War in the Heavens

All the stories in David Eagleman’s book, Sum: Tales from the Afterlives are about the afterlife. Each one has a new, interesting scenario with deep, sometimes troubling, commentary on how we humans are. The story called “Absence” starts with what sounds like a mystery:

“God is gone. The rumour is that He stepped out long ago, saying He’d be right back.”

 

So people did what they always do. They came up with explanations of what might have happened. Perhaps He left for good. Or did He go crazy? Did He leave to spawn other universes? Maybe He’s angry with us. Or stopped caring about us. Or gone on a long vacation.

 

What followed is what we can easily relate to:

“People have belligerently taken sides based on their disappearance theories… Now war has broken out on the consecrated plains of Heaven.”

Inevitably then:

“We have ascended and brought the front line with us… The new religious wars do not pivot on God’s definition but instead on His whereabouts.”

 

The closing line of the story sums up life on earth perfectly:

“(Each of you is) loyally crusading for your version of God’s nonexistence.”

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