Who wants that? Mercy would be extended to those who had tried, but got it wrong. But what would be the point in extending it to those who had not tried? If there is a God, the whole point of this world surely is whether you are prepared to side with God, or right, or duty, when it is far from obvious that evil will not win the day?
But if I am right, that this world is fundamentally about immortality, why is it that most people reject immortality, when presented with the opportunity of accepting it? In youth one is thrilled with the prospect of exploring the future. And if the spirit of God does indeed dwell in the depths of the psyche, then the genius of Christianity is that it holds out the prospect of a limitless development of the human spirit, which extends far beyond youth. One might have thought the prospect was infinitely inviting. With the world of relationships blossoming into the world of inter-penetrating minds; and no doubt beyond this a world where events cast a shadow in front of them, so that one has a premonition that something of the sort will happen. One might think the adventure could go on indefinitely. Some events do cast a shadow in front of them. The supreme example of this was surely the Transfiguration, when Jesus led his disciples up into the mountain to have an amazing spiritual experience. He did this, we are told, six days after he had asked them whom they thought he was; and the Gospels say nothing in vain. The inference is obvious: that Jesus knew roughly what to expect, whether or not he expected what is said actually to have happened.
Such experiences can happen to us too. When you have a premonition that disaster is approaching, and will be upon you unless you take avoiding action, it is not solely in the imagination, as some scoffers might suggest. When only one person has the premonition, then however vivid the experience, it is difficult to refute the suggestion that one remembers those occasions when disaster struck, and forgets those when nothing happened. But when more than one person has the premonition, then it is either telepathy or premonition.
So why is youth so reluctant to set out on such an adventure into the world of the spirit? I think it is because you have to break free of convention; and most young people are quite incapable of doing so for more than a limited time; and of those who can most are incapable of living a normal life thereafter. They tend either to become cranks, or dropouts. It requires considerable self-confidence to break free of convention, yet be willing to subscribe to it as long as is expedient. And when a man has the maturity to have this self-confidence, generally he has lost the thirst for adventure!
But the trouble is that without adventure, the whole community becomes ossified in the world of Health and Safety. Of course the provisions of the Factory Acts and the Building Regulations, with which I used to be fairly familiar, are a great benefit to the community.