This story got me thinking about life after death

[kiwi_2005]

God is real, Jesus Christ is real. Better for a man to believe than one that don't only to die and find out He is real, but if believers are wrong then die what punishment will they face? .

The good ole big bang theory proves their is a God. The big bang theory is more an illusion than believing that there is a God. Well ya see it all happened with a Bang! And the universe was created out of nothing? God is a Mathematician he put up the riddle of the universe so he can sit back and chuckle to himself when the scientist scratches his head trying to figure out something that only God knows the answer. Yet the straight forward answer to the riddle is in the bible on the first page! In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Created man equal, created woman for man, and man for woman as in Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve.

Yeah its very hard for non believers to believe that their is someone far more intelligent/powerful than any man / woman could imagine. And theres no shame in that its not their fault they find it difficult to believe. What a man doesn't believe he will usually knock down. Like i have just done with the big bang theory

No offense intended.

[Skybird]

And more unproven hear-say.

The one ting I learned, slowly, is that trying to rationally discuss with believers about the object of their belief, is absolutely useless, pointless, fruitless, because every rational argument, ever logical conclusion, even every solid undeniable evidence in the end gets rejected by saying: "Well, but I believe it all is different. That's my belief. evidence, logic, a process of falsification or varification does not interest me, because I know that what I believe is the truth anyway. and I know it is true because my holy book tells me that it is true."

This is strange becaseu everybody understanding the basic methdology of science knows that serious science never makes absolute statements about "truths", but only developes hypothesis, theories, at best: paradigms of mostly limited ruabiliuty, on the absis of what has been observed and put tgether in empirical evidence. Nevertheless it gets often accused of stating something as if it is engraved in stone. I admit soemtimes academics give the appearance as if they are doing right this, but that is no good habit in science, for science only says: "this is our best possible current conclusion on the absis of ehat we have been able to find out so far." - On the other hand, religion is all about unchecked, unverifiable, dogmatic statements whose original authors cannot be asked anymore, issued in absolute terms that claim eternal truth and validity as if this claim would be the most natural thing. Religion and science could not be more different, the absurdity of the religious attack on science over accusation to practice what religion with great fanatism practicses itself, is most absurd.

[Morts]

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

Yet the straight forward answer to the riddle is in the bible on the first page! In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Created man equal, created woman for man, and man for woman as in Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve.

oh god
i really hope this post is a joke

[August]

"There can be only one" ooops wrong movie, erm uh...


"Death is but the beginning"

[onelifecrisis]

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

God is real, Jesus Christ is real. Better for a man to believe than one that don't only to die and find out He is real, but if believers are wrong then die what punishment will they face? .

I prophecise that when people die, anyone who didn't give me £100 GBP will go to hell for eternity.

Now, I don't know about you, but I reckon that £100 is a small price to pay just to be sure. You know, just in case I'm right. So when you've thought about it and decided you agree, PM me and I'll let you know the account number.

[onelifecrisis]

@Platapus

No point

Originally Posted by Castout

Ummm that's what the bible teaches actually

Heh, I didn't know that. Though little surprises me when it comes to religion.

A Muslim (actually a secular daughter of a Muslim immigrant) told me that the part of the Qur'an that says a man can have several wives was added after some war that cut the male population down to almost nothing. I dunno if that's true, but it certainly sounds more plausible than God (Allah) telling a blind man to write it down!

Personally I reckon most religious texts have been altered and re-interpreted dozens of times over the millennia.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

God is real, Jesus Christ is real. Better for a man to believe than one that don't only to die and find out He is real, but if believers are wrong then die what punishment will they face? .

And how do you "know" this? I used to be a devout believer. The reason that I no longer am is the simple acknowledgement that the things I thought I "knew" were actually things I only believed. I see no evidence at all.

The Big Bang is theory, but it's theory based on observation, as are all scientific theories. Saying that it's sillier to believe the Big Bang than it is to believe in God is, to me, pretty much useless. At least people who talk about the Big Bang can show the evidence that leads them to think that way.

As for being better off believing and being wrong than disbelieving and being wrong, I used to feel that way as well. But the other problem is, believing what? What if the Jews are right? What if the Hindus are right? What if the Mormons are right? What if (perish the thought) the Muslims are right? there is no way of knowing the answer to that, just as there is no way of "knowing" there's a God at all.

I'm not a believer, but neither am I a disbeliever. I simply don't know, and I can't argue further than that. But I haven't met anyone else yet who can prove he actually knows something.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

I prophecise that when people die, anyone who didn't give me £100 GBP will go to hell for eternity.

Now, I don't know about you, but I reckon that £100 is a small price to pay just to be sure. You know, just in case I'm right. So when you've thought about it and decided you agree, PM me and I'll let you know the account number.

Not until you put this scheme in a book! If it is not in a book, it don't count.

[frau kaleun]

I once met someone online who fervently believed that only a select few would survive the end of the world (as we know it) and be granted some kind of superlative existence (what this amounted to I was never quite clear on) by an omnipotent superhuman power.

Of course in this case the "superhuman power" was held by the survivors of Atlantis (or their descendants, again, never quite got clarification on that) and being one of the "select few" involved being included on some "list" that was being kept somewhere. And if you weren't on it, well, when the long-gone Atlanteans returned and the world ended, you were SOL.

While I had no problem with her believing that this would all go down as she claimed, and taking some comfort in believing that she was on the list and therefore safe from whatever horrors awaited those who weren't, I drew the line at being expected to take her word for it and "get [my] act together" or else be counted among the damned.

