Poll: Do you believe in the afterlife?

[4RM3D]

We look at this from a human perspective.

Good point.

Is it more plausible that there is something that performs miracles, creates the entire world, clearly interferes with the world, but we cannot comprehend it or even see it?

I like the much more likely theory of "physics works" to explain the world.

There is another possibility that a lot of people seem to forget. It is either evolution or God. But why can't it be both?

Evolution can only explain so much. The possibility I am seeing is that God only planted the seed of life and after that just sat back to enjoy seeing the growth of life. In the analogy of someone planting a tree in the garden and see it grow over the years, when eventually it bears fruit to apple or oranges (or whatever; apples being humans and oranges being aliens .

Okay, that wasn't an argument against Occam's Razor, but it had to be said nonetheless.

 

[babinro]

Something Else.

I believe we already live in 'hell' as we have the capability to treat kindly or completely ruin lives based on our actions. When we die, we are either doomed to repeat the cycle on Earth via reincarnation or move on to a better place, 'heaven'.

Heaven in this instance could be anything from an endless dream of just not being born, to the cartoony depictions of perfect harmony shown on television. Whatever it is, it won't contain the potential pain, sorrow and troubles that exist in our lives on Earth.

 

[Batou667]

I don't believe in an afterlife any more than I believe I had a "pre-life".

Before I was born, I didn't exist. When I die, I'll go back to not existing.

Just because we're only conscious of the time we're alive, shouldn't lead us to conclude that being alive is the default state.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Death is a human invention

If you wait long enough, it will happen, so i vote for reincarnation since it's statistically probable

The recent findings that time didn't begin with the big bang seem to support this theory

 

[Magicmad5511]

I sort of do. I personally prefer the idea of reincarnation mainly because it sounds more fun and a lot more karmic than just you were evil you burn now.
The reason I want to believe in the afterlife is just that I find it very difficult to believe and understand that when you die something as beautiful an complex as the human mind can simply switch off and disappear. If there is a soul in all of us then it is not in our heart but the very presence of consciousness and thought.

I just can't imagine what it would be like just to have your brain switch off.

 

[DEAD34345]

I'm Agnostic, so I'm undecided (like I am with pretty much everything to do with religion, or everything full stop). I would lean towards there being no afterlife, but I don't know, we can't really prove anything one way or another. Logic and reason can only really apply to things we can experience or measure.

 

[Denamic]

I believe that, when I die, science will have advanced enough for me to 'reincarnate' as a mechanical sentience in a blue box AI chip or some such.

 

[Andreson]

Afterlife, the Christian faith guides me through life.

 

[dvd_72]

well, for there to be an afterlife, there would have to be a component of you that goes to said afterlife, yes? It seems to me that there is indeed something more to us than electrical impulses in the brain and hormones (this comes from someone who hasn't done a medical degree, so yea). That creative spark, that is what I believe to be the "soul", if you will. It is the energy that animates our bodies, and as we all know energy cannot be created or destroyed.

So, from that conclusion, the "soul" must go somewhere, correct? as to the nature of this place, I cannot say. What I do believe though is that from this realm or dimension or reality or whatnot we can chose a new body to inhabit. A new suit of flesh and blood to animate. Or perhaps we are simply forced into annother, as may be the nature of this form of energy that is our "soul".

Does this belief of this kind of "afterlife" answer all possable questions? Not at all. How does time work for us when we are disembodied? What happens if there is no immediate body to chose? Why don't we remember anything of our past lives? SOme of these can be answered, sutch as memories only being physical, but it is all just conjecture. well, more conjecture than the rest of my theory/belief.

The worst part? I don't see how I can prove or disprove it. Still, it gives an anser to provide those who ask what I believe happens after death, and it's something fun to pondor. Really, I preffer to forget any notion of an afterlife, or any rewards given after death. Now is really the only time that matters, and we should do nothing less than the best we can here because... well it's the right thing to do, no?

 

[Togs]

We get but one life on this earth, so I'd rather not waste it by listening to twaddle about feeling guilty about being human, or that I have to do what others tell me too if I dont want to end up in some H R Geiger painting for eternity.

