Imagine Thought Experiment podcast

13. What if there is no hell?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 02:34:21 +0000

So maybe we can’t understand the idea of hell, and throw it out. What was all that stuff in the Bible about it for? Why is it so important to behave well? Why did god put us on the earth at all? Andy sits with the lack of hell for a bit, and tries to understand what a world like that would be like.

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

12. What if there is a hell?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 02:22:21 +0000

What if there were an eternal fire where people you love were tortured forever? What would that be like, how can we sit with that idea and inhabit it? Andy has great difficulty, and is compelled to continue sitting with the idea of god’s goodness.

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

11. What if Jesus was not just a man?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 02:11:21 +0000

If the actual god came to earth and walked around, how do we deal with this idea? Can it even make sense? How does it feel when we sit with this idea and try to figure out what it means?

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

10. What if Jesus was just a man?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 02:00:21 +0000

People often call Jesus a good man - does this make sense? Andy thinks through what it would be like if Jesus was just a man. Would it make sense to call yourself a Christian? Sitting with the idea, is there anything left for a Christian if the magic of Jesus is removed?

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

9. What if everything is determined?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 01:50:21 +0000

If time steps forward like clockwork and everything is determined before it happens, can we really exist at all? What are we if we are machines? How does it feel to inhabit that idea and sit with it for a while?

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

8. What if justice does not exist?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 01:34:21 +0000

If the horrible things we see in this world are all there is, and there is no final reckoning, how do we feel? What would we do? Will we look for more justice in this world, or will we give up on the idea?

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

7. What if justice exists?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 01:22:21 +0000

If every wrong was going to be punished, and the people who had been hurt would be looked after, and given justice, what would that be like? Would we really like everything about us to be known? How would we act?

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

6. What if something matters?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:49:21 +0000

Doesn’t it feel like sometimes some things matter? What do we mean when we say life has meaning? Does the idea fall apart when we look too closely at it? What would it feel like if something mattered? What would it feel like?

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

5. What if nothing matters?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:28:21 +0000

We’re exploring worlds where some of the things we normally pin our hopes on are gone, so it’s natural to look at the fundamental question: what if nothing matters? Andy spends some time trying to feel that, and work out what we would do or think if we truly accepted and embraced that idea.

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

4. What if god exists?

Andy Balaam — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:12:21 +0000

Having tried to inhabit the idea of there being no god in the last episode, this time Andy tries to feel what it would be like if someone was there: if she were listening; if he spoke. We spend some time sitting with the idea, and trying to explore what it would mean, and what it would be like.

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

3. What if god does not exist?

Andy Balaam — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 23:43:21 +0000

What are the implications if there really is no god? No personality guiding, judging, interfering with the world as we experience it? Andy tries to take on board what it really means if no-one is listening.

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

2. What if death does not exist?

Andy Balaam — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 07:49:21 +0000

Andy continues his exploration of life and death by thinking out loud about what it could really mean for there to be a soul - if death did not exist. Would we continue moving forward through time? How would we act and feel if we really believed and understood that idea?

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.

1. What if death exists?

Andy Balaam — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 00:21:21 +0000

Andy begins exploring and trying to inhabit different worldviews by asking himself what it would be like if death really existed - in other words if there is no such thing as a soul that lives on after death, or anything like it.

Words: by Andy Balaam, released under CC-BY-SA.