What will happen when I die?

[!Fluffy!]

Ah yes, the eons old question every human wants to know and one that I have spent considerable time in my life wondering about. Unfortunately, this question has yet to be answered even in our scientific age of the 21st century. We don't know what happens after we die.

If ever there is a person who comes back from the dead to tell those that are alive what happens, would we believe him or her? That's how I feel about biblical writings these days. How do we know these events to be true? And if there is a God, why would he send us to eternal hell because we find it difficult to believe in a book? We don't get a personal visit from him yet the punishment for non belief is that severe from only book evidence of his existence?

I don't know what happens after death Devil's Chaplain, but my bets are there is no hell. It's grossly, immensely unfair to place fallible humans in such a place.

If you read through the posts, you'll discover that Devil's Chaplain is unconcerned about what happens after death.

His complaint is regarding friends who believe in a G_d who would send him to hell.

See post #41.

I believe he also said he mostly wanted a response from Christians, Jews and Muslims and wasn't interested in debating whether there is a god, heaven or hell.

 

[Buttercup]

If you read through the posts, you'll discover that Devil's Chaplain is unconcerned about what happens after death.

His complaint is regarding friends who believe in a G_d who would send him to hell.

See post #41.

Well, thanks for fast forwarding me through the thread.....sometimes reading the entire book length version is impossible.

Hopefully my answer is of some comfort to him. I believe no supreme being would send anyone to hell. If God knocked at Devil's Chaplain's front door today and introduced himself.....and DC slammed the door in his face, PERHAPS God would send him away. But, that doesn't happen. We don't get a personal visit from God so my theory is that we can't be sent to hell. There's too little evidence of a supreme being to warrant the severe corporal punishment of a hell. It's not fair.

 

[standing_alone]

There's too little evidence of a supreme being to warrant the severe corporal punishment of a hell. It's not fair.

But isn't the whole point that you're supposed to believe in God through faith and not because of strong evidence?

 

[Buttercup]

But isn't the whole point that you're supposed to believe in God through faith and not because of strong evidence?

Sure it is......and I have no problem with that whatsoever. As long as there is zero punishment for NOT believing in this God. There are too many versions of God on this planet to make a choice that warrants being sent to hell if you make the wrong pick. We're all friggin stupid ya know.

 

[Devil's_Chaplain]

Sorry I havn't been here to post, how very rude of me; I have been at college all day. I'm glad everyone is enjoying discussing this subject, but just to reiterate: I don't believe I am going to hell, I simply find it confusing that such nice people such as my friends would see me as deserving it. I know they don't actually believe I deserve to go to hell, it's simply what their particular book says.

Buttercup's point is excellent. A God who makes his own existance so unbelievable is not being fair. Of course, we shouldn't go there or else we risk descending into a "he does so exist!" type of discussion .

 

[standing_alone]

Sure it is......and I have no problem with that whatsoever. As long as there is zero punishment for NOT believing in this God. There are too many versions of God on this planet to make a choice that warrants being sent to hell if you make the wrong pick. We're all friggin stupid ya know.

Yeah, I can accept that. Just wanted to know your answer.

 

[Real Sorceror]

What will happen to me when I die?

Ok, this really bugs me. I think I'm a pretty good person. I mean I don't do nasty things or anything, I love my family and always try to not hurt people. I respect all other animals and try to never deliberately harm them blah blah blah. The thing is, according to books like the Bible and Koran I will go to hell or wherever and burn eternally. I don't think this is fair, please help me with this. I have friends who love me and care for me, but the same people believe that when I die I will go to hell forever. It really upsets me that my friends could follow a religion (they just so happen to be Christians) that says good Atheists go to hell and bad Christians go to heaven (if they repent or whatever).

I'm obviously no expert on the subject, I'm just looking for some insight. I put this in the discussion area because I don't want it to seem like I'm having a go or looking for trouble. I just want to understand why I deserve to suffer forever.