It always confuses me when people claim not believing in an afterlife makes me a nihilist, as to me the concept of an afterlife is just as bad if not worse.

 

[castlewise]

Stephen Fry says that its important to not believe in the afterlife. Its like a reverse Pascal's wager. If there is an afterlife then you get to enjoy it, but if there isn't you should make the most of your actual life.

 

[twaddle]

I lean more toward the not believing in afterlife but i do believe fallen ones(aka demons) who may take human the form of a human to simulate being ghost of a loved one or of a living being that has already died.

 

[byte4554_v1legacy]

I'm a freewill Baptist and I firmly believe in a heaven and a hell

 

[Vicarious Reality]

The desire for an afterlife is probably a fundamental requisite for sentience.

 

[Spectral Dragon]

We look at this from a human perspective.

Good point.

Is it more plausible that there is something that performs miracles, creates the entire world, clearly interferes with the world, but we cannot comprehend it or even see it?

I like the much more likely theory of "physics works" to explain the world.

There is another possibility that a lot of people seem to forget. It is either evolution or God. But why can't it be both?

Evolution can only explain so much. The possibility I am seeing is that God only planted the seed of life and after that just sat back to enjoy seeing the growth of life. In the analogy of someone planting a tree in the garden and see it grow over the years, when eventually it bears fruit to apple or oranges (or whatever; apples being humans and oranges being aliens .

Okay, that wasn't an argument against Occam's Razor, but it had to be said nonetheless.

I still think one should be more open-minded than that. Sure, it is a possibility, but is it more likely than any other explanation? Evolution explains how, not why. No, we have derailed this long enough. I challenge you in a private message battle! If you're bored, anyway, since I love these kinds of discussions.

again an automated process now this entirely reflects my beliefs but i think that when we die our souls are just automatically randomized by some divine equation into the nearest available vessel (for example a fetus that has yet to show signs of life or something don't know much about that) so that god doesn't have to worry about it and he can get back to his hobby of making planets, stars and other races ps.also as you may have noticed i don't believe god is perfect if he was and we were made in his image we would be perfect to and we're not.

Yeah, your beliefs. So basically reincarnation? I can't disprove you, since that's your belief. However, just because you think something doesn't make it right. Just doesn't seem likely, if you get me. Though... Assuming your soul is transferred into a fetus, how come you suddenly change personality? You're most likely not the same as you were before, so in what way would it still be YOU?

 

[FC Groningen]

I'm a freewill Baptist and I firmly believe in a heaven and a hell

Just a sec. There are non freewill baptists?

To throw in my 2 cents:
- I don't believe in an afterlife (humanist/atheist)
- There doesn't have to be a "why".

 

[Guffe]

I want to believe but then again I don't really believe and if there is then I have done nothing exceptional in my way of living but I try to live a moraly good life and the afterlife would be a nice thing... Yeah, I am confused too

 

[Frankster]

Agnostic here. I'd like to believe in the afterlife and kinda envy the religious types who are so sure of a life after death, but alas i dont share that faith.

But I do know that once people die, they don't come back or GO ANYWHERE ELSE, so I'll stay with that till proven otherwise.

How do you know about the "go anywhere else" part? Seems to me we have no clue one way or another.

 

[Rule Britannia]

Yes I do (I'm agnostic though). It's fun to believe

 

[everythingbeeps]

If there is one, it's a state of consciousness we can't really comprehend.

The only state of consciousness we can't comprehend is non existence. The mere idea of not being around anymore scares us so much that we turn to fables and old tales to avoid the fact that once we are dead, it's over.

Haven't you ever heard the phrase "You don't know what you don't know"?

But I do know that once people die, they don't come back or go anywhere else, so I'll stay with that till proven otherwise.

They don't come back or go anywhere else in a form that YOU can observe. And what you can't observe you could just about fit into virtually all of the known universe, to say nothing of the unknown universe(s).

My point is, we're a step above monkeys. Universally speaking, we're a pretty dumb and extraordinarily limited species. We don't really understand the universe, we only think we do.