what theory of afterdeath do you prefer?

CyberGhost

well none of this can be confimed,

but here they are

1. when you die you get judged go to either hell or heaven forever!
2. you are born again as an animal
3. you are born again as a human, don't remember anything about past life
4. lights out! just nothing! you don't exist anymore!

which theory would you like more to be true?

personally I prefer choice #4

with #1, there is a high risk!
#2 sad, ever seen movie - lucky fluke? I always cry when I watch it!
#3 - sad, don't remember your previous parents/friends - and you may pass near them of the street and you won't even know them!


why is God toying with us? why did he gave us emotions if he intended to play!

billy the squid

personally believe that there is nothing after death, the church just invented it to get people to buy their way into heaven. St. Christopher being the most famous person for doing this that I know of.

Silent Grape

the 'church' didnt invent the bible though, which talks about heaven etc
i believe there is only heaven , no hell.

Naos

#2 would be my favourite. So long as i was a cool animal. Then after i die option #3 happens and its the circle of life.

ps. I love the lion king. oh and brother bear is cool too.. but not as cool as LK.

MrNuked

how about #5:
You return to the earth and your body and spirit is dispersed and mixed with the rest of the biological and spiritual slagheap. "You" cease to be but little bits of you exist in many many plants and creatures.

What about the idea that you are not the same creature that you were a year ago; that the concept of living a whole life is illusory. You are continuously physically replaced; the only thing that continues is your mind/consciousness and that changes too. "You" only exist for a moment, and are continually replaced.

Tusky

I doubt we can even comprehend what happens... Nobody knows so I dont see how people can preach about it.

PurpleFistMixer

I don't believe someone's spirit or whatnot can ever disappear (just like energy, it cannot be created or destroyed, it simply changes state and form), so that'd rule out number 4.
I don't believe in heaven or hell, just seems like a stupid idea to me, so that rules out number 1.
I don't see why humans should be so fundamentally different to animals that they get their own special soul section, so that would merge 2 and 3 together.

I believe that you come back, either as an animal or a human, and you can't remember anything. Oh and whatever you're coming back as, it's not that "you come back as whatever is conceived the minute you die" or whatever, the timezone is completely random.

Always had this belief, even when I was little. Only thing I actually truly believe, it's pretty nice to have something like that.

(Wouldn't this thread be more suited to the philosophy forum? Just thinking.)

Pigman II

Excerpt fromNorfolk Nights with Alan Partridge:

"We're also taking e-mails on the big question. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE? Frederick e-mails to say he has four children. He is the proud father of a new baby boy, Joshua and his daughter (five) has just started school. He thinks after death there is NOTHING."

Sounds about right.

sprinkles

To be honest I like the version in "the 5 people you meet in Heaven". Kinda incorperates most ideas of heaven and explains the meaning of your life. Really good book by the way.

adjodlo

Yes but there's a difference as to what you would LIKE to happen and what you really THINK will happen.

casso

I'd like to think I'd go to heaven, but I'm pretty sceptical. My money's on #4

DEmeant0r

I think that we will come back to Earth as a living organism, whether it be a tree, flower, human, animal whatever.

casso

If you come back with no recollection of your past life are you the exact same type of person as the last one?

I don't really get it.

simu

Whilst it would be nice to live on after death, no. 4 is the only one that makes any sense.

CyberGhost

casso wrote:

If you come back with no recollection of your past life are you the exact same type of person as the last one?

I don't really get it.

I don't think so!

it's just too complicated, and I think it's BS!

and all this religion stuff, look:

when people were dumb! they prayed to rocks! then fire! then other things! finally when they couldn't come up with something new, they invented the invisible man! and you can't prove he excists, and you can't prove he doesn't! until you die! and when you die, you can't return and say what happened!

and about those people who were in coma and say they saw this they saw that! remember, coma is like a dream! meaning there are still signals going through brain! and everyone can dream of their own heaven or hell! or nothing!

when a plane flies over some bushmen tribe, they think it's god! but is it? if you go and try to explain it to them, they will probably kill you!

the thing is that god, is hope! and it gives people hope! and also it gives chuck the control over you!

Stark

Okay the topic wasn't "what is" but "what you want".

#3 seems most interesting, a chance to start again and do things differently.

But looking at the amount of filth out there today that seems to get away with everything during their time on Earth, I'd love if there was a hell.

PurpleFistMixer

casso wrote:

If you come back with no recollection of your past life are you the exact same type of person as the last one?

I don't really get it.

No, probably not. I mean, if in one life you are born into one type of family with certain beliefs, etcetera, and in your next you are born into a completely different one, you of course will be different. Then of course there is the genes factor, inherited things and the like. It's really a question of nature or nuture, but perhaps there is a spiritual side to it also that has been overlooked.

