Poll: Do you believe in the afterlife?
- Thread starter 4RM3D
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I believe in an afterlife, but much more in principle than any rational reason. I like to "know" that my enemies are going to get worse treatment than I for being bad people, I like that it makes there be a reason to live life other than achieving for your own greed and pride. If I was a betting man, I'd say that there is no afterlife, but it doesn't hurt to pretend for shits 'n' giggles.
There is simply, nothing.
Trust me, I'm a former Christian, and I'd love nothing more to know there's an afterlife. Not just for me, but for those I lost. For my father, for my wonderful 26-year old cousin, who was the kindest soul I ever knew, who died of cervical cancer that developed when she got pregnant and had a child, and left so much in shambles, for my 19-year old friend who fought in Afghanistan, and sacrificed so much just being there, and being outright hated by well more than half his country (gay), who bled to death slowly and painfully after being shot rescuing one of his comrades during an ambush, for my 16-year old friend who was abandoned by her father because she was transgendered, whose mother began emotionally abusing her because the mother was driven to alcoholism over the loss, that girl who died without ever feeling complete, having spent every moment of her life broken, and then froze to death in some street alley.
I'd love nothing more for there to be an afterlife, not even for me, but for them.
And that only reinforces why I don't think it exists.
We're not only afraid of our own deaths, but of those of our friends, our family, those we hold close, those whom we esteem, and those we admire. Its emotionally torture to not only lose them, but to realize they've lost everything we still have. It makes us feel weak, fragile, and only more sad for their departure. To know that such a life will never exist again is soul-crushing. And thats reinforces why I think heaven is a delusion. We rationalize that pain away by saying "heaven/a-life-after-this exists", it helps us cope and keep from our soul being crushed. It was painful to write that about my lost loved ones, but death isn't beautiful. Death is ugly. Death devalues and trivializes our life, our existence. It reminds us that we are flawed, that we are merely mortals. Belief in the afterlife is an attempt to dodge that otherwise emotionally-crippling pain.
Trust me, I'm a former Christian, and I'd love nothing more to know there's an afterlife. Not just for me, but for those I lost. For my father, for my wonderful 26-year old cousin, who was the kindest soul I ever knew, who died of cervical cancer that developed when she got pregnant and had a child, and left so much in shambles, for my 19-year old friend who fought in Afghanistan, and sacrificed so much just being there, and being outright hated by well more than half his country (gay), who bled to death slowly and painfully after being shot rescuing one of his comrades during an ambush, for my 16-year old friend who was abandoned by her father because she was transgendered, whose mother began emotionally abusing her because the mother was driven to alcoholism over the loss, that girl who died without ever feeling complete, having spent every moment of her life broken, and then froze to death in some street alley.
I'd love nothing more for there to be an afterlife, not even for me, but for them.
And that only reinforces why I don't think it exists.
We're not only afraid of our own deaths, but of those of our friends, our family, those we hold close, those whom we esteem, and those we admire. Its emotionally torture to not only lose them, but to realize they've lost everything we still have. It makes us feel weak, fragile, and only more sad for their departure. To know that such a life will never exist again is soul-crushing. And thats reinforces why I think heaven is a delusion. We rationalize that pain away by saying "heaven/a-life-after-this exists", it helps us cope and keep from our soul being crushed. It was painful to write that about my lost loved ones, but death isn't beautiful. Death is ugly. Death devalues and trivializes our life, our existence. It reminds us that we are flawed, that we are merely mortals. Belief in the afterlife is an attempt to dodge that otherwise emotionally-crippling pain.
Well the atoms and molecules in my body will be reused by the biosphere of the planet so I guess that's a sort of reincarnation when my atoms get used in some random fern.
Else no. Honestly think an afterlife would be hell. I mean sure the first million years could be fun. But what about the million years after that? And the billions after that? And the quadrillions after that?
Else no. Honestly think an afterlife would be hell. I mean sure the first million years could be fun. But what about the million years after that? And the billions after that? And the quadrillions after that?
I acknowledge the possibility, but I strongly doubt it. Besides, if some form of our consciousness were to remain after death (which I would say to be the most likely form of afterlife), devoid of senses or stimuli, probably even without most of its reasoning and memory capability, well, I'd rather be dead. That strikes me as a living hell, an eternity in the silent void with only your own thoughts for company. I'd really rather just have nothing.
