“Sometimes I believe in God, sometimes I don't. I think it's 50-50 maybe. But ever since I've had cancer, I've been thinking about it more. And I find myself believing a bit more. I kind of...maybe it's cause I want to believe in an afterlife. That when you die, it doesn't just all disappear. The wisdom you've accumulated. Somehow it lives on.” Interestingly, Steve Jobs illustrates here the possibility of an afterlife that isn’t based on an analysis of any theological text (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Human beings cannot be strictly defined as “animals who can reason.” Mankind can solve math problems and feel pleasure, but they can also know themselves and act righteously, and such is the pursuit of wisdom. In this vein, doing “good” and avoiding “bad” is not based on an atheistic notion of doing so only to gain God’s favor, or to avoid his anger. There is no fear of an omnipotent ego here. It is, as Jobs describes, an “accumulation” of certain mental experiences. Indeed, for what is a man besides all the mental memories that he has accumulated over a life-time? If we were to bring religion into all this, God can no longer be regarded as some all-powerful being who made up a bunch of pointless rules so he can sadistically laugh at humans all day. No, these divine rules can be perceived as measures to keep humans alert, and not fall into a state where one’s mode of living is: eat, sex, sleep.