Thanks

Well, the way I see it, there are about four scenarios:
1) First, the one you presented. The Christians/Muslims are right about Eternal Hell. Since you are a non-beleiver, you will spend eternity in Hell. It doesn't matter how good you are, unbelief is the worst of sins. Pretty grim, eh?
2) Universalism or a similiar religion is correct. Your non-belief is forgiven. You where a good person and you get to go to Heaven and/or be with God. In this scenario, the worst you can expect is maybe a short stay in a purgatory-like place. No biggie.
3) The Buddhist/Hindus are correct. You are reincarnated. Maybe you come back as a moose or a badger or something. Kinda cool, really.
4) You (the athiest) are correct. There is no afterlife and you stop existing. However, since you aren't around to care that you don't exist, it's really not so bad.

Obviously, eteranl torment is the worst case scenario out of the ones presented. It really all comes down to who is correct. Clearly, we can't be 100% sure of what the afterlife holds (if anything), but we can certianly narrow it down to what is likely.
Is eternal torment likely? The two main books on the subject are the Bible and the Koran. Since you are an athiest, I'd have to assume that you believe in evolution and a natural origin for the universe. You obviously would believe that current evidence supports evolution and not Biblical creation. So, do you feel that the Bible, or at least the Old Testament, has been dissproven beyond a reasonable doubt? If over half of the Bible is false/fictional, is it really a reliable source? :sarcastic

 

[!Fluffy!]

Oh, expletive. Not another God does/doesn't exist thread.

 

[Hema]

My Dear please don't worry. If you are a good person God will take care of you. I believe that God is a God of love. My religion does not believe in hell, although there are hellish regions where bad souls go temporarily. This is what I believe - from God we all came and to him we shall all return. If God is forgiving then he would not send you to an eternity of suffering. That is why I believe in reincarnation. When we reincarnate, God is giving us as many chances as we need to correct our bad karma. Even if we have bad karma it does not mean that we are predestined to misery. By doing good deeds now we can help offset our previous bad karma and help generate good karma for the future. For example, some people get into a bad vehicular accident and everyone else dies but one person comes out without a scratch. In such cases, the person may have had bad karma to go through the accident but because of good karma the person was saved. There are people alive now who say they can remember their past lives and when their stories were verified, they turned out to be true. At the end of it all, after all the cycles of birth and death, when all bad karma is resolved and we are spiritual enough, we become one with God and break free of the cycle of birth and death. You seem to be "newish" around here. If so, welcome...and stop worrying about what will happen to you when you die. You seem to be living a good life already. I see that you are an atheist so I'm not pushing religion on you, but seriously, living a good life and treating others - people and animals well, goes a long way to creating good karma. It shows respect and love for God through his creation, whether you realize it or not.

 

[!Fluffy!]

You're just not getting it, which is what happens when you don't bother to read the subsequent posts.

He doesn't care about the afterlife. He complains that his friends care about an afterlife, and would believe in a G_d that would send him to hell.

 

[Real Sorceror]

Sorry I havn't been here to post, how very rude of me; I have been at college all day. I'm glad everyone is enjoying discussing this subject, but just to reiterate: I don't believe I am going to hell, I simply find it confusing that such nice people such as my friends would see me as deserving it. I know they don't actually believe I deserve to go to hell, it's simply what their particular book says.

Buttercup's point is excellent. A God who makes his own existance so unbelievable is not being fair. Of course, we shouldn't go there or else we risk descending into a "he does so exist!" type of discussion .

DC, I know how it feels, and frankly, I really can't explain why someone would keep on believing something is true even after they admit it sounds wrong. They've probably grown up "knowing" it was true and had it hammered into their heads all their lives. They don't see any other options. By their logic, if eternal hell isn't real, what stops everything else in the Bible from being fake, too? They are unable to concede that any doctrine is false or flawed becuase they see the Bible as infallible. If there is a single error, if one piece of the puzzle doesn't fit, their whole faith is meaningless. Thats just the way they see it.

 

[!Fluffy!]

DC, I know how it feels, and frankly, I really can't explain why someone would keep on believing something is true even after they admit it sounds wrong. They've probably grown up "knowing" it was true and had it hammered into their heads all their lives. They don't see any other options. By their logic, if eternal hell isn't real, what stops everything else in the Bible from being fake, too? They are unable to concede that any doctrine is false or flawed becuase they see the Bible as infallible. If there is a single error, if one piece of the puzzle doesn't fit, their whole faith is meaningless. Thats just the way they see it.

