Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ What comes after death?

[Songi]

I don't know. Do we start lives anew? is there another place that we go to? or is there simply nothing at all?

I just can't believe that there might be nothing. That all this is merely all there is. Shouldn't death just be another step in life? So many questions and yet we have no real answers at all. So what does people here think? what do you believe or hope for?

[Pikaporeon]

I'm an atheist for reincarnation yo!

Actually, thats unnecissarily facetious.
Everything on this planet is composed of atoms correct? And the atoms in our body were once part of something else, be it a carrot, parts of the egg inside our mothers, whatever, the atoms that are ours now wernt always that way. When we die, we decompose, and our atoms go back to the earth, in essence continuing the cycle.

On one hand its nihilistic, on the other its not a bad way to go out, and doesn't even mention a higher power.

[artzelda]

You all keep forgetting about the soul. There is something after death. We just don't know what it is. That's what makes it so frightening and anxiety ridden. There has to be. If there isn't then there are no reasons to live by any standards other than the fear of punishment while you are alive.

[Deepone]

well, this reminded me of something.. dunno anymore who was the philosopher behind this one tho.
death & afterlive essentially have 4 possible chances
1. you believe in God, and he exists
2. you believe in God, and he doesnt exist
3. you dont believe in God, and he exists
4. you dont believe in God, and he doesnt exists.

clearly number 1 seems very good (essentially "you win access to heaven"), and 2&4 are almost the same in the end (you dont really lose anythin by believing, altho your habits may differ - often to more healthy). now no-one wants 3 to be fit for you.. (literally "go to hell without passing the start")
my personal opinion, tho, is that we may not yet know about the afterlife. it is subject that is interesting tho.. if our existance just ceases, its no big deal. but other than just thinkin about that, i feel this issue to be kind of too important one. i mean, there must be a reason we all think about that one, right? :P

[Pikaporeon]

Deep, the problem afterwards is which religion was right? You still hit problems =P

[Deepone]

yes, that is what i havent been able to solve as easily as that solves the question of to believe or not to believe... hehe :) but my guess is that one should follow what his or her heart tells to do. in other words, by doing what one feels is right to do. maybe that is already enough, maybe it is not, but in the end that should lead to religion that matches thr inner feelings.
not to make a flame-bait, but to try to discuss this more deeply (hehe), what way you ppl think of a good way to finding religion for oneself? think this board has enough intelligent persons so its possible to talk about that.. :)

[Pikaporeon]

Without bringing up my own beliefs, I think whatever you ethically think is the most right would be your best bet

Or be agnostic understanding every religion has a problemed past. You can't decide.You think there could be a higher power but you don't know what it is. If you have to go religionshopping, odds are you're really agnostic.

[oleva orava]

i don't know

[Deepone]

haha.. that does really sum it up tho. but orava, this was meant as a discussion about what possibilities YOU _think_ there are... ;)

[TWINE006]

Meh. Death's the end.

I take a stone and crack it in two. The stone is gone and only the pieces are left. You can put the pieces back together, but will it ever really be the same stone it was to begin with?

Ok, so let's say the stone is not "alive." Then again, what makes anything "alive"? Living beings are basically just ongoing chemical processes that allow what otherwise is nothing more than a hunk of stone to grow and manipulate basic elements into more "living" material like itself. When you or anything dies and those processes cease, you simply go back to being a chunk of matter no different than a stone.

It seems impossible to fathom that we just cease to exist in an instant... But, what evidence says otherwise? Souls? We have souls? If we have souls, surely the squirrels and birds and racoons outside have souls. If they have souls, surely the tress have souls. Then surely the microscopic bacterium or viruses littering the world as we know it have souls? Hard to believe. Well, maybe only humans have souls. Why? We're no different than anything else. Made of cells which are run by DNA which is made of molecules... molecules, in their most basic forms, not THAT different from one species to the next.

Of course, it doesn't matter what I say. It doesn't matter what anyone says. There's no evidence pointing to a "life after death" (paradoxial as that is to begin with), so I'm forced to assume that there's simply nothing. Comforting? No. Convincing either way? No. Anything we can do about it? No. It seems like a harsh fate to endure... I suppose you must think of it as being in the same state as you were before you were born... which is just as impossible to imagine.



I've always hated discussions about death and what lies beyond it. :dunno:

This post has been edited by TWINE006: Mar 22 2006, 03:57 AM

[Deepone]

okay twine, guess we can also discuss what is Before Birth if that is easier topic tho ;)

but seriously, your post made me think of the gaia-theory... that the real living one is the earth itself, and we are just parts of it. As we gain experiences, and then later on die, we return to the "lifestream" (Final Fantasies, anyone? :lol: ).. and then return our experiences to the earth and thus earth gains experience =)