Whether I will retain or regain some kind of individual existence or consciousness or "soul" after this body ceases to function is something over which I have no control and can claim no certitude by any standard that is, to me, acceptable. Whatever happens or doesn't will be a function of how the universe works, and my belief or lack thereof with regard to any theory about how it functions will have absolutely no effect on what actually takes place.

However, from what I can tell based on personal experience and study, the spiritual traditions that do posit some kind of individual existence after the one I'm now enmeshed in all seem to agree that my "status" in the presumed afterlife or next life will hinge on how I conduct myself in this one.

So, from a purely practical perspective, it seems pretty obvious to me that my primary concern should be with how I'm living this life, which is something I actually do have some control over - whether or not the choices I make here and now have "afterlife" ramifications is irrelevant. If they do, so be it. If they don't, then I still did the best I could with the life I had.

[Moeceefus]

I find it hard to believe all the wonders that is the universe and life itself, is but a random occurance that came to be soley on chance. At the same time I can not believe any man made book/religion, as its made up... by man. I believe there is something, but something which hasn't and never can be explained or comprehended by mankind. Standard religious texts, I believe were written by goverments in an attempt to control the masses. Thier very wording implies this. Other religions have been crafted soley for easing our anxiety about death. Humans seem to be the only animals who have an understanding of, and there for a fear of death. Science can not prove the existance of a creator or origin of life, but it also can not disprove it. I find this fact, very interesting.

[MH]

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

Yeah its very hard for non believers to believe that their is someone far more intelligent/powerful than any man / woman could imagine. And theres no shame in that its not their fault they find it difficult to believe. What a man doesn't believe he will usually knock down. Like i have just done with the big bang theory

.

I can somehow believe that there is a god or some super being.
But do you really believe that if god existed he would expect of humanity do do all this pointless crap just to honor himself.
This would mean that we have some kind of ashole boss i think.
I would expect a little bit more from GOD.
No offense intended

[AngusJS]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

I prophecise that when people die, anyone who didn't give me £100 GBP will go to hell for eternity.

Do you accept Paypal?

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

God is real, Jesus Christ is real. Better for a man to believe than one that don't only to die and find out He is real, but if believers are wrong then die what punishment will they face? .

Sure glad you know you've devoted yourself to the right god. Otherwise, what punishment will you face?

Well ya see it all happened with a Bang! And the universe was created out of nothing?

As opposed to god, which you will say has always existed. If that's the case, why can't the universe have always existed?

But that's not what the Big Bang theory says, anyway.

Yet the straight forward answer to the riddle is in the bible on the first page!

Where you'll find two contradictory answers, which is hardly straightforward, and which doesn't inspire confidence in the veracity of either one.

Regarding an afterlife: If it's the Christian one with a heaven and a hell, what will your existence for the rest of eternity be like if you know that some people you loved in this life are now suffering endlessly (as infinite punishment for their finite "crimes")? Wouldn't that be a rather imperfect heaven?

[Geno_Mariner]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Personally I reckon most religious texts have been altered and re-interpreted dozens of times over the millennia.

I reckon that too. My parents are Christians, so I used to get stuck with reading these Bibles and saw different versions. I used to be 100% into this faith til several years ago. I just don't know what's true and what's not, lol. (Oh and the bible contains contradictions too... ) Too many religions in this world and too many different ideas. (I liked the story of how Arabian Horses came to be... and I own a Pure Arabian).

And about all of this afterlife stuff... there is an afterlife. And I believe it depends on how much you believe in it. The more you believe in it, the higher in the spirit plane you will go and the better it will be. If you're a negative/evil person, you'll end up in the negative/lower plane. No fire or anything, just miserable existence on the other side. Though that can change, if I can try and get my hands on a few books from people who claim to have "Near-Death experiences" such as that man who "was in Heaven for 90 minutes" (I believe the video I viewed in church years ago is a fabrication...).
However, this kind of topic requires you to have an open mind and just... think about it. Everyone's views are different, you can take ideas and assimilate it as your own belief or just leave it as is. As far as knowledge goes on this topic, there's not much definite information (that's what I believe anyway...). I'm always happy to see what people think, because I'm just like that I have no interest in clashing with beliefs or such.

As for the presence of a greater celestial being, I believe there is one but it has no definite name and no definite gender (seriously, how can you Christians tell "God" is a man? O_o I have my ideas on how this came to be, but like I said, I don't wanna clash/step on toes). It's just the Alpha and the Omega, with other beings doing their specific job such as bringing life, moderating life, and taking life when it is time.

Just my ideas, it does change over time but there are some that remains

[longam]

Free will, its the hardest thing to control.

Faith, its the hardest thing to believe.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Some interesting views here, and even a story about people who believe atlanteans will destroy the world. Imagine that.

Personally, I believe there is a God an He sent His only Son to redeem mankind and that one day it will be on Earth as it is in heaven and I don't care if anyone thinks that's silly or not. When the day comes that their souls are judged, they will be granted entry into Paradise if I have anything to say about it, because ours is a God of mercy. Or, if that day doesn't come, at least I tried to live my life like a good person.

For the most part, I'm not afraid of dying. It seems silly to worry over the inevitable, especially when it lasts forever (or until judgement day, at least) I just hope it's not too painful. What does scare me is that, if there is no afterlife, what happens when you die? The brain continues electrical activity for a while, right? Is it possible that you could still be aware? What if you were trapped in a nightmare world generated by randomly firing neurons while your brain slowly fades away?

Someone please tell me that's not possible. And if it is, I want to be vaporized upon death.