Today, basically, you're going to run the class or, at least, some of you are going to run the class and I'll tell you in a minute how that's going to happen. Sometimes, I wonder how do we come to believe anything? Many of you are in school, in college because you were told that college is really important. It's important in terms of you're getting a job and your parents, some of you, have said you know, this has been my goal for you since you were a toddler. Even before you were born, that you gotta go to college and you look around and you have an uncle who didn't really complete high school and you notice that he's having a hard time and he's sort of struggling. So we come to believe a number of things that we believe because people told us, told us that it's important and you understood it, even if they didn't tell you, you can look around and notice that in our culture, and it's been true for quite some time, that people who are ambitious go to college. So, that's one way we come to believe things. When it comes to immaterial things like souls or like afterlife, listen, infants aren't born with a belief in a soul. They aren't born with a belief in the soul and a afterlife. Whether it's the soul or something else. We're told that. We're told that by our parents, by our subculture, and certainly, by in a religious culture. So that's one way we've learn to believe something and once we learn to believe something, some assumptions come along with that and rarely do we even have access to the assumptions that go along with what we've been told to believe. It's really important and it's really interesting. The whole topic, you must have already had some discussions with people about their beliefs, about the soul, beliefs about afterlife and most instances, in my experiences, it was a pretty interesting discussion. Most of this course is not about right and wrong. You know, view me as somebody who's just arrived on this planet and is really interested in the whole phenomenon of people's belief about the soul and its afterlife. Now, most of that we learn in religion. We have various religions. This is wonderfully a multicultural society that somehow manages to put, allow religions to exist without people sort of fighting about it all the time. So I'm going to have some people come up on stage. We'll start with Catholics, and then we'll parade through some other religions. And I'm not going to ask you what you believe, okay? That's a game. I'm not going to ask you what you believe. I'm going to ask you to, in fact, I was set up by Professor Hamilton last time, saying you know, between now, that was Tuesday, and Thursday's class, kind of think about what you've been told to believe about the soul and its afterlife. You might have even thought about, well, who told you that? Or did anybody tell you that? Maybe it's just something that you picked up in a church, or a synagogue, or a temple. So let me ask you. Are there any people here who were raised Catholic? Quite a few. Not surprising, in New Jersey. I'm going to ask 10 or 12 of you to come up on stage and we'll talk about, you just first of all describe what you were told to believe about the soul and its afterlife. Now, what usually happens, this is not the first time I've done that. What usually happens is different Catholics have different versions, usually of the same story but not necessarily, one to one versions of the story. Then I'll ask Protestants. Any Protestants left on the planet? Raise your hand. Raise your hand. There's Protestants? Come on. All right. We got some Protestants. Then we'll move on to oh, people raised in the Jewish tradition, all right? Good. What about Muslims? Are there Muslims here? Good. And we'll go up from there. What about the Hindus, Catholics. I want 10 Catholics up here. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Good. People raised in a Catholic tradition. All right, so, so 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, okay. >> What? >> You don't have to believe. >> It doesn't matter what you believe now. Okay. You come up here. We all need to kind of face the camera. So in the past, what I have done is I've gone and turned my back on you But so I got it. So move back a little bit. Okay. I'll move back, and I'm going to have you come up, sort of one at a time, to the microphone, this microphone. No, actually we'll hand the microphone. Now, is the priest here? I asked for a priest to come to tell them whether they're right or wrong. I guess he didn't show up, so [LAUGH] we're okay. So now that you understand the rules here, and that is what were you told to believe about the soul and its afterlife? And you do not need to, in fact, I'd prefer you not to say what you believe now. You got it? Okay. So