What is Paradise and how can it be defined?
Over thousands of years, Paradise has been defined as anything from a vacation spot to the concept of a place in the sky after death where people relax knowing they have lived a good life. However, the latter is a definition brought by the Abrahamic religions to “explain” what happens after one dies, while the former is a fantasy for working people to take a vacation and go there. The concept has inspired people for over two thousand years. Paradise is a secular garden where everything is peaceful, no person hates another for their beliefs, and no person who has harmed a body, soul, or mind can enter.
This definition is needed because people confuse it with the term heaven. Heaven tends to portray the religious aspect of Paradise, but the term Paradise cannot be defined religiously because it includes the whole population, not just one piece. Paradise can be defined as a sanctuary for people, or it can be synonymous with heaven without the religious context.
This definition is correct because not all tropical places are Paradises. For example, Jamaica is rife with violence that still continues to this day. It is best caught in the song “Welcome to Jamrock” by Damian Marley. In the song, Marley compares the violence in Jamaica to the “paradise” that people think of when they think of Jamaica. For example, Marley sings, “Some boy nuh know dis (knows this), dem only come around like tourist/On the beach with a few club sodas/ Bedtime stories, and pose like dem name Chuck Norris/ And don't know the real hardcore/'Cause Sandals ah nuh back to the thugs/ Dem will do what dem got to and won't think twice to shot you/ Don't make dem (them) spot you, unless you carry guns a lot too/ A bare tuff tings (tough things) come at you” (Marley). He states that the Sandals resort in Jamaica is what people consider paradise, but is not the whole equation as Jamaica has its violent side too. Therefore, Jamaica does not count as Paradise as violence flares there.
In the Quran, Muslims believe that they will enter al-Jannah, or Paradise, if they are faithful to Allah. However, this can be misinterpreted to include the “if you martyr yourself, you earn seventy-two virgins” part. The Quran actually says, “And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous” (Surah Ali-Imran, verse 133) However, paradise is open to discussion because while it is a place, it is not a specific locale. This is a better definition because faith in a certain god does not guarantee admission nor does it have a specific location.
In the Bible, it is stated that Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven (Paradise) on Easter Sunday. However, a biblical verse states that “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matt 24:34-35). Christ is saying that Heaven is temporary and not eternal like the Christians claim. However, Paradise is eternal, and shall never pass away. This definition is correct because if Paradise was temporary, people would be wondering what kind of security they would have after death and those who are already admitted are to be moved to a different area
On the note of Christianity, there are groups that say that only their type of Christians will be accepted into Heaven and all else shall go to Hell. For example, “None shall go to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) is sometimes defined as “only Christians can go to Heaven”, but to others, it means that Jesus is the Decider. One example of this discrimination involves the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, whose congregation members discriminate against every faith that does not agree with their perspective. They claim that God hates homosexual people, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and about everyone else that does not believe in their God, and state that those people shall not go to Heaven (Paradise), but instead to Hell (Hades). They would use quotes from the Bible to defend their point while not considering what the quote actually means to other people. In my definition of Paradise, there would be no discrimination; gays would be allowed to “save” themselves and straights would be respectful to them. Hatred would not be tolerated because even though humans have different races, genders, sexual orientations, etc, they are all equal under the watch of (place your God here).
One defending my definition will be challenged by these types of people because they will focus on Bible passages that they manipulate to make the phrase agree with the argument they are making. Another example of this would be the Islamic extremists manipulating the Quran to comply with their argument of the martyrdom for anti-western sentiment. They manipulate a fact that is just as believable to Muslims as to the Christians believing that when they die, they will be playing a harp with wings on and floating on a cloud. The truth is, there is condemnation for this type of act because those people took their own lives while taking other lives as well. That type of person is unworthy of being admitted to Paradise based on the criteria above because he/she committed bodily harm to people and also caused mental and emotional instability to the families of the victims. This challenge will be answered with a challenge of the logic of the person stating these ideas, such as: What is true about this throughout all religions/ideologies? Where are your sources? And what can you do to defend it?
