Does Death End it All?

[Runewolf1973]

Anything's possible, I suppose. However, in general, it seems rather disingenuous and nonsensical to say that fear of death is an irrelevant aspect to people believing in continued existence after death.

Fear of death does play a role in some people beliefs that is for sure. My parents are Christian for example... I remember telling my dad once that I didn't believe in a place called heaven. He said "Well I think it's better to believe and go to church than not to believe because what if you are wrong? Then you won't go to heaven." Lol.

 

[Runewolf1973]

I just talked to my girlfriend about this subject. I asked her if she has any fear of death. She said she does in a way fear death, but for very different reasons. She says the other side can be a very unwelcoming place at times. There can be much despair, confusion, loneliness and hopelessness. There are also visible and sometimes rather gruesome or frightening images of trauma or the causes of death. The dead don't always look so pretty. There are even, unfortunately, children who have died that wander around lost and confused. That is where those like Andrew who I mentioned earlier come in. So athough she does not fear dying Itself, she does in a way fear what comes after. She says there are some positive aspects about the afterlife, but in general it is not a place she would want to stay.

 

[George-ananda]

I just talked to my girlfriend about this subject. I asked her if she has any fear of death. She said she does in a way fear death, but for very different reasons. She says the other side can be a very unwelcoming place at times. There can be much despair, confusion, loneliness and hopelessness. There are also visible and sometimes rather gruesome or frightening images of trauma or the causes of death. The dead don't always look so pretty. There are even, unfortunately, children who have died that wander around lost and confused. That is where those like Andrew who I mentioned earlier come in. So athough she does not fear dying Itself, she does in a way fear what comes after. She says there are some positive aspects about the afterlife, but in general it is not a place she would want to stay.

I think her fear of death is a perception issue because she sees only the tiny sliver that are the unfortunate 'earthbound'. To the vast majority the afterlife is way, way better than the physical.

 

[MD]

I believe in reincarnation

 

[Runewolf1973]

I think her fear of death is a perception issue because she sees only the tiny sliver that are the unfortunate 'earthbound'. To the vast majority the afterlife is way, way better than the physical.

That's possible. She sees what she sees I guess which is still rather incredible in my books. I'm sure she's open to the idea of their being other aspects to it, but she does not see that part. For now she sees only the 'earthbound'.

 

[Aquitaine]

For the record, I think it's important to remember the distinction between fear of being dead, and the fear of the actual process of dying.

I am not afraid of the former, however I am very-much frightened of the latter - especially since I don't know how long and traumatic it will be.

 

[Runewolf1973]

This rather odd "gift" that my girlfriend has, first became apparent to her when one day her best friend of highschool appeared to her as though out of thin air right in front of her eyes. What she did not know at the time, but found out after the fact from her parents was that her best friend had actually commited suicide just a short while before all this. Ever since she has been able to see and communicate with those on the other side. She has shared this fact with very few people for fear of being ridiculed or called a crazy person. In fact, I may be the only one she has shared this with.

 

[Astravalon]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]As the saying goes, I'm not afraid of dying; I just don't want to be[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]there when it happens! [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Regarding what's on the other side, I'm inclined to refer to NDE's. If
anyone has an idea of what's up with the afterlife, it's those who have
gotten a peek behind the Curtain.
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
-
[/FONT]

 

[George-ananda]

She sees what she sees I guess which is still rather incredible in my books.

You're incredible in my books too because you saw the pocket watch guy.

 

[FunctionalAtheist]

Are we condemned merely to “wait and see”? Is there any way we can know for sure whether death ends it all?

I have been a lutheran altar boy, a hell-bound rebel, a skeptic, a student and professor of evolution and ecology, an agnostic, a speaker of tongues and seer of visions, and a born-again baptist minister. Nothing in my life has taken more weight off of my mind and soul as to acknowledge that there is no other side.

Even if there is you’d have a better chance of finding it by ignoring the possibility rather than wasting time on an unknowable question. Does god want you to wallow in the what-ifs of this life? Make guesses as to what are the requirements to pass the gate? Live your life according to some step-by-step guide to the next world? Or could you come closer by ignoring everything concerned with the next world, ignoring every possible religion, and live by your own honest innate consciousness and strive to make this the best here-and-now that it can be?

If there is a here-after, then only a fool would seek it in any way other than giving their all to here-and-now.

 

[FunctionalAtheist]

Hmmm. Just thinking out loud here....