Just my thoughts.

StupidLikeAFox

Did you know that when you die your body loses exactly 21 grams? Exactly. It has been tested and apperently it happens to every one? What is that 21 grams? Could it be the soul? Could it be your ghost that stays around and haunts stuff? Could it be the ghosts that kid in the sixth sense could see? Or maybe a ball of energy that hangs around the area where you die so people can feel a presence of danger or happiness or whatever emotions you wanted to be remembered by? Whatever it is, it weighs 21 grams


Personally, i believe number four

Pet

I think a combination of #2 and #3, ie, depending on how you lived your life, you can either ascend the ladder, or be reborn as an insect or a nematode (if you were a bad little boy). And I think that you keep being reborn until you reach enlightenment.

All this is unprovable by conventional science, so no need to jump down my throat looking for evidence.

PurpleFistMixer

Pet wrote:

I think a combination of #2 and #3, ie, depending on how you lived your life, you can either ascend the ladder, or be reborn as an insect or a nematode (if you were a bad little boy). And I think that you keep being reborn until you reach enlightenment.

That particular belief always rubbed me a bit wrong, to tell the truth. What makes one species "higher" than another, as such? And I would suppose that humans are the top of the ladder so?
Which is why I stayed away from the religion that has that.. (what is it, Buddhism?)

OY

I like number 1 and the reason is that it promotes responsibility.

Let me explain because i do not mean that i think you should be judged on wether you had sex before marraige or wether you spent x amount of time at church. But i do think you should be held responsible as to wether you were a good person or wether you were a bad person.

All of the other beliefs have one thing in common and that is that you can do whatever the heck you want with your life and wether you are a kind helpful person or a murdering rapist everyone gets the same result.

I like to not look at it like we are being judged but rather that we are being held responsible. It is our life and with we have the choice. But what is the point in choosing good if we all get the same in the end???

OK, i am done...

Pet

PurpleFistMixer wrote:

That particular belief always rubbed me a bit wrong, to tell the truth. What makes one species "higher" than another, as such? And I would suppose that humans are the top of the ladder so?
Which is why I stayed away from the religion that has that.. (what is it, Buddhism?)

Well, in terms of intelligence and enlightenment I suppose we are higher than the animals, cats would be higher than bluebottles, bluebottles higher than nematodes, etc. I don't think it's based on worth or right to exist if that's what irked you.

It is Buddhism, but due to the fluid nature of Buddhism, it's a part of many other offshoots and "niche faiths". That's the great thing about Buddhism, it isn't really a religion as such, more like a philosophy.

Pet

All of the other beliefs have one thing in common and that is that you can do whatever the heck you want with your life and wether you are a kind helpful person or a murdering rapist everyone gets the same result.

Not the one which I (and others) mentioned. There's no "punishment" per se, but if someone commits negative actions (as opposed to "immoral" or "evil", which is a construct of a culture and its ethics) then they are reborn as an aforementioned "lower being", therefore delaying their ascent to enlightenment.

keu

I would like to believe that energy cannot be destroyed and only changes form...whether it follows that my energy would be redistributed in the form of an animal or a tree is unanswerable, but if it was the case than I would choose not to come back to this sh!thole excuse of a planet. There must be some other half decent planet in the universe that I could "re incarnate" to.

joePC

This question is excellent, its like saying how big is space.... where does it end. I feel there is no heaven or come back, I really hope there is but not beleaving in one doesnt upset the so called "God".
I would love for there to be a place but there isnt......Your right I dont have facts, all I go on is the fact that everything in the world today can be explained by science.

Thanks JoePC

CyberGhost

they will probably explain those 21 grams too!

after a person reaches 50 he gradually loses a pound per year! does that mean he is losing his soul?

it can be explained somehow!

][cEMAN**

Well on the above, there's confusion for me between old testament and the new testament. The old is "kill for me", and the new is "turn the other cheek".

Now based on this the new testament would be the favourable one obviously, but the two contradict. If however we base it on the new testament then we've got a god who forgives all and wants to hurt no one. Based on this I don't believe in a hell. Though I do believe in pergatory - a state of waiting to enter heaven. I don't think a god of 'love' can condemn anyone to eternal pain and suffering.

Based on the others, I don't believe that if we come back as people we will necessarily be in the same place or the same time as when we left. If we come back as another creature or essance, then we're coming back into a circle of life with no accountability for our actions. Though in saying this, if it is true, then why should we believe it is restricted to the confinds of space and time? If we were to come back we might come back as a butterfly 3000 years ago or something like that. This would explain the lack of accountability, as our lives would be finite and already determined in history. We can do no right nor wrong, because we didn't get a choice really.

