Salvation. The common goal that ties many religions together across the world. Throughout history man has sought to achieve the ideal afterlife and in dualistic religions this often was under the threat of being condemned to a not so fun afterlife if one failed to obey the rules of his religion. When you give people the choice of eternal suffering vs eternal joy and pleasure, the latter usually wins out. But what would you do for a place in heaven?
Let's imagine that God appears before you one day and he tells you "I will save your soul if you put your faith in me, but there is a condition to that." Intrigued, you listen in. "Right now, you are facing eternity in hell. Not kinda hot but bearable hell. Not dark and disappointing hell. You are literally going to face the most painful eternal damnation imaginable. You will be tortured in the most excruciating ways forever after you die, but if you do as I say, you will be rewarded with paradise." "What do I gotta do?" You respond. "I want you to prove your loyalty to me," God tells you. He hands you a photo. "This man is named John Allister. He lives at 5497 Parkway Avenue, only a few blocks away. John is a good man, and he has a family of 5. I want you to kill him. You can do it any way you see fit but he must be killed before midnight in three days time and you have to do it in front of at least one of his family members. If you kill John, I will give you a place in my kingdom." Horrified, you ask God "but why?" "I don't need to tell you why," God says. "If it makes you feel better, John will also be rewarded with paradise. He won't be damned." You're caught at a crossroad now. Do you murder an innocent man to save your soul, or do you accept eternal torment so John can live out his life in peace? What would you do NSers?
