Poll: Do you believe in the afterlife?

[baker80]

I voted "nothing", but that's mostly what I hope is the truth. The world is a horrible place full of monsters. If God exists, he's an absolute bastard for allowing all of this shit to exist. There is no hope for justice in the afterlife, because there's no hope for justice in the before-death. Oblivion is literally the best any of us can hope for.

 

[Spectral Dragon]

I also said that in my previous post. But there I mentioned consciousness and memories, rather than souls and brain function. But the principle is the same, I guess.

Yeah, so if the memories are formed and stored in the brain, what would the purpose of the soul be? If it serves no purpose, then why believe in it other than "it'd be nice"?

I've read your post, and considered it. Although, how would we remember dying? In this scenario of dreams and relative observation, wouldn't dying be closer to falling asleep, therefore making it more likely for us to remember birth, assuming some form of reincarnation?
How would we experience anything without the electrical impulses that flow through our brain when we're alive? It is interesting though, since at the moment of death, the brain activity surges, but we're nto sure how long it lasts for the observer. It's possible with an observed eternity, but I don't know if it's likely.

 

[afroebob]

Well, personally I do but I also want to say that if you came here looking for an accurate consensus you made a mistake. The internet is the perfect place for minorities to hate on the majorities they so dearly despise, and the minority of atheists are no exception. In actuality they are probably the most common because of there wrongful persecution throughout history (I say wrongful in the sense of immoral, not the since of right OR wrong on whether their beliefs are true). Its a pretty well accepted by historians that there was a dude named Jesus (well, that wasn't his real name) who went around and preached about God, tolerance, brotherhood and peace and I think that we have strayed from all but the first as humans (and by accepted that Jesus was real means that he existed, not that he was the son of God because that is debatable) and that if we strayed back onto the lessons he taught about morality we could all live in a better world. Jesus said 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.'

Now I included the whole quote for the whole thing to make since but what I want you to focus on is the second commandment. He says love thy neighbour as thyself, not love thy neighboor as thyself as long as he follows the same beliefs, is the same color, has the same sexual oriantation, etc. I think that Christians have fallen off there moral compass set by the one who they are supposed to be worshiping and on the side of morality I think good peron can agree that what Jesus taught was right (before you get the wrong idea, I am not talking about everyone agreeing with his ideas on religion, but on love, friendship, peace, forgiveness).

 

[iblis666]

no idea if there is one or not but i hope there is one even if I will be tortured for all of eternity

 

[itsausernamewhatofit]

Where's the option for don't believe but would love to be proven wrong?

 

[tjcross]

Then what difference does it make, since our souls don't really seem to affect us in more than that we have one?

actually that's kind of it in my teens i couldn't sleep due to an inability to cope with the possibility of my existence ending at death after many months of thinking i came upon on the belief of the soul being eternal and that's all i needed after i got the core idea whenever i was bored i'd expand upon it to my current set of beliefs. also yes at some point we will reach a point were one being will have to die for another to be born but again i think that god gave a rather large amount of "extra" souls so that it would be unlikely for that number to be reached.
ps: thanks for the link i found it interesting

 

[JoCharlie266]

I believe there is an afterlife but that nobody has any idea what is like. It's comforting to think that after death my soul will move on instead of just believing I'll be a pile of meat.

i believe when you die you decompose and become other life...its a bit jedi but its pretty much what happens and my fear of death is reduced greatly by this philosophy or whatever it is...

So you only believe it because it's comforting? That's a very poor reason to accept something as true.

Your question isn't very well phrased; THE afterlife? Which one are you referring to?

But to answer; I think that the belief in an afterlife is delusional at best, insane at the worst.

Well yeah, I'm sure you do think that. Religious people would think that not believing in afterlife is delusional at best, and I personally think that believing you know either way is delusional at best.

Just don't go around thinking you're smarter than others because of your beliefs.

... And yes, not believing in an afterlife is just as much a religious belief as believing in one.

How is rejecting the claim of an afterlife a religious belief? When there is no evidence to support something the rational position is to reject the claim. That doesn't mean dogmatically holding the opposite position, but instead not granting it any legitimacy until there is significant evidence to support it. The more outlandish a claim is the more evidence it requires.

I believe in an afterlife because of my religion. I also don't think anyone can prove wither or not their is an afterlife as its not an issue of science.

Yes. However, no one can prove or disprove that there is an invisible, intangible, inaudible, orange unicorn in the room with me right now.

