Hindus, Buddhists and some flavors of New Age spirituality denigrate this life in an even more extreme way. They maintain that this world is just an illusion, a dream from which we will one day awaken. I suspect that theology of this kind appeals most to folks who have had a hard time in life. If you are suffering in your daily life, wouldn't it be nice if this life turned out to be just a nightmare from which you will soon wake up? Comforting, perhaps, but not necessarily the best strategy for the alleviation of suffering.

"If the world mattered so little, why would we execute people who make it worse? Why would we elect leaders to help solve these problems?"

The anser to both questions: we don't - society just maintains the status quo...

I actually deconverted for other reasons (I realized that "god" doesn't exist independent of those that conceptualize its existence), but reflection upon these old thoughts showed me what i really wanted all along: I didn't want a kingdom in Heaven, I wanted a kingdom right here and now! Today, I consider my property to be the only kingdom I'll ever have - and value it all the more because of that.

I used to feel the same way. I wanted to be Raptured, but Wait a bit, Jesus, I haven't had my fill of life yet. I didn't realize the irony of this attitude until after I got unsaved.
A few years ago, I had a bumpersticker that said "Come the Rapture, can I have your car?"
I don't believe that the Rapture is actually in Revelation, only in First Thessalonians. It was explained to me that the Rapture is not the second coming, becuase JC merely skims throught the upper atmosphere, and he doesn't actully set foot on earth. My belief is that this entire Rapture-Tribulation-Second coming timeline is a result of Biblical Literalism. Paul and John described differing versions of the Second Coming, and because of the differences, the literalists have to jump through hoops to make the accounts agree.

When I got older, I began to choose my own beliefs/fiction about the afterlife. I hated the idea that this life as the "fleshly realm" was inferior to some sort of "spiritual realm." I hoped that the afterlife would me more like this world, and I found lots of Christian books that stated the things I wanted to hear. I did really enjoy living this life and did not spend time thinking about how much "better" heaven was supposed to be.

The real problem was hell. Once, I attended a political rally filled with people who were questioning the value of having the Christian religious right on their side. Some thought that any political support was good support, but one man said, "Why ally with people who are waiting for Jesus to come back and kill all of us?" In church those scriptures are not really preached that often, and I was horrified that they saw it that way. The constant thought that any non-Christian I knew would be killed and tortured forever because of their beliefs really shook my faith in the goodness and justice of the Biblical account. To quote Isaac Asimov: "Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived."

While this may sound a bit stupid, think for a moment. Let's say, your're e.g. living in a small community, a small village e.g. and there's a community meeting to decide if certain changes to the community infrastructure or politics should be made (e.g. a if a road is to be build or if some common land shall be given away or somesuch).
Who's oppinion will you take more seriously? The one from the guy who like's living there and plans to continue living there as long as he can ? Or the one from the guy who grumbles all the time how everything about this community is crap and everything is much better in the next community (he has only heard about but never seen, actually) and who plans to leave as soon as possible for his glorious new live in the other community ? Whose oppinion is more likely to benefit the community as a whole?

Well, maybe this would be a better place if the afterlife idiots oppinions wouldn't be valued as much as the one's of people who actually enjoy living here.

I like the Brenda Peterson piece. It's probably largely fictional, but the message is right.