Base the same in terms of christianity. If everything is according to god's will, then it means he has a plan. If he has a plan then he already knows what is going to happen. If the future is already set then we have no way of changing it, and as such, we aren't responsible for our actions as we didn't have a choice to change them.

Going back to reincarnation, why restrict ourselves to something living on earth? How do we know WE'RE not the life on distant planets we've been searching for?

As for option #4, this would be something very final. I don't think most people want to believe in this because it removes all meaning for their lives if they do just end. I think most people clasp onto faith because of this fear. Though, to be fair, it's probably the one that's true. It would also mean that we would have to be a complete fluke of the universe. That life is simply a mistake or a hickup, where things appear, then disappear after a time. Now we know this to be true in certain areas of physics, but we don't know if there is consciousness. But then consciousness is something else to discuss - for all I know i'm the only real entity in my life, and it's not really a life. It's a set of thoughts organised through my own imagination constraining them through something I made up called time.

Personally i'd like to think that I would come back. I personally like to believe that I would live again, as a human, somewhere in the future - meaning that my future is not set, but rather for me to live. I don't believe in judgment confining ourselves to what we would become, because if we have no memory of a past life, we can not be held accountable for past sins. To us it never happened. It's like saying you are responsible for the actions of your father as you are geneticly derived from him. It's nonsense.

Anyway i've ranted too long. I'd like 3, I think 4 is the most likely, I don't believe in 1, and I wouldn't be bothered if it's 2 - but if it's 2 i'd have preference on returning as an eagle!

ChipZilla

#4: Lights out baby. You're worm food.

Although it would be cool to come back as a dog and hump people's legs to freak them out...

Sposs

Silent Grape wrote:

the 'church' didnt invent the bible though, which talks about heaven etc
i believe there is only heaven , no hell.

The Bible was wrote by Men so i wouldn'tplace too much faith in it's teachings.
If jesus wanted us to believe and all that crap why didnt he write the bible himself?

Chad ghostal

id like to believe in #5, but i *believe* its just the big sleep

stevenmu

joePC wrote:

Your right I dont have facts, all I go on is the fact that everything in the world today can be explained by science.

I'd have to disagree with you on that, there's many things science can't explain today, some examples being

The origins of life, everybody knows about evolution but nobody has yet explained how it started off.

The origins of the universe, again we've all heard the big bang theories but what caused it and what was there before ?

Numerical "coincidences", there are many numerical clues that point to us not fully understanding everything. One example being the gravitational constant (I can't remember it's actuall value), if it was even a fraction less than what it is all the energy fron the big bang would have just dispersed and never even formed matter, if it was a fraction larger than all the matter in the universe would have collapsed in on itself years ago. There are lots of other numbers like this, where the number has to be exactly what it is or else nothing would exist, I'll try to find a link with the full list. Another example is Phi, the golden ratio (Pi's bigger sexier sister). This ratio is found throughout biology, physics and maths. http://goldennumber.net/ has many examples of where it can be found in the human body, animals, stock markets, quantam physics, astronomy and lots more.

edit: And I almost forgot remote viewing which is starting to be accepted by some scientists anwas used by the CIA and the KGB for years. This is the apparent ability to move their "spirit" to another location and sense their surroundings, google SRV for a scientific perspective on it.

The point of all this is that current science can't explain everything. It probably will explain a lot more in time but you may be very surprised at some of the changes in common understanding that will be required.

Hagar

Number 4, Please God let it be number 4.
I'm not good enough for Heaven but I don't deserve Hell.
As for re-incarnation, I just couldn't got through this shyte again.
I hope I die soon, I need the rest.

PH01

Anyway, I suppose the afterlife will become clear once you buy it.

I don't think it's gonna be that dressed in white, fluffy clouds and playing a harp thing. And I doubt if there'll be 12 virgins waiting for you if you become a martyr.

To me, the afterlife is all about how good you are in this life. You'll live in the memories of the people you leave behind.

(and to those who give me bad 'rep' points, you're going to HELL! )

keu

Now based on this the new testament would be the favourable one obviously, but the two contradict.

thats why they killed that Jesus bloke, he had a tendency to contradict the old laws and replaced them with just two.

CyberGhost

I don't know man!

we are still waiting for Jesus's second coming!

ArphaRima

Number 4 is where I am going. Which is nowhere.