 

[Roxor]

No. I don't believe in an afterlife. In my eyes, it's just another form of immortality, and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

The statistics of the poll are interesting, though. The world figure for stating no religion is about a sixth of the population. The poll's results give a figure of more than half. Clearly there's something influencing the demographics around here. What, exactly, I don't know, but it's still an interesting observation.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I would like to think that there is so much of this universe left to understand that there is a possibility that a conscious could possibly return to some sort of "mind soup". However, evidence so far seems to point more to no than yes.

First off there may only be 7 billion people on the planet, but what about every single (or nearly every single if you do that heaven/hell thing) that has ever died? We go into the trillions. Imagine 2 trillion people in heaven thats just huge, not to mention the language barrier.
Now what about pets and animals? Are we so mighty of ourselves that we see other lifeforms as less than worthy of the same treatment of death that we give ourselves?
And then theres the psychological aspect, we fear the unknown the uncontrollable. Death is the masters of these forms, it would be natural for human beings to try and create a figurative "security blanket" to make these worries go away. It also makes for much better fighters if you going to war.

I don't know. Despite what I say above I am still neutral on the subject. Can anyone really prove or disprove such a thing?

 

[DEAD34345]

... And yes, not believing in an afterlife is just as much a religious belief as believing in one.

How is rejecting the claim of an afterlife a religious belief? When there is no evidence to support something the rational position is to reject the claim. That doesn't mean dogmatically holding the opposite position, but instead not granting it any legitimacy until there is significant evidence to support it. The more outlandish a claim is the more evidence it requires.

I've already had this argument. I was basically trying to say that believing that there definitely isn't a god is a religious belief.

Also, more outlandish claims don't require more evidence at all, in my opinion. Many claims that seem to completely defy common sense have been proven over the years, we have no reason to suspect that our universe isn't completely bizarre and outlandish, because so far we've found out that it is.

I.E. The world isn't flat, it's actually a giant ball floating around a much larger giant ball of gas, which is part of a giant system of giant balls of gas (and other stuff) all spinning around an approximately central point, and also there's billions of these giant systems, which for some reason all exploded out of one point billions of years ago.

And that's just the relatively mundane stuff we've already come to accept. It gets really freaky when you start to think about quantum physics and the like. I can honestly say that the presence of a god that just magically created everything one day would be far less bizarre than the truth (or at least, what we've discovered of the truth so far).

 

[Spectral Dragon]

Then what difference does it make, since our souls don't really seem to affect us in more than that we have one?

actually that's kind of it in my teens i couldn't sleep due to an inability to cope with the possibility of my existence ending at death after many months of thinking i came upon on the belief of the soul being eternal and that's all i needed after i got the core idea whenever i was bored i'd expand upon it to my current set of beliefs. also yes at some point we will reach a point were one being will have to die for another to be born but again i think that god gave a rather large amount of "extra" souls so that it would be unlikely for that number to be reached.
ps: thanks for the link i found it interesting

I've noticed that, more often people believe not because they think it must be true, but because the alternative's a lot scarier. I understand, anyway, even if I don't share those beliefs. But who knows? Our minds are peculiar things. Something could live on. We'll see, won't we? I'll even make a bet on it. If I see you in the afterlife, I owe you $50. If not, you owe me.

No worries, and have a good life!

 

[Kl4pp5tuhl]

Whenever I'm asked what I believe in, I just say myself and leave it at that.

 

[JoCharlie266]

... And yes, not believing in an afterlife is just as much a religious belief as believing in one.

How is rejecting the claim of an afterlife a religious belief? When there is no evidence to support something the rational position is to reject the claim. That doesn't mean dogmatically holding the opposite position, but instead not granting it any legitimacy until there is significant evidence to support it. The more outlandish a claim is the more evidence it requires.

I've already had this argument. I was basically trying to say that believing that there definitely isn't a god is a religious belief.

It's a belief about religion, but a religious belief? I don't know... unless your religion requires you to hold the position.

Also, more outlandish claims don't require more evidence at all, in my opinion. Many claims that seem to completely defy common sense have been proven over the years, we have no reason to suspect that our universe isn't completely bizarre and outlandish, because so far we've found out that it is.