you know, you might get into that later in the semester but certainly, not on stage. Who wants to go first? You come, come up, come, come here. >> Say one, two, okay. So, my name's Andrew. >> You don't need to do that but you can! [LAUGH] >> I'm Andrew! How you guys doing. So I was raised to believe that God makes your soul and you don't exist until your soul is brought in to being. >> I didn't get that. What? >> You don't exist until your soul is brought in to being. Okay, okay, brought into being. >> Yeah. And then you are born what is the word for it. >> Born works. >> Conceived. >> Conceived. >> Yeah. >> Oh. [LAUGH] I'm a bio major, I know conceived. So. >> [LAUGH]. >> When you're conceived, your soul is you know, there, and for the rest of your life your soul exists and after you die, your soul lives on into the afterlife. If you know, if you are a good Catholic, you go to heaven, if you are a bad Catholic, you just go to hell. If you mess up one time, you go to purgatory until you can get into heaven. >> That's, that's, very good. Now, who wants to elaborate on that or say something well, that's not what I was told? You. Come on, come on. >> I was raised to believe that there was a definite system of right and wrong. Whereas, the choices that you make definitely have a reflection on what's going to happen when you eventually die. Whereas, if you make good decisions that God would like, then you're a good person and you'll go to heaven because that's the reward and if you're a bad person, and you make bad choices that God would not like, then you will go to hell. >> Were you taught about what, let's say hell. What makes it up there. >> Like who makes it up there or what? >> No, no, yeah, yeah, once you're there, are you there as person? >> No, it was definitely much more of a spiritual thing. >> Okay, much more of a spiritual thing. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Next person. Let's have you. No, you, come on. [SOUND]. >> What were you told to believe about this? >> I was told to believe in CCD, which I stopped in eighth grade. So I kind of forget but [LAUGH] that you, while you're on this earth, you're supposed to like, follow the Ten Commandments. Do, follow the word of God. Do what God wants and if you're good, you'll be allowed into heaven and if you break the Ten Commandments, you will go to hell and following up on the purgatory, I was taught that you only go to purgatory if you commit suicide, which is like supposedly purgatory is worse than hell because it's just like the in-between. >> Okay, so that's kind of a twist. Yeah, that purgatory is only for those who kill themselves. >> Uh-huh. >> All right, great. Thank you. Somebody down here, yeah. >> Well, I know I'm a Catholic, so obviously, but there's a lot of it depends on who you ask, there's a lot of like you know, rules but like I don't believe that there's like you know, a code to get. >> Oh, oh, oh, oh, I don't care what you believe. All right. >> Okay. [LAUGH]. >> I mean, I do care, really but it's what you were told. >> Okay. So, what I was told is that it really doesn't matter who you are, like as a person, and as a religion, like whatever religion you followed to get into heaven then be with God, it really just depends on whether or not you treated others in your life, in your Earthly life the way that you want to be treated and you loved as you wanted to be loved yourself because I was always taught that you know, no matter like, race, religion, or creed, there are always going to be good people in the world and you know, for every race, religion, and creed, there are also bad people and you know, God isn't discriminating against any you know, particular race, religion, or creed so that's like the Golden Rule is to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. So I believe that that's how you know, anybody can really get into heaven. >> Good, thank you. You know, we got some awfully articulate spokespersons in this class. I want a woman now. Well, particularly, I would like to hear from somebody who was taught that you're not going to make it unless you're a Catholic. Come up, yeah. That is to make it to heaven and you know, you gotta be a Catholic. >> Yeah, I was, I'm a Greek Catholic, so I came from Eastern Europe, from Ukraine, so I was thought, taught that yes, when your born, the soul enters your body but unless you're Christened, which means that you become one with God, if you're not Christened, then you won't make it to heaven and God, in essence, doesn't accept you into heaven. You have to be Christened and then you have to be a good person, follow the Ten Commandments and then you have to die and if you were good, you will make it to heaven. Otherwise, if you didn't go through the