Hi Craig.

Riffing off of your answer to Patricia in the "Randi" thread...

It's a question I've had for a while now as I've come to accept the idea of an Afterlife more and more: "This is the most important knowledge any human could have, but would it actually be a good thing for *humanity* if everyone knew this? Might it not 'take the wind out of humanity's sail', so to speak?"

And in your response to Patricia, you seem to say as much, but then it seem like you contradict yourself. You first say:

"If we started off knowing that we're eternal, both as individuals and as a species, we never would learn the lessons. We'd be cruel eternal beings, insensitive eternal beings, greedy eternal beings."

And I agree. (I don't know if we'd be "cruel", but certain we'd be different somehow -- maybe more aloof? I don't know.) But then you later add:

"And as we learn and teach about our eternal natures, we as individuals and humankind will eventually evolve to a point at which society and its individuals accept our eternal natures."

Sooooo... at the point when every member of society accepts its respective eternal nature, why wouldn't that create precisely the situation you described above where we'd be "cruel", "insensitive" and "greedy"?

How can society evolve to the point where it recognizes its eternal nature, and that this Reality is but a Grand Illusion, and *not* fall into the trap that *humans* are inclined to fall into when you hand them everything without a struggle or sacrifice?

Thanks.

Ron