Close but no cigar, Plato...

One of the most comforting thoughts that has ever occured to me is that this is not all there is. Imagine if it was. Imagine if you were born, lived, and died, and that was it. Oblivion. This world is as good as it would get.

Now that's depressing.

Plato (pictured to the right) believed that there was a world beyond this one, a "world of ideas" from which everything stems. More than that, everything in this world is a shadow, a corrupted reflection of the true thing that exists in the world of ideas. A tree in this world is merely a shadow of the "idea tree" in the world of ideas. A horse in this world is merely a corrupted reflection of the "idea horse" in the world of ideas. According to Plato, the things that populate the world of ideas are perfect, immutable, and eternal. Death reunites us with the world of ideas.

How close!!! Augustine once commented that if Plato had lived in Christian times, he would have been a believer. Everything in this world does indeed stem from a source that is Eternal, Immutable, and Perfect. Everything in this world is indeed a corrupted form of what it was originally intended to be.

But the truth differs from Plato's theory in a few instances. The biggest difference is one worth noting. In Plato's theory, there is only one realm outside this existence. However, in reality, there are two destinations potentially laid out for our souls. I said at the beggining of this blog that "this world is as good as it gets" (under the presumption that there is nothing outside of this life)-- how false a statement!! Heaven's joys are unfathomable. However, that's not to say that this world is as bad as it could get, either. Hell's horrors are unspeakable.

The path to the joys of the afterlife lay not in philosophy, or being a virtuous citizen. The only way is through Jesus Christ. There is nothing else. Peter responded correctly to Jesus inquiry as to whether the disciples would leave Him-- he said "Lord, to whom else shall we go? You have the words of life. And we believed, and have come to know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The good news is that this world is not all there is. The better news is that Christ offers you a life better than this one.