Saw this on another forum, and felt it was a perspective worth posting:

Originally Posted by nicolepsy, on City-Data.com

When it is really this one that matters. Live for today!

Gets me thinking that alot of people who love the bible think either too much of the past (ex: what happened in jesus' time) or too much about the future (heaven). that could distract someone from enjoying their current time on earth.

Think about it. When those religions were developed, life for almost everyone was pretty bad. Hope for a better life after death was an effective way to motivate the average person to believe in the religion and to motivate good works on Earth. There was also widespread belief in spirits, ghosts, demons, etc., so a realm of souls and spirits was something which most persons already believed in. The Christians just fine-tuned the idea a bit (versus Judaism, which teaches of no heaven for human souls). That's about it. It's part of the mythology of the religion.