So this is the solution to the problem, confidence. Not confidence that one can wave a wand and put things right, as if by magic. I do not believe in magic; neither in the magic of capitalism with its cornucopia of incentives which pander to every known type of human greed, but never yet turned a greedy person into a public spirited person; nor in the tarnished magic of communism with its idolatry of the state, and its slave labour camps. The very suffix “-ism” betrays a desire to apply dogmatically a theory to human life, which is not susceptible to theoretical treatment. Confidence means confidence that a solution is possible, and that if one avoids the corruption of one's own consciousness, that itself will result in a small but significant contribution to the general solution.

I propose to discuss immortality, which may be said to be the divine confidence. Whereas hell may be likened to an eternal lack of confidence, which cannot be remedied, because it is too late. The subject is best approached by asking, “What happens if one faces life with an invincible optimism? What happens as the years pass?”. Christ himself did not flinch for one moment from…