You have had a lot of experience with death. You mentioned you are a former Christian. Did the experiences you described, swayed you from your believe?MisterDyslexo said:
Also, I agree that the belief in the afterlife is to give us hope, to soothe our minds. But I still think that a lot of religious people are just raised that way. The believes of our parents literally forced upon us, without the chance to think for ourselves. It just becomes a way of life.
Yes, you're decomposed by bacteria and fungi into minute particles and baser elements, energy, and heat. The particles are then either deposited into the ground or taken in by your decomposer along with the energy molecules to be used in metabolic processes, and the waste heat dissipates to contribute to the total accumulated entropy of the universe.
And that's what happens after life.
And that's what happens after life.
Atheist - Someone who denies the existence of god4RM3D said:
To be an Atheist you have to actively believe that there is no god. It's still a belief, just a negative one. At least that's how I've always understood it, and that dictionary seems to agree.
Then again, Agnosticism can be a belief too (so what I said earlier was pretty much wrong).
Agnostic - A person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena.
The point I was trying to make is that Athiests who think they are better than religious people are really bad hypocrites, and that the only thing that makes them different to those religious people is the specifics of the belief they preach.
The definitions suck.lunncal said:
Some people go by the
Q: What's the difference between an atheist and an agnostic?
A: It has to do with the difference between what you believe and what you think you know. For any particular god that you can imagine, a "theist" is one who has a belief in that god. In contrast, an "atheist" is one who does not have a belief in the god. A "gnostic" is one who knows about the existence of god and an "agnostic" is one who thinks that god is unknowable.
Notice that the terms "atheist" and "agnostic", by these definitions, are not mutually exclusive. You could be an agnostic atheist, meaning you don't think that the existence of gods is knowable, but you don't choose to believe in one without further proof. Many people assume that atheists believe that gods can be proved not to exist, but this isn't strictly true and there is no proper word to describe this. You could call such a person an "untheist", perhaps. Or, you could just call such a person a "gnostic atheist", one who doesn't believe in a god and thinks that his non-belief can be proved.
So there are four possible ways one could be.
1. Agnostic-Theist: believes god exists, but the existence of a god is unknowable
2. Gnostic-Theist: believes in a god for which he claims knowledge
3. Agnostic-Atheist: does not believe god exists, but it can't be proved
4. Gnostic-Atheist: believes it can be proved that god does not exist
Case 3 is sometimes referred to as "weak atheism" and case 4 is sometimes referred to as "strong atheism". Only strong atheism positively asserts that there are no gods.
Finally, it should be pointed out that when a person is asked about their beliefs and replies that they are agnostic, they are avoiding the question and answering a different one. Someone who can't positively say he/she believes in a god is an atheist.
A: It has to do with the difference between what you believe and what you think you know. For any particular god that you can imagine, a "theist" is one who has a belief in that god. In contrast, an "atheist" is one who does not have a belief in the god. A "gnostic" is one who knows about the existence of god and an "agnostic" is one who thinks that god is unknowable.
Notice that the terms "atheist" and "agnostic", by these definitions, are not mutually exclusive. You could be an agnostic atheist, meaning you don't think that the existence of gods is knowable, but you don't choose to believe in one without further proof. Many people assume that atheists believe that gods can be proved not to exist, but this isn't strictly true and there is no proper word to describe this. You could call such a person an "untheist", perhaps. Or, you could just call such a person a "gnostic atheist", one who doesn't believe in a god and thinks that his non-belief can be proved.
So there are four possible ways one could be.
1. Agnostic-Theist: believes god exists, but the existence of a god is unknowable
2. Gnostic-Theist: believes in a god for which he claims knowledge
3. Agnostic-Atheist: does not believe god exists, but it can't be proved
4. Gnostic-Atheist: believes it can be proved that god does not exist
Case 3 is sometimes referred to as "weak atheism" and case 4 is sometimes referred to as "strong atheism". Only strong atheism positively asserts that there are no gods.
Finally, it should be pointed out that when a person is asked about their beliefs and replies that they are agnostic, they are avoiding the question and answering a different one. Someone who can't positively say he/she believes in a god is an atheist.
Others go by their own definitions, some by society's definitions. Some by whatever their dictionary says (which varies).
