Farther Along: What Religion Is For

The dream of an afterlife is a powerful one that takes many forms. In one version, Heaven is the reward for those who have thus escaped the fires of Hell. This reward and punishment model has never appealed to me. But if we set aside the punishment part, we can see the appeal of an afterlife where those good people who struggled in this life, and there are so many whose circumstances seem so undeserved, experience a place beyond death where their suffering will end and where they can enjoy a peace commensurate with their character. And it's not just that good people suffer, but also that this world seems to be one in which, as the old gospel song "Farther Along" puts it, "others prosper / living so wicked year after year." When my father died several years ago, I listened to this Flying Burrito Brothers version of "Farther Along" a lot. My dad didn't have a mean or aggressive bone in his body, he was above all a good and caring man, so this song speaks to me. And who of us doesn't hold out the hope that "We'll understand it all by and by"? Johnny Cash has a powerful version of this, too.