Life after death?

[Halloqueen]

I was raised Catholic but I never really gelled with the church so I fell off of organized religion in my teens. I consider myself agnostic now, neither entirely believing nor disbelieving. I'm curious to look into and explore other religions outside the one I was raised in to collect the good aspects while rejecting the negative ones. My objective in life is to strive to be a good person, do the right thing and do well by other people. If that isn't sufficient for whatever deity might exist then I don't care.

Do I believe in an afterlife? It's possible. It's also possible that we simply cease existing consciously forever after death. Both possibilities are comforting in their own ways. Maybe we just continue to reincarnate. A potential afterlife could also be different than any we have conceived of.

Being able to see your loved ones again is certainly a desirable prospect. On the flipside, simply ceasing to be and never having to worry about anything ever again because there's no longer a you is also appealing. Depending on whether you think there might be something like a Hell, simply ceasing to be entirely is preferable to such a concept.

I'm pretty indifferent. While I'd love for there to be some heaven to look forward to, if there's nothing afterward then that's fine by me too.

Come what may.

 

[Envy]

No, I see no reason to believe in such a thing. It's depressing, but everything points toward our consciousness being processes of the brain. Once we pass away, those processes end, and it's just like how it was before we were born.

Would be really cool if reincarnation was a thing IMO. The eternal paradises or tortures of religions like Christianity do nothing for me, as I cannot even begin to comprehend existing for all eternity. It seems nice until you think too much about it, but I understand why people want to believe it even still. I wish that I could see my past family members and pets again, I really do, but I just don't think that's the reality.

 

[nightglow]

I never commented, so I'll share details beyond my vote of, yes I believe there is an afterlife since it has been some time since I made the thread. Feel free to skip it though.

I do believe there is an afterlife. Having the consciousness that we have while alive seems pointless to me otherwise. Meeting people who have died and came back gives interesting conversation. The stories I heard from them are different but similar. I don't believe they are lying, and I don't see why a person would unless they were getting paid. But I understand how scientists could argue that nerves don't stop until long after death. But... if someone is brain dead, I'm not sure that there would be brain waves or synapses firing for hallucinations or dreams. It would be seen. So gut feeling is strong for me on life after death. How that would or could look like....?

Accounting for my beliefs, the point of life is to get to know God to beyond Him no longer being nameless, and to close that gap between yourself and God. Though my personal beliefs on the afterlife would be criticized by the majority of people in the religion I associate with, I don't believe that everyone exists forever. There is a destruction that does exist in the afterlife which is another way of saying annihilation. I don't believe this comes about by tallying up good and bad things a person has done, but rather if they commune with (know) God or not. If God is life, and the tree of life is to be eaten from by those who commune with God, then why would those going to destruction live forever? What was the point of being driven away from the tree of life at that point whether literal or symbolic?

I do believe in resurrection, which is more tied to religion rather than gut feeling. You have the same body but restored at a certain time to how it was meant to be I guess is a way to put it. Reading about Jesus after the resurrection can give an idea. He ate fish and could physically be touched but He could also walk through walls... I guess not much different than new age claims of how beings from another dimension are.. (was a new ager long ago, and i know the beliefs are popular today still so I think this is a good way to describe)
I do think that humans are more connected to their body than what we suspect. I only think this because of medical reports I have heard of personality changes after organ transplants while I was studying in college. The focus was more on the heart but other organs were also casually mentioned. I know a lot of religions have a focus on the heart which I know most people may see as symbolic rather than literal. Maybe it is meant as both who knows. Anywho those changes were matching aspects of the donor the recipient received from, which can be jarring or even upsetting to family members. So I guess this kinda does tie into gut feeling for me.

Do I believe in a possiblity of reincarnation? Yes, I believe it is possible and that would be heavily criticized but I don't think of reincarnation the way that most people think of. Reincarnation being based on learning important lessons that help you grow as a person rather than powered by Karma doesn't seem far fetched to me. Or to accomplish something that helps others, but then again I guess a person could just come back as they are with permission at that point (Moses and Elijah on the Mount ministering to Jesus for example). But I also think pretty much anything is possible, which is why I'm open to the idea of reincarnation despite religious labels or gut feelings not being as strong. We only know so much as humans, and we humans are not God or close to, to put a deity in a box. If God wills for whatever reason, he wills. What much more is there to say?

This is my personal reasonings for myself.

 

[Yoshi155]

Yeah, I’m Christian, so I believe in it.

 

[ZeldaCrossing64]

I personally don't believe in life after death. It would be nice to know that you're going to continue existing in another realm after you die, but I think that's logically not the case. When you're dead, you're dead; There's no more to it. At that point, you're eternally unconscious and you don't even know it.

I don't believe in Heaven or Hell, reincarnation, or anything of that sort. However, it's not like we can actually prove what happens after death, so this is just what I think. If you believe otherwise, I'll respect it.

 

[Shawna]

I’m an atheist, but I still think the thought of a non-religious afterlife is intriguing.

 

[Soigne]

no, i do not believe in an afterlife. i've spent many nights over my life thinking about how short life is and about how strange it is to exist at all. i think it's going to be similar to what we experience during sleep, or what we experienced before we were born. a string of nothingness. not good, but also not bad.

