The Afterlife?

[bloodycheap]

I asked a question recently on Ghosts. What are peoples views on the Afterlife? Can spiritualists really contact the dead? Do you believe in reincarnation? Is the whole thing rubbish? If dead people can contact us why are there so many unsolved murders in the world? What's your thoughts. I personally am open minded about it but sceptical at the same time.

[bobclean]

Sorry to disappoint you but no, spiritualists cannot contact the dead. People believe in the afterlife for many reasons, but I think mainly because of emotional needs rather than anthing rational. Just like every living organism that has ever existed on this amazing planet, when you die, you die.

[aphroditee]

in the Bible it talks about king Saul talking with a medium, he disguised himself and he told the women to call samuel, the priest after he died. Samuel came to him and asked him why he is disturbing him, by calling him back. She said "i see a god coming up out of the earth, he is an old man wrapped in a robe." 1 Samuel 28. Saul spoke with Samuel. Samuel told him what is going to happen with him and everything that he said did happen. there is a heaven and a hell, everthing is in the Bible....

[WaldoMcFroog]

That's right aphroditee, and recently medium Derek Acorah was possessed by the spirit of a man called Kreed Kafer on Most Haunted, which proves it's definitely real and not made up or anything.

[jake-the-peg]

Hey Aphroditee isn't it a bit blasphamous to take the name of a greek goddess?

[Drusilla]

You're born, you live and you die! Spiritualism and religions generally were, in my opinion, developed to help people explain things beyond their understanding and to give them comfort. If it makes people feel better about life, fair enough, but I don't believe it should replace rational thought and scientific evidence, as may soon occur in Kansas. I'm also wary of people calling the Bible the word of God, when masses of it have been removed, including the Gnostic Gospels, on the whim of one Pope, or another. Oops! I feel a cerebral haemorrhage coming on! Wrath of God????

[Octavius]

Belief in an afterlife is a personal thing, what kind of life that might be is one for your imagination and personal expectations.

Contact between the two worlds is in my opinion a load of codswallop, but I do like to think that people who were very close to me and have left this world might be in some existence somewhere. Others may not agree with my expectations but I neither care or want to hear about it, I won't convince you and vise versa. The question is about contact between the two "worlds" and that I believe is ....ballcocks (sic).

I am of a (non-practising) religious persuasion as you may have gathered, and spent many a days in my youth looking at the bible. And even I can't fathom out the garbled rambings above. If you must quote the bible talk some sense as well. Read the bible?? Even Bono still hasn't found what he's looking for.

[Tatty Rollox]

...... it seems pretty clear that there is an afterlife. If you look here you can see that an Angel will put up resistance to you entering Heaven if you have been up to no good in this life, and this is what Hell looks like ....

[logman]

The after life is a nice idea and i feel attracted to go down this route. But you have raised a very good point, ie why dont all the victims of serrial killers get together and bring thier murderer to justice, instead of watching him kill more and more people, who can answer that ?

[joko]

It's not so much the idea of it that I don't believe, its the frauds, fakes, and charlatans that I don't believe in.

I don't claim to "know" the answer, as some people seem to on this thread, they speak as if they know for a 'fact' that their opinion is the truth - YOU DON'T - no-one does.

I am a sceptic, but more of the people, than the subject - the Derek Acorah/ Kreed Kafer one, as waldo mentioned, is a perfect example (for anyone who doesn't know, Kreed Kafer is an anagram of Derek Faker, a spirit who was invented by some of the most haunted team and 'leaked' to derek - who then got possessed by him)

This is the reason I am dubious.

It is the people who play on the most dreadful moments in peoples lives, the ones who charge a fortune and trick vulnerable people who, in their state of mind, will believe anything. I know to some its a comfort, but I just find it sickening

[David H]

I've been looking for most of my life, found clairvoyance and telepathy with the living definitely happen, but nothing in other realms, once dead or spirit life. Either they really don't exist or if they do aren't allowed to show themselves as we're not meant to know about them for sure.

I can also say auras can be seen and our physical and mental experiences can be raised way above anything usual, but just like aliens if they exist they sure know how to hide pretty well...

[CheekyChops]

Spiritualists don't believe in reincarnation, they believe that when the physical body dies, the spirit lives on. Reincarnation is different and is generally understood to mean someone is 'reborn' and comes back to live as someone or something else.

I'm not really a religious person and am the same as you, sceptical but open minded. Saying that, I have been to a spiritualist church on many occasions. I am beginning to believe that spirits live on, I have been there when friends of mine have been given messages from dead relatives and the detail was too acurate to have been made up or guesswork.

However, even in the spiritualist church, some mediums are better than others - some appear to be repeating the same names to everyone - how many people don't know a George or Mary?! Others can describe in the finest detail what someone looked like, even down to hair colour and the clothes they wore.

I know there are charlatans and fakers out there, cashing in on peoples emotions. I saw a medium the other week who was describing a man - nobody in the audience 'claimed' him. She said that he had died recently. A lady in the front row said that her father had passed away not long ago. The medium then continued and although the physical description didn't fit the deceased man and his name was different and his personality was different, the distressed daughter was convinced it was her dad. She was so obviously wanting contact, she was not hearing the details that didn't fit and clinging on to the tiny bit that did. Mediums who continue in those circumstances, I don't agree with.

[JonRB]

I too am somewhat dubious when it comes to spiritulism. I would love to see them perform in say 50 years with some of the modern names of today. Somehow, i can't see a spiritualist saying.."I am getting a Chelsea or a Imogen coming through" A Harry, a Jack or a Mary no problem but surely the diverse nature of todays modern names will have them ALL redundant !! Just a thought !!

[Gef]

You asked for an opinion and mine is that it is all rubbish.

[bloodycheap]

Thanks to all the people who believe it's all rubbish i respect your opinion. Waldo and Joko I think your point regarding Derek Acorah only helps the doubters even more. How can he show his face on TV?? Cheeky Chops.. I know someone who was a complete sceptic until he was told information that no one else could have known about. Things like that keep me open minded.

[mibn2cweus]

Is the reason they call them mediums because their medium right, a medium of the time?

[Gnisy]

What do you need to contact the dead for? At the point of death, the person that dies deserves respect for the life they had lived. I think that is what sprouted the need for a funeral, where members of the family and friends gather together to speak good of and say their last goodbyes to the deceased.

As for reincarnation, to prove that it exists or not is beyond the capabilities of modern science. But, to let its purpose serve as a bringer of hope or a way to judge ourselves as whether or not we deserve to reincarnate and enjoy the pleasures of this world again, reincarnation, IMHO is a rather interesting concept.

Everyone has something to believe in. If they don't, they will not find purpose in their lives, even if it is a belief in the afterlife. Live and let live, I say...

[bancodegaia]

To answer your question, I think there is a time betwen lives which Buddhists call the Bardos and it is this stage that is seen as the afterlife when really it is a time between lives. Reincarnation is there for us to learn and rectify the mistakes of previous lives so yes I do believe in reincarnation and I do believe in karma. If it is as simpistic as I've just put it, why would a soul who may seek to rectify their own mistakes and balance out their own karma then go on to destroy anothers life by then gaining revenge for murder? if someone murders someone else then it is their karma that is affected and then it is something they have to work out in their next lives.

For anyone interested in reincarnation, read Destiny of Souls by Dr Michael Newton, very interesting.