Oh man, everything is super crazy, and this freaks me out all the time. But crazy shit is proven by lots of evidence. If we don't require a higher standard of evidence for more extraordinary claims we'll accept things that aren't true constantly. I mean, if someone said they had a dog and I was skeptical, if I was over at their house and saw dog food I'd be like "okay, they probably have a dog." If they said they had a dragon no amount of evidence would convince me of this unless I actually saw the freakin' dragon.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I believe there is an afterlife but that nobody has any idea what is like. It's comforting to think that after death my soul will move on instead of just believing I'll be a pile of meat.

So you only believe it because it's comforting? That's a very poor reason to accept something as true.

Maybe to you. Comfort is important enough for me.

 

[4RM3D]

no idea if there is one or not but i hope there is one even if I will be tortured for all of eternity

Really? Can you even imagine that?

yes at some point we will reach a point were one being will have to die for another to be born but again i think that god gave a rather large amount of "extra" souls so that it would be unlikely for that number to be reached.

"one being will have to die for another to be born" how does that translate to eternal life? Because I am getting a FIFO (first in, first out) feeling here. FIFO as in the oldest getting kicked out of the hereafter to make room for some new souls.

I would have to think that in the dimension after live, there be plenty space. Though probably not physical space as we know it, but rather some form of mental space.

Oh God, that reminds me of the multiple universe theory, where every possible action is branched off into a new universe. Meaning we got an infinite possible worlds, with an infinite possible us'es. So, then when one of our alter egos dies, it get merged with the other alter egos. Well, here is a fun fact. If all our possible alter egos merge as one. Then everyone ends up the same. And we literally become one. But I have deviated too much here. Still, let me clarify the last thing about everyone ending up the same. Take for example colors. There are about 17 million different visible colors and a near infinite amount of invisible colors (like ultra violet). But in the end, if you mix everything up, you always get the color white.

Also, I have no idea why I just typed all of this. It just popped up in my mind.

[ But who knows? Our minds are peculiar things. Something could live on. We'll see, won't we? I'll even make a bet on it. If I see you in the afterlife, I owe you $50. If not, you owe me.

I don't think money it gonna do much good in the afterlife. Regardless, it's a win-win situation now. You either live forever or you don't have to pay back 50 bucks.

Yes. However, no one can prove or disprove that there is an invisible, intangible, inaudible, orange unicorn in the room with me right now.

Somebody has been watching to much My Little Pony, me thinks.

Oh wait, that was besides the point.

 

[Twilight_guy]

I believe in an afterlife because of my religion. I also don't think anyone can prove wither or not their is an afterlife as its not an issue of science.

Yes. However, no one can prove or disprove that there is an invisible, intangible, inaudible, orange unicorn in the room with me right now.

And no scientist would ever attempt to prove it or disprove it as part of science because it can't be tested, what's your point?

 

[JoCharlie266]

I believe in an afterlife because of my religion. I also don't think anyone can prove wither or not their is an afterlife as its not an issue of science.

Yes. However, no one can prove or disprove that there is an invisible, intangible, inaudible, orange unicorn in the room with me right now.

And no scientist would ever attempt to prove it or disprove it as part of science because it can't be tested, what's your point?

It's silly to believe in things that can't be proven or disproven.

 

[4RM3D]

It's silly to believe in things that can't be proven or disproven.

But isn't that the whole point of believing?

If something has been proven you no longer have to believe in that something.

Example: I believe team X is going to win the match tonight? It seems unlikely, but I have my reasons for believing. The next day... They lost? There is nothing left to believe in.

 

[])rStrangelove]

I'm Atheist but still believe there's something following after this life has ended. In a universe where energy doesnt disappear and only gets transformed into another form i find it hard to believe my soul or 'life energy' will be gone just like that. It must go somewhere.

Whether thats in some ghost form or if it gets 'reborn' in another body i'm gonna find out some day.


Since i don't seem to remember any other existence i might have experienced before, i don't think my life here & now will have any effect on the next one.

 

[DYin01]

)rStrangelove]I'm Atheist but still believe there's something following after this life has ended. In a universe where energy doesnt disappear and only gets transformed into another form i find it hard to believe my soul or 'life energy' will be gone just like that. It must go somewhere.

Whether thats in some ghost form or if it gets 'reborn' in another body i'm gonna find out some day.


Since i don't seem to remember any other existence i might have experienced before, i don't think my life here & now will have any effect on the next one.

Are you sure there's a law stating that energy doesn't disappear? There's the law of conservation of mass, but that only deals with.. well.. mass. Tangible stuff, you know? Besides, there's as little evidence of ''life energy'' as there is of any form of a deity for as far as I know.