Family & Relationships0 min ago
Afterlife
96 Answers
Does anyone think that it could be possible there might be an afterlife that has nothing to do with God or religion? because it has always seemed to me that if there is nothing then it has all been a waste of time. And as for the idea of judgement day, heaven and hell, that was drummed into me at primary school, I quit believing that fairy tale at a very early age, but I would just like to believe there is something so that life was n`t all for nothing.
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naomi, these 'charismatic' people you have mentioned, would they influence YOU? I think not, so who are they operating on? dimwits probably. If you are to become aware of my meaning, you will have to use your feelings as well as your intellect,- both sides of the brain. When the pupil is ready, the teacher appears, be patient. :-)
Because if you will not give up now, you will definitely give up after wasting more of your time and energies. And try to recognise people here for the future reference. Few will listen and give you an ear, and few others will only listen if you would agree with their views. However if you like banging your head against wall, then good luck.
Ratter, ha ha! Very Good.
Khandro, no, they wouldn't influence me, but nevertheless I fear you under-estimate me. That said, I find your reference to 'a teacher' disquieting simply because, whilst one man may be wiser than another in many respects, the reality is that where the 'unknown' is concerned, however wise, no one can possibly know more than anyone else, yet people of religion depend upon others to 'teach' them - and the charismatic have the faithful flocking around them in droves. You need only watch a well-known evangelist, or a mad mullah, performing to see that. These people are capable of compelling the gullible to take leave of whatever senses they once possessed - and it happens in all religions - because 'faith' by its very nature requires the abandonment of the intellect - and that should ring alarm bells in the mind of every thinking man.
Khandro, no, they wouldn't influence me, but nevertheless I fear you under-estimate me. That said, I find your reference to 'a teacher' disquieting simply because, whilst one man may be wiser than another in many respects, the reality is that where the 'unknown' is concerned, however wise, no one can possibly know more than anyone else, yet people of religion depend upon others to 'teach' them - and the charismatic have the faithful flocking around them in droves. You need only watch a well-known evangelist, or a mad mullah, performing to see that. These people are capable of compelling the gullible to take leave of whatever senses they once possessed - and it happens in all religions - because 'faith' by its very nature requires the abandonment of the intellect - and that should ring alarm bells in the mind of every thinking man.
"Sorry, not with you there OG. What do you mean?"
I mean that if one take the attitude that if rational science can not prove it then it has to be nonsense, then one will dismiss out of hand all areas where science has little to offer, and unfairly dismiss those who can see as foolish.
Just because one is paranoiac, doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
I mean that if one take the attitude that if rational science can not prove it then it has to be nonsense, then one will dismiss out of hand all areas where science has little to offer, and unfairly dismiss those who can see as foolish.
Just because one is paranoiac, doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
Having just caught up with this discussion I am amazed that people can justify 89 posts, most of them wildly irrelevant, on something so simple. Listen and learn, my children:
I hate the notion of dying. I don't know whether I should fear it because I don't know whether I shall die in agony or peacefully. But I certainly resent it.
The very idea that one day I will close my eyes and disappear into that same empty blackness from which I came at my birth, with no memory of the wonderful planet I lived on and the wonderful people I knew, and that the universe will go on for an interminable time without my knowledge is, to me, quite shocking.
But there you are. From the moment that that particular sperm of your father's met that particular egg of your mother's this was your destiny. And I accept mine.
But some can't. They invent the idea of 'life after death' with nothing to support it but wishful thinking. When faced with the fact that their bodies decay or are burnt after death, they are helped by the religionists who invent, in turn, The Soul, which survives you. How convenient. Yet more wishful thinking.
What is this afterlife? You don't know. Will you be able to stand it for eternity? You don't know. Best just to bear up, eh?
I hate the notion of dying. I don't know whether I should fear it because I don't know whether I shall die in agony or peacefully. But I certainly resent it.
The very idea that one day I will close my eyes and disappear into that same empty blackness from which I came at my birth, with no memory of the wonderful planet I lived on and the wonderful people I knew, and that the universe will go on for an interminable time without my knowledge is, to me, quite shocking.
But there you are. From the moment that that particular sperm of your father's met that particular egg of your mother's this was your destiny. And I accept mine.
But some can't. They invent the idea of 'life after death' with nothing to support it but wishful thinking. When faced with the fact that their bodies decay or are burnt after death, they are helped by the religionists who invent, in turn, The Soul, which survives you. How convenient. Yet more wishful thinking.
What is this afterlife? You don't know. Will you be able to stand it for eternity? You don't know. Best just to bear up, eh?
Rather ironic, don't you think, that being such a great contributor to our potential for survival and well being we've evolved the intelligence to acquire an awareness of our inevitable ultimate demise. But in having gained such knowledge should we value what time we have any less? I think not. If anything this knowledge should give us reason to appreciate and make the most of the limited time we as living things all have in common. Knowledge of our inevitable death is the ultimate incentive to eat, drink and be merry. :o)
Time is undeniably an essential contributing factor but in the final reckoning no more the sole determining factor than is the pleasure of the moment in what will have ultimately been the quality of one's lifetime. Nor should we allow the destination to rob us prematurely of the pleasure of our journey. Good times, like a good life, are only as good as the memory.
When you say 'possible' are you conceding that there is a God and just claiming that He lets us play on our own eternally ?? An afterlife without God makes no sense. What about the moral coloring of the whole world, eg, conscience, truth, etc.
Even thieves punsih cohorts who steal from them. And adulterers have been known to kill those who commit adultery with their spouse. Even evil testifies to the existence of good. Judgment is I think the most defensible of all religious claims.
Samuel Johnson
"Since all rational agents are conscious of having neglected or violated the duties prescribed to them, the fear of being rejected or punished by God has always burthened the human mind."
Johnson: Rambler #110 (April 6, 1751)
Even thieves punsih cohorts who steal from them. And adulterers have been known to kill those who commit adultery with their spouse. Even evil testifies to the existence of good. Judgment is I think the most defensible of all religious claims.
Samuel Johnson
"Since all rational agents are conscious of having neglected or violated the duties prescribed to them, the fear of being rejected or punished by God has always burthened the human mind."
Johnson: Rambler #110 (April 6, 1751)
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