 

[Aniko]

No. I like the idea... sometimes... I like the idea that I could become some spirit and haunt the forest with other animal spirits, but the idea of eternal life... too long...
Of course, it would be nice if my loved ones who passed away could just live another life comfortably but I don't want to join them. Just the idea of my grandma forcing me to attend the mass for the eternity ...nope...
And is afterlife for all living creatures or just a bunch of humans?
If it's for everybody, imagine the traffic, noise, and the number of rats and spiders in the afterlife! Gives me headache.
Afterlife for me is more our DNA, experiences and stories passed the to next generations.
I think our body and mind will just stop existing, like plants and animals.
And everything that live finally.
Although I heard that some bacteria and fungus are really hard to kill, fungus can even live in space!
So if reincarnation is possible we could become fungus and live on Mars eating radiations
but I digress ...

 

[Antonio]

I weirdly believe in reincarnation, not sure why. Maybe I just love life so much that I'm hopefully wishing to experience it all over again.

 

[Xara]

My feelings on this have always been complicated. I’ve never been religious, and I’m not sure that I believe in any kind of God. With everything going on in the world right now, and everything that‘s happened in the past, it’s hard for me to believe that there’s ever been a God, or that there still is one out there somewhere. Of course, I have absolutely nothing against anyone who is religious, no matter who they call God or what their religion is. I will never criticize anyone for being religious, or not being religious, so long as they have that same respect for me and others. Religion may not be for me, but I can appreciate how beautiful, comforting and healing it can be for some.

That being said, I try not to think about death or what might happen after it much. Every time I do, it sends me into a panic. I just can’t grasp the reality of death, and how suddenly it can come. How you’re here one moment, and gone the next. How the world doesn’t end with you, and life will continue on even after you’re gone. I can’t fathom not being anymore. I try to imagine it as dreamless sleep, where it’s just blankness that you’re unaware of, but it still rattles me. The idea of dying, of never feeling another emotion, of never having another thought, of being in a never-ending blankness that you’re not even aware of, is so scary to me. So, I try not to think about it much.

I‘ve experienced a lot of loss in the past 2 and a half years. My grandmother and 3 cats, one of whom was my absolute best friend and my main reason for living most days, all passed away within a span of 9 months. After that, I think about death, what happens after, and God differently. I still can’t bear to think about me or my loved ones dying, but the thought of never getting to see my deceased loved ones again is more unbearable. I’d like to believe that there’s life after death, or some kind of Heaven, and that they’re there and I’ll get to reunite with them there one day.

I’m not sure what Heaven would look like for me. When I was a kid, my mom told me that it was a magical place where I could have everything I wanted. I used to imagine it as the stereotypical blinding white light. Nowadays, Heaven looks more like my childhood bedroom to me. It’d be the 2000’s, I’d be a kid and still live in my childhood home, I’d have no adult responsibilities or worries, all of my loved ones would be there and healthy, and everything would be simple. My childhood wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t even great a lot of the time, but it was familiar and easy in a way that life hasn’t been in a long time. My grandmother and my Zeva would be there, alive and well. Going back to that would be Heaven for me.

I’ve gotten signs from my loved ones since their passings, and that makes me believe that something happens after death. Maybe it’s naive or wishful thinking, but it comforts me to hope that death isn’t just eternal blankness. I would even be happy with reincarnation, which I believe in as well. It’d be nice to live again in a whole new life, do things differently and have different experiences.

 

[Zane]

I believe in ghosts and sometimes reincarnation but I have no deep theories or opinions beyond that

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

Hard no. This is the one and only life we've got. Can you really say this life is precious when you believe in the afterlife? Or reincarnation? Why not just enjoy the short time we have while we're still alive?

To put it another way, here's a quote attributed to Mark Twain:

“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”​

The idea that once life starts, and it can never end is absurd to the highest degree. It's selfish, and encourages people to be less productive and active in their own lives.

 

[BetsySundrop]

So for me, death isn't scary, but eternity is.

Had some weird thoughts when I was a kid about death/heaven, etc, because some things didn't make sense in the religion I was raised. Example of one of my thoughts way back then - would dinosaurs be in heaven? What about the cavemen? Would they be in heaven? Haha.

While I kind of still go back and forth on what I think and believe, I do think something happens. There is energy in everything, and energy is transformed, not gained or lost. But what is the closed system? This universe? Another dimension/plane of existence?

Here are some stupid thoughts, lol - read at your own risk...

If a 3 dimensional sphere entered a 2 dimensional plane, it would show as a line. The rest of the entire sphere would be incomprehensible to the 2 dimensional world. The only way to explain it would be to describe many 2 dimensional planes stacked together. But why stop there? What is the next dimension, and the next? And obviously the energy of the 3d sphere is neither lost in the 2 dimensional space nor restricted.

So - energy can travel between dimensions and can also be transformed. All that's left to explain souls and an afterlife is the ability of some measure of energy to have self identity and guidance, and the existence of a dimension that we here in the 3rd cannot comprehend.

I still pray, and consider my answer "yes, i think so", lol.

Next up : Time travel and wormholes, Solving the energy crises of the past...

 

[Gabby]

I ascribe to the notion that we re-incarnate in some form after we die. So, I guess there's life after death, but only in the way that we start a new journey in a different body.

 

[Mr.Fox]

Almost a pointless post here, but I believe there is 'something'...I'm just not convinced it's anything we've been taught specifically, regardless of religion.