I am an atheist.
I reject belief, and I don't consider the probability of something existing of which we have absolutely no evidence to support enough to grant the slightest of belief. Using your definition I'm agnostic towards every concept, like unicorns, or the invisible dwarf playing with his penis on my shoulder.
Well, it's not hard. You just cease to exist. It's like sleeping without remembering your dreams, but you don't wake up. It's endless unconsciousness, it's as if we return to the state we were before we were born.zehydra said:
I can picture it, I can understand and comprehend it. Your blanket statement needs a little fixing.
Basically this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBUc_kATGgg#t=1m40s] (which states, in a comical manner, that the only reason to believe in an afterlife of any kind is fear of death). However...4RM3D said:
that is also a possibility. Human understanding only runs so deep, but anything beyond it... well, to understand that, you'd have to be something more than human, which we are obviously not.4RM3D said:
The concept of the "soul" falls along the same lines as the afterlife. There's simply no solid evidence to support its existence.4RM3D said:
I won't say there's absolutely no such thing, but evidence within the current scope of human understanding suggests that to be the case.
Conscientiously, each of us came from nothing - so why should we continue on to something? It's has no proof, it is illogical and incomprehensible; whereas dying, followed up by nothing, is purely comprehensible. Imagine it as being like before your first memory. It will be the same when you die.
However, should you be revived (which is theoretically possible should your brain be preserved), it would feel no different to awakening from passing out. You would have no sense of how much time passed while you were "dead". But if your DNA/Brain structure is even slightly altered, or cloned - that conscience is your clones, not yours. You will still be dead. This is because your brain is a set of developing neurones exchanging electrical signals in a way that is unique to you, should that change, it is no longer "you". That is why I believe people change with time. Ask anyone if they think they're a different person to 10 years ago, and the answer will be "yes". Ask yourself, you'll find subjects you would've had one stance on years ago, you hold a completely different opinion today. you 5 minute ago before considering this post will be a different person the the You now. 99.9999999999999...% similar, bar a few neurones; but not you of now... or now... or now...
Just ask someone who suffered head truma, most say they feel like a completely different person post-accident whilst people who around them agree they behave differently. Some simply find a taste for food they hated, others have a total personality shift.
Distressing, I know. But its just what happens. Make the most of life for you and others around you, this is why I don't waste time with religion.
Fucking hell I should right a book.
However, should you be revived (which is theoretically possible should your brain be preserved), it would feel no different to awakening from passing out. You would have no sense of how much time passed while you were "dead". But if your DNA/Brain structure is even slightly altered, or cloned - that conscience is your clones, not yours. You will still be dead. This is because your brain is a set of developing neurones exchanging electrical signals in a way that is unique to you, should that change, it is no longer "you". That is why I believe people change with time. Ask anyone if they think they're a different person to 10 years ago, and the answer will be "yes". Ask yourself, you'll find subjects you would've had one stance on years ago, you hold a completely different opinion today. you 5 minute ago before considering this post will be a different person the the You now. 99.9999999999999...% similar, bar a few neurones; but not you of now... or now... or now...
Just ask someone who suffered head truma, most say they feel like a completely different person post-accident whilst people who around them agree they behave differently. Some simply find a taste for food they hated, others have a total personality shift.
Distressing, I know. But its just what happens. Make the most of life for you and others around you, this is why I don't waste time with religion.
Fucking hell I should right a book.
i dont believe in the afterlife, and find such belief's insanely arrogant, to think that humanity (and often just youre particular bit of it) is so special that the laws of physics will bend over backwards to preserve you forever speaks to me of a monsterus ego.
"oh, i cant just vanish into nothing, im SPECIAL!"
"oh, i cant just vanish into nothing, im SPECIAL!"
Yeah, of course. I'm sure there's Agnostic people who think they're better than others too, and it's stupid in any case.4RM3D said:
Fair enough, I see where you're coming from, and I'd actually just count you as Agnostic by what I think of the term (i.e. that you don't believe in God, but that you also don't have a religious belief that there isn't a God).Fluffles said:
However, the point I was originally making was against the person who claimed that people who believed in God were delusional, or some such thing. I was basically referring to "Strong Atheists" who also believe they are better than religious people, and my point was that they were basically the same apart from the specifics of their beliefs.