Paradise is not a state of mind because a state of mind does not pertain to reality as Paradise does. While many state that it is a state of mind, it actually is a place that can be visualized pertaining to a person’s imagination. It is comparable to heaven, but is not because heaven is religious while Paradise is secular. It exists because it is the one place that people desire to go to. As Molly Roach says in her thesis, “The idea of paradise has inspired gardens, poems, music, and literature. It is Eden the origin of Man, and heaven where the blessed will be rewarded after death…There is something in this idea that is more than just a garden, so what is it that makes paradise so different from other gardens? It’s like succulents and cacti. All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. Cacti have prickles, and Paradise has something that regular gardens don’t have. Most regular gardens are all about form and color, and where the eye is drawn; it’s about design, with nothing else beneath it” (Roach). This statement has proven that the fact of Paradise being a location is real and has inspired people for over two thousand years. However, Roach does not give a specific area where the garden could be, as there is no specific location.
Paradise is a secular place where no person who has caused harm can enter, is peaceful, and no person hates one another for their beliefs. This definition is needed because the definition is debated between different religious viewpoints. For example, Christians may use John 14:6 to solidify their claims while Muslims use the Surah Ali-Imran to defend their claim that only Muslims are granted this privilege. This definition also must be the one accepted because this world is becoming increasingly secular and not every tropical place is considered a paradise, as violence has hit places such as Jamaica, Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic in the past. There has also been hatred based on religion, ideals, sexual orientation, and towards women, which disqualifies people from Paradise because the definition that is being argued states that there cannot be any hatred for anybody regardless of anything about a person’s features or emotion. Finally, there can only be peace in this place because it is supposed to be the sanctuary of the people, a place where fear does not exist. These reasons, and more, are why Paradise should be defined as above.
Works Cited
New International Version (Bible). Colorado Springs, Biblica. 1984. Print.
The Holy Qur’an: Guidance For Life. Trans. Yahiya Emerick. USA 2010. Print.
Roach, Molly. "Written Thesis on Paradise." Written Thesis. The New School, 19 Mar.
2004. Web. 16 Oct. 2011.
Marley, Damian. “Welcome to Jamrock”. Rec. Sept. 12, 2005. Welcome to Jamrock. Damian
Marley. Damian and Stephen Marley. 2005. MP3.
Image 1: http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/delight
Image 2: http://elmoledd.blogspot.com/2009_09_09_archive.html (Arabic)
Image 3: http://townhall.com/photos/2011/05/02/the_cover_of_a_special_edition_of_time_magazine_devoted_to_the_death_of_osama_bin_laden_is_seen_in_this_image_released_by_time_inc_in_new_york
I really like your definition! You did a great job and what made your paper really effective was how you balanced it out between the opposing side and the side for it. You talked about both sides, not just one side and also your definition is very arguable. A lot of people would disagree with you that your definition is wrong and that paradise is heaven or that paradise is a place at the beach with friends, alcohol, and music. Other than that you did a good job!
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ReplyDeleteThis was a tough topic to define, but I think that you did a great job defining it! You effectively brought up the opposition, and proved that your defintiion was correct. I thought that it was interesting how you explained how vacation paradise locations are now violent, and therefore cannot be considered paradise. This was a great paper with solid arguments. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThe repetition of what you think paradise is throughout the paper makes your argument more and more convincing. I also like your addition of the different religions and their perspectives but in the end ultimately defending yours. Great work!
ReplyDeleteI like that you noted it can be defined as a vacation spot because it seems vacation is the word most commonly associated with paradise. Good job on your qualifiers- they are very strong and specific! I liked that you stated that people confuse it with the term heaven because that is so true. The example about Jamaica was very effective in your paper and basically proved your whole point. Your sources were very credible, such as the bible, which functioned rhetorically. Very good job.
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