Christening process, the First Communion process, if you didn't go through all of that, you still won't make it to heaven. >> Do you have any sense of what makes it to hell? You? Your soul? Both of you? >> No, your body stays. Your soul goes and your soul is essentially like the I in who you are, it is your personality. It is everything that you are and essentially, the physical body is just what moves you through the earth but the soul is what goes to heaven, and that is essentially, the you, the individual that is in your body. >> Terrific, thank you. Who else? I want a woman, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you, you come. >> So I was taught that if you do bad things, you go to hell, you do good things, you go to heaven, and if you do the bad things, then you have to confess in order for God to forgive you and then you can go to heaven. You confess? How do you confess? >> You go to church and tell a priest all of the bad things that you've done. >> Okay. Okay. I mean, it's sort of scary. >> Yeah. >> All the things I've done, I'd run through my mind as soon as you say that. [LAUGH] So, thank you. Yeah, thank you. Who else? Yes, no, no you, yep, yep. We've really got an attractive group of students I mean, I must say. >> Okay, so adding to the confession, I've learned that you don't have to just go to church to do that, you can pray in your head and as far as the choices you make, you, there's like this magical gate when you get to heaven and before you can enter the gate. >> [COUGH]. >> Before it's unlocked, you have to confess all your sins again to God and then He'll judge each of them and decide what He wants to do and I believed in praying to the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, so I guess the Holy Spirit part would be your soul. >> Really interesting stuff, thank you. Who's next? Yeah, come. Move. >> Okay, I don't really want to get too repetitive here, but I was taught to believe that your soul, like on Judgement Day, Jesus comes back to Earth and he judges everyone's soul, like the living and the dead. So if you have like a good soul he would choose to take you up to heaven and if you have a bad soul he would just send you to hell, so. >> Busy, [LAUGH] a lot of work for Jesus, yes. Thank you. When you, when you take communion. This, this is something that concerned me as a kid. In communion, do you have real wine? When you take communion is there, is what you drink, is it wine? >> Yeah. >> Yes. You can color water though. >> That's questionable. >> Well, if you're Catholic, you don't believe it's wine. You believe it is. >> [CROSSTALK] That it's the blood of Christ. But what I want to know, is it wine or is it watered down grape juice? >> [LAUGH] >> Wine. That really annoys me. >> [LAUGH]. >> [LAUGH]. >> Because I was born and raised Presbyterian and down on the block there, there was the Catholic church and they adding in addition to the Catholic church. People wanted to know why and the minister said, it's because Catholics, when they drink the blood of Christ, it is actually wine and what they're building there is a recovery room for Catholics who get drunk. >> [LAUGH]. >> And, so I was born with this animosity to Catholics, because they drank. Something I always wanted to do. >> [LAUGH] >> And was not allowed to. I do now so, once in a while. Right before this class. >> [LAUGH] >> Yes. Who else? You obviously. If you think everything's been said, you do. No, I was going to say one more thing. >> Oh, you come here and say one more thing. >> I don't know if this is relevant but I always have this thought that maybe this world is the purgatory. So all of our souls are cleansing right now, and then like the final step will be heaven or hell. That's a beautiful thought but you just broke the rule. That's okay! I mean hold that thought because now, I don't want disappointment yet. Who hasn't spoken and really wants to speak? You spoke. You're from Greece. >> Ukraine. >> Ukraine. I knew he wasn't from here. That's as far as I got. >> [LAUGH]. >> I was going to ask you, is there a lot of fun and activity in heaven or just a. >> Well. >> I mean, if somebody's running for President, who's named Mitt something. >> [LAUGH]. >> In a newspaper he was interviewed about his faith, which is you know, legitimate and probably hands off now. He said you know, one thing that my wife and I do whenever we have an argument, we sit down and resolve the argument right then and there because, after all, we're going to be in heaven forever and I'm thinking, well, why resolve the arguments? That'll give you something to do in heaven. >> [LAUGH] >> Right? You know, something to talk about but that's my own schtick. So thank you very much for coming up. Fabulous, fabulous. [APPLAUSE]
