SOC250Y1 Lecture : Feb 9th lec
Document Summary
Feb 9/2011: notes on the social genesis of hell and heaven. The appeals of heaven: pie in the sky, when u die (u might not b finding life fulfilling but use heavenly dispensation to change the picture) Cf marxist critiques : promise of heaven in the sky sanctions hell (exploitation, oppression) on the earth : to offer consolation for suffering, with the promise of amends of justice in the life to come. Afterlife beliefs are regulative for wordly existence: endure poverty, oppression, injustice, inequality, persecution, ascetic renunciation. (more manageable if u hold out these afterlife beliefs) Chinese proverb: heaven and hell are widin the heart . Jesus: the kingdom of god is widin you . Notes: heaven is the existence adequate to my wishes- feuerbach. in rlg pple usually talking abt themselves, highest aspirations etc. expression of our basic nature/subjectivity. F felt that beliefs in heaven unlocks deepest mysteries of rlg.
