The Mathematics of Heaven and Hell

[kerravonsen]

Heaven declares: the sum of Everything is Love.
Love never ends.
Therefore the sum of Everything is Infinity.

Hell disputes: Love is naught.
Therefore the sum of Everything is Zero.

Hell's ways are narrow and small,
grasping and desperate;
For the sum of Everything is Zero.
Giving is losing
Generosity is weakness
For nothing is gained without taking from another.
The laws of scarcity apply.
If resources are scarce, accounting must be strict.
The books must balance,
The beans must be counted
Even in a den of thieves.
Debts are never forgiven;
they are collected with interest.
Number One is greater than Everything, for One is greater than Zero.
Power is the only rule,
Selfishness the only virtue.

Heaven's virtues derive from abundance.
There is no scarcity in Love, no clock ticking down to nothing.
There are eternities of patience in Heaven's stores.
Mercy is more fruitful than Justice,
for Mercy adds when Justice subtracts;
Forgiveness multiplies while Vengeance divides.
Though the tally of Justice must still be filled,
The accounting of Love pays all debts in full, overflowing,
For debts are merely finite against the infinity of Love.
To give is to gain, for it delivers
Love to the power of two;
Both giver and receiver are blessed.
Heaven's ways are open-handed and kind,
Generous and full of hope
For the sum of Everything is Infinity.

Comments

[c_carol]

That's lovely. Thanks for sharing.

[kerravonsen]

8-)

[travels_in_time]

...I was not expecting to cry while scrolling through Dreamwidth this afternoon.

Well done. I love this.

[kerravonsen]

It moved you to tears? Wow. Thank you.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

That is the best summation of Good Vs Evil I have read, pun not intended.

[kerravonsen]

8-)
When the central idea for this poem came to me, it felt revelatory.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I love this, so true and profound.

[kerravonsen]

Thank you. 8-)

[kaffy_r]

This is very close to what I believe, and it is written in a manner that resonates greatly with me. Thank you for sharing something so lovely.

[kerravonsen]

8-)
I've been working on this one for a while. I had the central idea, the difficulty was in fleshing it out. When the central idea came to me (the Sum Of Everything Is Love, and Love tends to Infinity, versus Love Is Naught) it made so much sense.

[kaffy_r]

It does take a while to flesh out a poem, doesn't it? You want it to be just right. I think you got it just right.

[delphipsmith]

That's really beautiful. Well done, you.

[kerravonsen]

8-)
Thank you.

[dreamflower]

I love this poem. Not only is it a great summation of the major differences between Good and Evil, but the theme of pure mathematics suits it wonderfully.

And I love the structure, balanced stanza to stanza, with words chosen carefully--it works as well as a poem as it does a creed.

BTW, I hope you will take it as the compliment I mean it for to say it sort of reminds me of CS Lewis.

Would you mind dreadfully if I linked to this in one of my Lent posts this week? (I try to make a post of something uplifting or thought-provoking or joyful or just inspiring each day during Lent.) It's too late for today to get your permission, I'm sure, but if you say it's OK, I would like to use it tomorrow or the next day?

If not, I understand. Some people don't want strangers rushing to their LJs.

[kerravonsen]

BTW, I hope you will take it as the compliment I mean it for to say it sort of reminds me of CS Lewis.

You have just fulfilled one of my life's ambtions: to be compared to Lewis.

(!!!!!!!!!)

Would you mind dreadfully if I linked to this in one of my Lent posts this week?

I would be most pleased.

[dreamflower]

I posted it here: http://dreamflower02.livejournal.com/743597.html

It just went up (2:09PM, US Central DST), so I doubt anyone's seen it yet.

Lent, Day Twenty-seven

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

User dreamflower02 referenced to your post from Lent, Day Twenty-seven (http://dreamflower02.livejournal.com/743597.html) saying: [...] With her permission, I am linking to it for today's Lent post: The Mathematics of Heaven and Hell [...]