EdwardAbbey Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Suppose there is no life beyond the grave? What if you’re wrong and there is nothing beyond death? What if one day you learned that everything you believed all your life about eternity is wrong? How do you think you would deal with the reality of it? It could be very hard to deal with and frightening for some. When I think back how it was for me personally, it was something I denied for some time until I learned to accept it for the reality it really is. In short, I was only fooling myself by clinging to such a concept by faith. The reality of it all is that, I learned to accept death as a natural process and from that moment on I viewed life with a whole new and refreshing perspective. Some of you might be saying that I too could be wrong about my non-belief and you are correct. I could be wrong too. The thing is, life after death, for me personally is not rational, logical and makes no sense whatsoever. But I too am open to the fact that I could be wrong. Therefore, let the discussions begin on this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Since our identity and self-awareness are based on our memories, and the memories are stored in the brain-cells, even if the "soul" would live forever, I wouldn't have the memory of this life. /edit/ And of course the Christian will bring up Pascals wager about the "if you're right, and I'm wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 i have struggled with that for along time. i have discussed it many times. i wish i knew for sure if their is or is not life after death. i will find out someday. when you accepted that you one day would die and not exist did the fear go away? how do you go about doing that? i wish i did not fear it so much. the question what if im wrong really makes me think what if im wasting my life away believing in the guessing game called religion? i like my beliefs but when it comes to the facts its just a guessing game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taphophilia Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Since our identity and self-awareness are based on our memories, and the memories are stored in the brain-cells, even if the "soul" would live forever, I wouldn't have the memory of this life. No memories of this life? You say that like it's a bad thing! Taph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 without braincells youd be pretty much like a vegitable as a soul right? so much for visiting dead family and friends you wouldnt even know each other, have the ability to talk or anything. sounds boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ML13 Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 when you accepted that you one day would die and not exist did the fear go away? how do you go about doing that? It has become somewhat easier for me as I grow older to accept the fact that after I die, I'm never coming back and there is no other life that awaits me. I think it will happen to you too when you get older. But if there happens to be an afterlife, it'll be soooooooooo fun!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 i think i will accept it oneday. my thoughts are going in that direction i have tried over and over to find proof of an afterlife and its always been proven false each idea i have. when you accepted that you one day would die and not exist did the fear go away? how do you go about doing that? It has become somewhat easier for me as I grow older to accept the fact that after I die, I'm never coming back and there is no other life that awaits me. I think it will happen to you too when you get older. But if there happens to be an afterlife, it'll be soooooooooo fun!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 i think i will accept it oneday. my thoughts are going in that direction i have tried over and over to find proof of an afterlife and its always been proven false each idea i have. All I do is think back to, say, a year before I was born. Try that. Tell me what things were like, what you did and the thoughts you had one year before you were born. It will be that way after you die and that's not really so bad is it? If it turns out to be something different then I'll deal with that when I get there just like I had to this go around. To me it's the moment of death that is frightening (even though I know my brain will kick out enough endorphins to make it into a fairly pleasant experience) but what comes after doesn't matter so much. Think good thoughts at the moment of death, and if there's nothing more, then in a way you will spend all eternity in those thoughts. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimov Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Therefore, let the discussions begin on this topic. It appears as if this is the ex-christian form of the "what if you're wrong and Jesus IS true?!" argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 i am not sure what life was like before i was born i see your point if i existed back then i would have memories of it. sounds like one of those zen questions you cant answer. i think i will accept it oneday. my thoughts are going in that direction i have tried over and over to find proof of an afterlife and its always been proven false each idea i have. All I do is think back to, say, a year before I was born. Try that. Tell me what things were like, what you did and the thoughts you had one year before you were born. It will be that way after you die and that's not really so bad is it? If it turns out to be something different then I'll deal with that when I get there just like I had to this go around. To me it's the moment of death that is frightening (even though I know my brain will kick out enough endorphins to make it into a fairly pleasant experience) but what comes after doesn't matter so much. Think good thoughts at the moment of death, and if there's nothing more, then in a way you will spend all eternity in those thoughts. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Since our identity and self-awareness are based on our memories, and the memories are stored in the brain-cells, even if the "soul" would live forever, I wouldn't have the memory of this life. No memories of this life? You say that like it's a bad thing! Taph Not at all. Just a reflection. We know our name, our past, our skills, our language(s) and whatver we have learned school, work, etc Nothing left. So going to heaven or hell without a clue who we are and even without a language, what's the purpose? Not saying that this "God" have some means to download our memory into some cache storage and transfer it into the "new" body the Bible talks about. But are we the same person with a new body? And according to tradition, the bad memories wiped out. But many times peoples personality comes from the bad experience as well as the good. Like some artists and authors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInPA Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 I think one of the main reasons religions exist is fear of the fact that when you die, that's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KT45 Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Well I guess if the afterlife wasn't real, the only thing we could do is focus on enjoying and making our lives better now insteading of preparing for an afterlife. Hm... doesn't sound so bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Emerson Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 I love your questions EdwardAbbey. btw, where are the xtians? They used to come and debate all the time and now their not here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 seems like all we get now days is hit and run xtians they hit you with a few scriptures and sermon and dissapear lol. i didnt notice this question was for xtians lol. but the way they are now days none of the topics would get answered if we waited on them lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Emerson Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 yeah if there's no afterlife, then there's no afterlife. People don't remember being born and ick who would want to, why should death be any different? That's actually a great question. Will it be different? Will we just fall asleep and feel nothing, and just cease to exist? If so then that's just how it is. You won't care in death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 i guess their is not an afterlife it seems to point to that. i mean if we had a spirit not affected by the body why do people who has alzheimers turn into a vegitable if they had a spirit why dont it take over. or why when someone gets a arm cut off the spirit cant just use its arm? also if people exist after death why dont they appear at the funeral and say goodbye to the family or if their murdered why dont they go kill the murderer. also were is the afterlife why cant we find it. but the hardest part is thinking i wont exist or that my dead friends and family no longer exist. if theirs no afterlife that makes everything i ever believed, ever religion, everthing spiritual pointless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Yep. I see three basic possibilities: 1) You die and go to some known afterlife (heaven/hell, Muslim, xian, whatever). 2) You die and go to some unknown afterlife 3) You die and that's it. Based on all known evidence number 3 is most likely but since there's no way to prove anything of an afterlife (even if we ever detected a "soul" somehow) I can be wrong. I just don't see any point of planning for something that can't be known. I'd rather plan for my death on this side of things and not the other especially if number 1 above is right because that's just a life draining gamble to me anymore (it's like a bunch of people claim they know the lotto numbers before the drawing and want to let you in on it for some reason). Personally, I'd love to see all my friends/family/pets again but do I want to hang out with them forever? I have a feeling it would get old fast. Besides, according to the xian afterlife (well, the popular version since there's no real defined afterlife in the bible) we'll just want to praise god 24/7 for all eternity. Doesn't sound like there's a lot of time to catch up with everyone or do anything other than play my harp and sing (unless god has recess from time to time). Everything is recealed so there's no learning, no playing, no sex, no nothing just praising. Sorry, but that sounds horrible (even sex and chocolate would get old after a few thousand years of doing it non-stop). Give me nothing over that anyday. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Well I guess if the afterlife wasn't real, the only thing we could do is focus on enjoying and making our lives better now insteading of preparing for an afterlife. Hm... doesn't sound so bad. Exactly. What happened to me when I deconverted, was that I suddenly saw (and still see) my life, my only life, completely different. You start to value your life more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 whether theirs an afterlife or not one things for sure this life will be the last time you are who you are now this life is the ongly thing that you can be sure about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 I'm very skeptical regarding any sort of afterlife. I don't know if there is one, but I'm not going to blindly believe in one just because it sounds nice. Anyway, I plan to enjoy my current life, live by the Golden Rule, and generally have a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycorth Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 To me, I think the "afterlife" is just a pit-stop until the universe implodes in on itself. After that point, I believe the universe will begin again and life will return. Most religions have such myths of universal death and rebirth for both gods and humans, as well as all life, and even nature itself, with it's cyclic seasons of death and rebirth, seems to suggest this. Why can this not possibly apply to the entire universe? I am very skeptical on an eternal afterlife (like the Xian heaven), but since all I can do is speculate, I'll never really know till the day I depart this world - and maybe not even then. Like nivek would say - "whatever happens, pans out." It's all good, and I don't see the point in dwelling overmuch on the next life when we have a life here to be lived. Wasting time on pipe-dreams only squanders what time we have on this world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MrEusOne Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Well I guess if the afterlife wasn't real, the only thing we could do is focus on enjoying and making our lives better now insteading of preparing for an afterlife. Hm... doesn't sound so bad. Exactly. What happened to me when I deconverted, was that I suddenly saw (and still see) my life, my only life, completely different. You start to value your life more. And yet, most Christians I've chatted with about this subject seem to think that if there is no afterlife, then life isn't worth living and can't understand why atheists wouldn't just kill themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 i am not sure what life was like before i was born i see your point if i existed back then i would have memories of it. sounds like one of those zen questions you cant answer. What was your face before the birth of your mother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 yea thats the one it reminded me of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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