Is there an afterlife?

[EverChanging]

Who or what is this observer you are talking about?

It's not really anything. It's a temporary integration of sensory information that falls away as fast as it emerges, and that which emerges is never exactly the same observer or "me" or viewpoint. Continuity of self is an illusion.

If this is true, there is no autonomous, permanent, continuous "self" or "who" in this body, this brain, this machine. When the brain is dead, no more "selves" will be produced at all, even temporary subjective ones.

 

[Silver]

SO. What do you think is after death? Life? An eternal paradise? What?

If God doesn't exist and we're lucky, future scientists will travel back through time and transfer your consciousness moments before you die to a man-made afterlife realm. So when you see the tunnel and the light, and the firendly being beckoning you, don't forget to ask, "man-made or God-made?".

Silver

 

[EverChanging]

If God doesn't exist and we're lucky, future scientists will travel back through time and transfer your consciousness moments before you die to a man-made afterlife realm. So when you see the tunnel and the light, and the firendly being beckoning you, don't forget to ask, "man-made or God-made?".

It will just be a new "me." Not a continuous one.

 

[GoddHader]

I was raised Catholic. You know, with Heaven (a vast sky with lots of clouds and a dude on a throne with a beard) and Hell (a fiery inferno; home to a pitch-fork bearing, red-clad devil). But now I'm a non-believer. I don't know what there is in the afterlife, if there even is one. I don't think that there will be either of those two places. I hope there will be peace in death. I don't buy into reincarnation either. But that is because I don't remember another life. And reincarnation would only be worth it if you could remember.

SO. What do you think is after death? Life? An eternal paradise? What?

The afterlife is a deep seeded fanciful construct that man created to deal with his primal fear of death. It is obviously so with these in his own image representations of it. We man has created this construct so to be comforted in our adult fairy tale way so we could live ever. It seems that people who believes in it, fall prey to these fears of the nature of morbid finality, allow themselves to passively accept this without critical discipline to understand this can't be.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

According to various Holy Books, the Life after Death and Judjement Day/Resurrection Day are totally 2 different events, which has nothing to do with each other! They have totally different meaning, despite what the general view is.

 

[sunsplash]

I believe there is some sort of spiritual evolution after a physical death here, so I guess that could be considered an afterlife. What exactly that is though - I don't know, and honestly it doesn't matter. I'm more concerned with the here and now, striving to be the best person I can be, the best mother, wife, friend, sister, daughter to those who exist now...that way if there is nothing, I still lived a full and happy life and my memory will live on through those who loved and respected me. If there is a big family reunion after death, great...if not, I won't know the difference and I don't want to have wasted anymore time worrying about what could be when I know what is here in this life for me now.

 

[EverChanging]

I believe there is some sort of spiritual evolution after a physical death here, so I guess that could be considered an afterlife. What exactly that is though - I don't know, and honestly it doesn't matter. I'm more concerned with the here and now, striving to be the best person I can be, the best mother, wife, friend, sister, daughter to those who exist now...that way if there is nothing, I still lived a full and happy life and my memory will live on through those who loved and respected me. If there is a big family reunion after death, great...if not, I won't know the difference and I don't want to have wasted anymore time worrying about what could be when I know what is here in this life for me now.

That's a wonderful way of putting it.

 

[Eisenstein]

My personal view is that we die, and wait for mankind to develop the technology to recreate us/bring us back in such a manner that we won't die again and will be able to live forever.

Why do you believe this, may I ask? Is it a part of a particular world-view, or just a personal one?

 

[outhouse]

there is no afterlife, the bible is vague because the bible doesnt know the answer.

for over 200,000 years homo sapien's have lived and they have died, not one has ever come back.

The pharoah's thought they had it down, there all still dust.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

What is vague about the resurrection at John chapter eleven?

 

[outhouse]

What is vague about the resurrection at John chapter eleven?

The Gospel's authorship is anonymous and thus controversial
written popssibly 85-90ad is not a synoptic gospel and less historicaly accurate then the 3 previous gospels.

the author seems to echo the distinctive style of Mark, and his Passion narrative resembles Luke's.

what you have is a myth, even the end marks gospel was a know forgery dealing with the ressurection of jesus

 

[tomato1236]

This would be a true statement depending on which "god" it is of which you speak. To a true Christian, the Bible is the mind and word of the One True God. It is God's instruction manual for mankind. We have attempted to maintain our minds and bodies without these instructions for the last 6,000 years and you see where it has lead. It was figuratively written by Him, with the Holy Spirit as His writing instrument and men as His ink (2 Pet 1:21). 2 Tim 3:16 claims, "All scripture [not just a few valuable words] is given by inspiration of God....."Therefore, to a true Christian, God and His Word are inseparable.

Gross.

 

[St Giordano Bruno]

Why do so many people have such a fixation on the afterlife, what about the prelife?

