If we talk about the soul like some kind of internal butterfly that gets to fly free of the body and live forever, then I’m a little freaked out.
I refuse to buy into any kind of faith that escapes the flesh. God chooses to dwell deeply in the flesh of the Christ, the bread and wine, and the believer so there can be no vision of salvation where creation is not also redeemed. With that said, I am also unwilling to accept any vision of salvation where it is all pleasure driven. If I had a giant vacuum, I’d love to suck the image of heaven as a bunch of people in their prime age and better than normal looks doing what they want with whom they want somewhere in the clouds. I want to affirm an eternal vision that involves the fleshiness of existence, but not the self-absorbed consumerism of it. This all shouldn’t be written in first person, but I feel like I’m talking to you. This is orthodox Christianity that gets lost in Platonic dualism and popular christian individual consumerism.
Any sense that we keep going in the clouds as our younger, healthier selves surrounded by those we love with their annoying edges rubbed off feels like a marketing lie. It’s the anti-aging cream gone wild. Talk about a pathetic promise. My husband finally told me that even if I rub it all over, I’ll still age and that’s okay.