious people when they pass?

Erik (teasingly): “Very” religious people, Mom?

Me (laughing): Yes.

Jamie: He’s laughing and says he wants to deal with the “very religious” people first.

Erik: I think they have more shock and awe than the atheists!

Me: Oh, really?

Erik; Well, think about it, Mom. Atheists, they don’t have any rules, they just pretend they don’t believe.

Me: Ah! I see.

Erik: It’s just an absence. All right, so in that absence, there’s actually not—

Jamie (giggling): Wait a second. Say it again, Erik.

Jamie continues to giggle for several seconds.

Jamie: My lord, he talks so fast sometimes!

Me: I know! He’s a real chatterbox!

Erik: In that absence, there aren’t a lot of boundaries. It’s wide open. So anything that occurs, they’ll access it cuz they’re not putting their own conception on it.

Me: Yeah, I guess they don’t have any preconceived notions aside from after death nothingness, then.

Erik: Right. Okay, so get this. The hardcore believers, they have these rules and these expectations and these lineups, and they get here and all of a sudden they can’t see half of what’s being presented to them because they have a certain strict belief system.

Me: Um hm.

Erik: So they actually have more difficulty adjusting.

Jamie (chuckling): If that’s published—Holy cow! You know, I’ve never heard that question asked before. I think it’s brilliant, me, personally.

Me: I guess that’s going to rattle some chains.

Jamie: Oh, yeah, it’s going to REALLY rattle some chains.

Me: Good. Maybe some chains need to get rattled. Shake all the rust and dust off.

Erik: The people who require and enjoy the intense belief system, that’s the same as a baby needing to be swaddled.

Me: Erik! You’re going to get me into big trouble here!

Erik: Yeah, but if you swaddle that child for three years, four years, five years, what are you doing to that child, Mom?

Me: Yeah.

Erik: Totally smothering him. You’re not going to teach him how to walk. You’re keeping them bound. And that is what very strict religious beliefs can do.

Me: Yeah, I guess if someone hands us their own version of a map of some spiritual journey, we never create our own path to enlightenment and self-discovery. It’s like the Cliff Notes or GPS version. Spiritual evolution for Dummies. Not good.

Erik: I think it’s really smart for people to venture out on their own. They can still stay within their beliefs or in their religion—

Me: But they have to be accountable for their lives and their journey. It’s not always “God’s will.”

Erik: Yes, that’s right. You’re not gonna get a free pass. Free will comes with responsibility.

Me: Okay. And I know there’s no “Hell,” Right? I guess people can create their own hell, you know? Okay, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be answering my own questions. Go for it, Erik.

Erik: That just goes back to what’s the definition of God. If God is in everything—and the definition of hell, people say, is to be away from God—

Me: Um hm.

Erik: Well, no can do! You can only believe in one or the other. So they’re already contradicting themselves. If God is All There Is, there can be no Hell.

Here’s another nice review for Erik’s book:

A must read for anyone regardless of current belief systems, religions, etc. An amazing book that explores the infinite possibilities within and beyond this human existence.  This book is amazing and different in the sense that it does not try to push any belief onto anyone.  It recognizes that we are all individuals and it simply presents us with the perspective of being open and deciding for ourselves what is best for us.  It challenges us all to ask ourselves what is true for us.  It starts conversations and opens hearts and doors that may not have been visible or accessible to us before.  Truly a great read and a great gift.

–Angela

I’d appreciate it if you guys could write your own review HERE (and copy and paste it to Barnes and Noble and Goodreads.)