 

[joea]

I believe there is some sort of spiritual evolution after a physical death here, so I guess that could be considered an afterlife. What exactly that is though - I don't know, and honestly it doesn't matter. I'm more concerned with the here and now, striving to be the best person I can be, the best mother, wife, friend, sister, daughter to those who exist now...that way if there is nothing, I still lived a full and happy life and my memory will live on through those who loved and respected me. If there is a big family reunion after death, great...if not, I won't know the difference and I don't want to have wasted anymore time worrying about what could be when I know what is here in this life for me now.

And yes you are right. for one to have the mental ability to see things as they are...is the right mindfulness.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Why do so many people have such a fixation on the afterlife, what about the prelife?

What an interesting question ^above^ because first of all did any one ever have a prelife?

According to Psalm 90v2 God is from everlasting to everlasting.
God had no beginning, no prelife.

Angels were created before humans.
Angels had no prelife anywhere before they were created for the heavens.
After the invisible spirit world or spirit realm was created,
then God made the visible material/physical world.
From material dust God made man or Adam.
Adam had no prelife anywhere before being made for the dust of the earth.

Unique however is that Jesus was 'sent' to earth from heaven.
In order to be 'sent' or come to earth from heaven, then Jesus must have first already have been alive and existed in the heavens or invisible spirit realm.
So, I guess one can say that Jesus alone in a sense had a prelife in that Jesus had a pre-human life in the heavens before God sent Jesus to earth.
Rev 3v14 B; Col 1vs15,16

 

[URAVIP2ME]

The Gospel's authorship is anonymous and thus controversial
written popssibly 85-90ad is not a synoptic gospel and less historicaly accurate then the 3 previous gospels.
the author seems to echo the distinctive style of Mark, and his Passion narrative resembles Luke's.
what you have is a myth, even the end marks gospel was a know forgery dealing with the ressurection of jesus

Yes, Mark's gospel ends at verse 8. No one can successfully tamper with Scripture without it coming to light.

The Bible itself is saying at 2nd Timothy 3vs16,17 that all Scripture is inspired by God.....
Although written by men on fragile paper, God is the real Author.
Although throughout the centuries the Bible has had many enemies,
from without and within, no one can get rid of it.
Just like no one can stop the global spreading of the good news of God's kingdom as recorded at Matthew 24v14 before the end comes of all badness on earth when Jesus will usher in Peace on Earth toward men of goodwill.

 

[outhouse]

Yes, Mark's gospel ends at verse 8. No one can successfully tamper with Scripture without it coming to light.

The Bible itself is saying at 2nd Timothy 3vs16,17 that all Scripture is inspired by God.....
Although written by men on fragile paper, God is the real Author.
Although throughout the centuries the Bible has had many enemies,
from without and within, no one can get rid of it.
Just like no one can stop the global spreading of the good news of God's kingdom as recorded at Matthew 24v14 before the end comes of all badness on earth when Jesus will usher in Peace on Earth toward men of goodwill.

thank you for a rational answer

 

[Twilight Hue]

Why do so many people have such a fixation on the afterlife, what about the prelife?

I think its certainly plausible. The issue lays in that typically there are no memories of such a pre-life, and the little few intriguing case studies which had surfaced have shown that such a phenomena as far as any such recollections of one can go, tend to totally disappear at around the age of 5-7 years.

Not surprising in light that there are many such vacancies present in the recollection of ones early childhood during ones own lifetime of which are completely forgotten, and therefore irrecoverable. A sort of "prelife" during ones own lifetime that is in every aspect forever gone in memory, yet obviously and clearly had been experienced at one time, simply due to the fact that one is an adult.

As we all are vague in our recollections of our childhood and experiencing life as a child. I would guess life and death follows a similar vein as there might on occasion be a karmic imprint preserved in lieu of a physical brain of which a newly formed brain could on occasion pick up on, which could explain why a few young children seem to hold and at the time relay reasonably accurate snippets of having a former existence.

 

[Runewolf1973]

I was raised Catholic. You know, with Heaven (a vast sky with lots of clouds and a dude on a throne with a beard) and Hell (a fiery inferno; home to a pitch-fork bearing, red-clad devil). But now I'm a non-believer. I don't know what there is in the afterlife, if there even is one. I don't think that there will be either of those two places. I hope there will be peace in death. I don't buy into reincarnation either. But that is because I don't remember another life. And reincarnation would only be worth it if you could remember.

SO. What do you think is after death? Life? An eternal paradise? What?

What is "life"? What is "death"? They are merely words given to describe those different states/forms which energy/matter takes. In reality, there is no "life", only energy/matter changing form, therefore there is no "death". As far as reincarnation is concerned, it is a natural aspect of the Universe. Everything that exists changes form, and in a way reincarnates.

Having had the opportunity to talk with spirits, they say you do indeed remember your past incarnations, but not generally while you are in this "living" state. You remember them when you are in the "cross-over" state.

 

[LuisDantas]

Why do so many people have such a fixation on the afterlife, what about the prelife?

On a personal interest note, what about the "prelife" that is inequivocally real? People wonder way too much about a supposed afterlife, but our real challenges all involve the raising of children in some way or another. It is hard work, and yet rarely taken with anything remotely resembling the seriousness it actually deserves.