Those are all of course negative and baseless accusations but if it comforts you to view all Christians, Jews and Muslims this way go right ahead.

 

[Willamena]

DC, I know how it feels, and frankly, I really can't explain why someone would keep on believing something is true even after they admit it sounds wrong. They've probably grown up "knowing" it was true and had it hammered into their heads all their lives. They don't see any other options. By their logic, if eternal hell isn't real, what stops everything else in the Bible from being fake, too? They are unable to concede that any doctrine is false or flawed becuase they see the Bible as infallible. If there is a single error, if one piece of the puzzle doesn't fit, their whole faith is meaningless. Thats just the way they see it.

I hope you don't take offense, but your view of them is as literalist as their view of the Bible. You are unable to understand how they can accept something as true while knowing the literal interpretation to be untrue --to me, it simply implies that they have an intuitive understanding of a non-literal truth, but haven't brought the understanding to conscious realisation.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Of course, we shouldn't go there or else we risk descending into a "he does so exist!" type of discussion

He does so exist!!!!:yes: unk: :162: :jam:

 

[PureX]

That's quite a sweeping negative assumption and says more about your beliefs than theirs.

Funny, I have a lot of Christian friends and none of them believes God is a big vengeful monster waiting to throw unsuspecting souls into the hungry mouth of a fiery furnace. What I hear is much, much different from what you think or imagine.

For God so loved the world he gave His only begotten Son to die for us, that whosoever should believe on HIm should not perish but have everlasting life, and that sort of thing.

Go figure.

You should follow the discussion before you take offense, and begin scolding people.

My post was not a "sweeping generalization" because it was referring only to those Christians who believe that what they believe about Jesus matters more than what they do with their lives. This is based directly on an image of God as a "jealous and vengeful God" who does not forgive anyone who didn't "believe in him" while they were alive. This image of God is not concerned with what anyone does to anyone else in life, but is only concerned with whether or not we proclaimed our allegiance to this God-image and to the religious dogma that accompanies it.

 

[Devil's_Chaplain]

He does so exist!!!!:yes: unk: :162: :jam:

Oi you!

Psssst, he so doesn't!

 

[Buttercup]

You're just not getting it, which is what happens when you don't bother to read the subsequent posts.

He doesn't care about the afterlife. He complains that his friends care about an afterlife, and would believe in a G_d that would send him to hell.

The answer to this conflict is simple. He should talk to his friends in depth about what they believe....If I had friends that would be so judgemental as to assume I will be going to hell, I'm not sure we would have much in common really or that it was a very superficial friendship.

 

[Random]

When you die, your psyche will reconfigure to an intermediate state via a Judgement or recall of all your life's experiences, and then you'll "sleep" out of time. After that, you will then either descend to a lower plane or ascend to a higher one OR be compulsively reborn back into this realm immediately, in a new body with all memories of your previous lives buried in your subconscious. Okey-doke?

It's the same for everybody, no exceptions, so stop whining "It's SOO unfair" about going to Hell. If you do, you work off your negative Karma and get out eventually. Your friends just tell you it's forever for the same reason Priests do: be-good motivation!

 

[!Fluffy!]

You should follow the discussion before you take offense, and begin scolding people.

My post was not a "sweeping generalization" because it was referring only to those Christians who believe that what they believe about Jesus matters more than what they do with their lives. This is based directly on an image of God as a "jealous and vengeful God" who does not forgive anyone who didn't "believe in him" while they were alive. This image of God is not concerned with what anyone does to anyone else in life, but is only concerned with whether or not we proclaimed our allegiance to this God-image and to the religious dogma that accompanies it.

Excuse me, but you said:

I don't think they're thinking of it in terms of "fairness". I think they need to believe in a powerful and vengeful God, and to believe that they have a special deal with this God, so that they'll feel more in control of the big unknown: death.

So I stand by my response, not knowing personally any of these straw-man Christians you refer to, and would furthermore apply it to your second response as well.

And yes, I was following the conversation and read all the posts including your own, o/w wouldn't have said anything.

 

[!Fluffy!]

The answer to this conflict is simple. He should talk to his friends in depth about what they believe....If I had friends that would be so judgemental as to assume I will be going to hell, I'm not sure we would have much in common really or that it was a very superficial friendship.

Yup I agree.