“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (New Testament, Luke 18:25, Mark 10:25, Matthew 19:24)
As I have written various times, humans need a unique, global notion of evil, that unluckily doesn’t exist, because we all are ignorant creatures, forced to build the foundations of our sociality on the don’ts, knowable from past experiences, rather than on the dos, given that future is always out of any rational control. With other words, human knowledge is, more or less, an application of a natural faculty, named memory. Even when you try to foresee future events, or to establish your future plans, you can exclusively employ past experiences. Among the many paradoxes that affect human cultures, there’s an absence of what we would need, a stable list of don’ts, and a universal presence of what we would like to get, a concept of paradise. While the notion of evil is hard and controversial, a notion of paradise is easy to define, by observing the strongest wishes of individuals. Well, I think I can propose a personal notion of paradise, that many persons would appreciate, as follows: a paradise is an immaterial place, resembling to a mental status, where pain and death don’t exist, and there are only perennial joy and happiness. Strangely, into the vast majority of religions of the world, there’s no space in paradise for everyone, and the right to reside in paradise is something to conquer for the afterlife, by living a virtuous lifetime. About the virtues required, the page would like to represent a deepening of the most political content of the New Testament, a sacred scripture of Christianity, that’s the phrase reported at the beginning. According to a literal interpretation, it’s practically impossible for rich men to conquer the right to enter paradise. Catholic Church sustains that the phrase is not against rich men, and that it contains a hyperbole, whose true meaning is that it is impossible for anyone to be saved on its own merits. However, my intention is to give an answer to the question whether rich men can go to paradise or not, and how.
Apparently, the final destination of the adventurous camel, which is about to go through the eye of a needle, is the kingdom of God. By the way, out of the context of the New Testament, you might think that rich men can’t go to paradise together with their camels. Why? There are various, possible reasons, such as: the gate of paradise is narrow; God doesn’t like camels; paradise is not the right place for camels. More properly, the phrase about camels should be contextualized. Given that God loves all of his creatures, including camels, it’s easy to understand that the camel of the New Testament is a symbol, and not a peculiar animal, suitable to travel across deserts. Naturally, a camel represents the core of richness for those who live in arid lands, the most precious thing that a rich man could ever get. Perhaps, the purpose of the phrase is to show the existence of more than one scales of values, and that the scale of values approved by God doesn’t contain camels, the most precious richness for a man of deserts. Is it true that God rejects capitalists from Heaven? My logical faculties suggest that you can go to paradise, even if you are a capitalist, but only if paradise becomes your unique wish, and the idea most precious to you.
Obviously, the eye of the needle is inside your mind, and is not a physical barrier in front of your camel. In conclusion, while God is offering his own paradise, that’s high in Heaven, many persons prefer other kinds of paradises, much earthlier. The same thing happens with pop and rock songs, as you can listen from the mix of the page.
File name is “easily accessible paradises, by Max Look DJ (Feb 2021)”, about 1 hour and 23’ of non-religious songs about paradise.
Ascension not necessary, the playlist:
Patina Miller - take me to heaven (2011)
Mary J. Blige - stairway to heaven (2010)
Later. - back to heaven (2023)
13th Floor Elevators - kingdom of heaven (1966)
Green Day - welcome to paradise (1991)
Terence Trent D'Arby - if you all get to heaven (1987)
Cris Cab - paradise (on Earth, 2013)
Maxwell - ascension-don’t ever wonder (the Tribute Uncut, 1996)
Temptations - you make your own heaven and hell right here on Earth (1970)
20th Century Band - heaven and hell is on Earth (1975)
Gregorian - heaven is a place on Earth (2003)
Righteous Brothers - rock and roll heaven (1974)
FPI Project - rich in paradise (going back to my roots) (Vocal Remix 1989)
Koxò Club Band - paradhouse (mix version 1988)
Lana Del Rey - dark paradise (2012)
Filippo Malatesta - la cruna dell'ago (1992)
Nicky Romero & Deniz Koyu - paradise (feat. Walk off the Earth, extended mix 2018)
Tears for Fears - closest thing to heaven (Solasso remix, 2004)
Coldplay - paradise (Fedde Le Grand remix, 2011)