Dead is dead.

climaxer

I always imagine when I die it will be like going into eternal rest and the most content sleep you'll ever have and really don't want to wake up (not that you'd be able!) and I will meet all my family or friends who've died before me and have the best dreams ever. Don't know why but thats often what I imagine it'll be like when I die. Really though I would love to go to heaven and be reunited with my Nanny and uncles and cousin and all the people I've loved and lost in this life. I also would like to be able to watch over my kids and family but deep down I know it probably won't happen but still have some faith. I go to mass, pray and visit my families graves and "talk" to them so I'll go with no. 1 and hope God will let me into heaven!

WOuld hate to come back as someone else or an animal so if I can't have no. 1 then I'd take no. 4.

Deadwing

Respawning after 15 seconds.
30 seconds if you teamkilled. :P

stevenmu wrote:

I'd have to disagree with you on that, there's many things science can't explain today, some examples being

The origins of life, everybody knows about evolution but nobody has yet explained how it started off.

The origins of the universe, again we've all heard the big bang theories but what caused it and what was there before ?

lol..i remember watching a tv show a few years back that gave the most ridiculous explanation for the big bang ive ever heard.
Years of research had come tot he conclusion that the big bang was caused by...*drumroll* Two giant, rippling brains colliding. I sh!t you not. These were SCIENTISTS telling us this garbage. I couldve pulled a better story out of my ass.

keu

The origins of life, everybody knows about evolution but nobody has yet explained how it started off.

in the beginning there was the thing...and one thing led to another....

LegacyUser

I think we just die and lose the self important notion that a life is so precious it can't simply just end,

second to that id go for the one with all the virgins, but im too lazy to convert

Zukustious

stevenmu wrote:

I'd have to disagree with you on that, there's many things science can't explain today, some examples being

The origins of life, everybody knows about evolution but nobody has yet explained how it started off.

The origins of the universe, again we've all heard the big bang theories but what caused it and what was there before ?

The point of all this is that current science can't explain everything. It probably will explain a lot more in time but you may be very surprised at some of the changes in common understanding that will be required.

This is incredibly ignorant of you. Yes Science can’t explain most of what occurs in the world but it can explain a hell of a lot and I find it’s very arrogant of you to just say “Oh Science can’t explain everything”. Christ on a bike, Science can explain considerably more than religion can, and it’s a great deal more logical than religion.

Research what you’re posting. Even if there were no theories as to how evolution started off it still makes more sense than “The world was created in seven days”. That was proven wrong by radiometric dating. Also there are theories as to how evolution started off. A very nice one is how during the great bombardment of earth when the planet was constantly being showered by meteors, life started. These meteors contained protein strands(or possibly less complex molecules that became protien strands, can't remember) that formed naturally as a result of chemical reactions. When they hit into earth they collided with so much kinetic energy that some of it was converted into more mass creating ever more complex protein strands which had this uncanny characteristic of being able to replicate themselves and form even more complex compounds, and so on, and so on, until you had something that reacted with light as something of a “food”

This Big Bang question of yours is just lacking intelligence altogether. There was nothing before the big bang. No time, no space. There was nothing before it. You can’t have a before at the dawn of time.

You’re such a bastard

keu

to be fair..I don't think steve was suggesting the world was created in seven days. The reason why religion may seem illogical to you is perhaps because you are not familiar with the language of symbolism.
perhaps religion explains as much as science, the philosphy that "god is the source of all life, the alpha and omega" is not far from the old big bang theory, where everything was created from a singularity.

You’re such a bastard

..might just have to report this post. its a new feature I just discovered.

Bottle_of_Smoke

"There was nothing before the big bang. No time, no space. There was nothing before it."

really? what did you eat then?

"you're such a bastard" heheheheheeheheheh that cracked me up. so much hate so much anger hehe post of the month.

cant see there being a hell, we weren't given enough clear information on how to stay outta there. an official dream warning the night before your 18th birthday would be sufficient but some book written before i was born just isnt fair.

I wouldn't rule out anything cause I'm just a poor little homosapien who is unable to comprehend my beginnings/

ferdi

CyberGhost wrote:

I don't think so!

it's just too complicated, and I think it's BS!

and all this religion stuff, look:

when people were dumb! they prayed to rocks! then fire! then other things! finally when they couldn't come up with something new, they invented the invisible man!

yes, because we are so smart now and know everything about the universe...oh...wait a sec!

people in their own time always believe their own spiel, including us, we dont have a ****ing clue, we're just guessing, just like the people who used to worship rocks, trees etc

spudster101

I believe that when if ever science explains everything religion will be done away with completely which is a scary thought. nothing to believe in and all that. Or is this a obvious point :rolleyes: Also topic of debate getting every1 fierd up. SIR!!!! suggest we turn on the fire hose to cool every1 down.