If the whole reason why some species evolved certain complex traits was that those traits gave the ability for those species to survive and adapt better, perhaps some species evolved a sort of highly complex ability or trait that allowed them to survive even after death. Perhaps it is just a whole nother part of that game of survival of the fittest we just don't know about. Given how insanely complex of a state certain creatures were able evolve as is, is it so unrealistic to think they could have evolved other survival traits we don't even realize they or we had?

Intesting. Evolution requieres reproduction and replecation of advantageous traits. In other words it would be easy to see how this might happen if the dead could have living children lol.

I personally believe that our evolved ability to anticipate is precisely what has led to the idea of an after-life and the evolution of religion. If you ask what makes humans different from other animals you may hear many answers. Most fall flat on examination. But our presence of mind to anticipate tomorrow, next year, 20 years from now, and even our death, is what makes us different.

Religion is a result of our honored position of being the first and only known species that anticipates our own death.

 

[Runewolf1973]

I have been a lutheran altar boy, a hell-bound rebel, a skeptic, a student and professor of evolution and ecology, an agnostic, a speaker of tongues and seer of visions, and a born-again baptist minister. Nothing in my life has taken more weight off of my mind and soul as to acknowledge that there is no other side.

Even if there is you’d have a better chance of finding it by ignoring the possibility rather than wasting time on an unknowable question. Does god want you to wallow in the what-ifs of this life? Make guesses as to what are the requirements to pass the gate? Live your life according to some step-by-step guide to the next world? Or could you come closer by ignoring everything concerned with the next world, ignoring every possible religion, and live by your own honest innate consciousness and strive to make this the best here-and-now that it can be?

If there is a here-after, then only a fool would seek it in any way other than giving their all to here-and-now.

I agree with you completely. We should live our present lives to their fullest.

 

[Runewolf1973]

Intesting. Evolution requieres reproduction and replecation of advantageous traits. In other words it would be easy to see how this might happen if the dead could have living children lol.

I don't believe in true life or death, only transformational states that give the appearance of such. There are things which are more or less lifelike based on the complexity of their interactions. That being said, perhaps life and death are one continuous cycle. The "dead" would not have to have children in the afterlife if they in fact survive on into the next life to continue that reproductive cycle anyway.

 

[psychoslice]

Yep death is the end of our life story, but life goes on forever with many other stories.

 

[George-ananda]

I have been a lutheran altar boy, a hell-bound rebel, a skeptic, a student and professor of evolution and ecology, an agnostic, a speaker of tongues and seer of visions, and a born-again baptist minister. Nothing in my life has taken more weight off of my mind and soul as to acknowledge that there is no other side.

Even if there is you’d have a better chance of finding it by ignoring the possibility rather than wasting time on an unknowable question. Does god want you to wallow in the what-ifs of this life? Make guesses as to what are the requirements to pass the gate? Live your life according to some step-by-step guide to the next world? Or could you come closer by ignoring everything concerned with the next world, ignoring every possible religion, and live by your own honest innate consciousness and strive to make this the best here-and-now that it can be?

If there is a here-after, then only a fool would seek it in any way other than giving their all to here-and-now.

Living right in this life is not different than living right for the afterlife

 

[FunctionalAtheist]

Living right in this life is not different than living right for the afterlife

That's is my point! However, in my experience, the example set by some of those most emphatic about an after life hardly set an example for living in this life.

 

[Sees]

That's is my point! However, in my experience, the example set by some of those most emphatic about an after life hardly set an example for living in this life.

They are confused lol mystery/gnosis cult mindset became mainstream but it doesn't have to remain that way.

 

[outhouse]

When you unplug a computer, it stops working 100% forever until you plug it back it.

It does not work while unplugged because some anceint mans mythology says it computes in a worderful place where everyone is happy.

The energy is not transferable to another computer by means of some magical spirit that does not scientifically exist.

 

[outhouse]

Living right in this life is not different than living right for the afterlife

It is completely opposite. One can be done.

One cannot be done scientifically, as there is no afterlife.

 

[Runewolf1973]

Evolution shows us that creatures have a tendency to evolve towards their most complex, survivable state. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule however. If the overall tendency though is towards complexity and survivability, then to think that what we call "death" for conscious creatures such as ourselves is so simple as turning off a light switch, to me just does not follow suit with that same order of complexity. My logic tells me that something just as complex happens when we "die". The human consciousness and what we call life is far more complex than a mere computer.