Who Believes in an Afterlife?

I do. Not just because of Christ's Glorious Resurrection. The Infinitely Great God tells me, "everybody will live forever"!!!

In the amazingly powerful Universe in which we live, which of the following 5 choices would you select regarding the possibility of an afterlife:

1) certain!!!
2) possible and proven.
3) possible and unproven.
4) impossible and proven.
5) impossible and unproven.

As you might expect, I select 1).

Love is greater than death!!!

Spirit is greater than death!!!

Christ is greater than death!!!

Happy Easter and Everyday of the Year!!!

Originally posted by GreatTech
I do. Not just because of Christ's Glorious Resurrection. The Infinitely Great God tells me, "everybody will live forever"!!!

Of course everyone lives forever, its a law of our universe, nothing can magically appear or disappear, only convert into another form, our body's will decompose back into the Earth when we die this however I think that it may be possible that our mind (or sole if you wish to call it that) could live on in another form of existence after our body die's.

I've no proof of this of course my only reasoning to it is that we don't really die, technically we could live as long as there is a vessel to contain us, but when our body die's there is no definite answer as to whether our mind dies with it or not.

my conciousness is a function of my brain. if i take substances that affect my brain, whether it is alcohol, illicit drugs, or prescription psychiactric medications, my conciousness is altered.

there is no afterlife because there is nothing to move on to a next life. the brain goes out and with it our conciousness.

madnessinmysoul, correct me if I am wrong regarding the following statements.

If God existed, He must be evil?

Scientists are the most intelligent beings in the Universe? Therefore, the leading scientist must be the most intelligent being in the Universe? If a Being created the Universe, it must have been a human scientist?

Our consciousness has no Soul or Spirit? Everything has been explained by scientists?

People who believe in an Afterlife must be less intelligent scientifically partly because science is supreme and there are no complete cures for heart disease and cancer?

Originally posted by GreatTech
Scientists are the most intelligent beings in the Universe? Therefore, the leading scientist must be the most intelligent being in the Universe? If a Being created the Universe, it must have been a human scientist?

You'll be hard pressed to find anyone who believes this, Atheist or not. Some scientists may be the most intelligent and knowledgeable in there area of expertise in this world but there is no one that knows everything, you cant name a single most intelligent person in this world let alone this universe.

Put a scientist on a chemical tanker and you'll find hes the dumbest person there regardless of how much he knows or how smart he apparently is.

Originally posted by GreatTech
Our consciousness has no Soul or Spirit? Everything has been explained by scientists?

No one has ever said scientists have explained everything, on the contrary they have only scratched the surface of everything out there.

Originally posted by GreatTech
People who believe in an Afterlife must be less intelligent scientifically partly because science is supreme and there are no complete cures for heart disease and cancer?

Again with the assumptions. What does heart disease and cancer have to do with any sort of afterlife? who ever said people who believe in unproven theory's must be less intelligent?

You write that post as if to say thats what madnessinmysoul believes (I don't know you personally madnessinmysoul) but I'm fairly confident he doesn't believe most of what you just said. (apart from maybe the evil god thing and no souls)

Great Tech, I think it's interesting that most times when you ask us a question, you give us several choices from which to choose as our answer... The thing is, most times, my answer is not included in your choice offerings.

I wonder if you've considered that by giving us "choices", you're limiting all of us to the confines of how you think and how your brain works... Not that you're forcing us to pick one of them or anything, but I'm just asking you to see that what goes on in your realm of experience is limited by your context (your beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, etc.). And we each have a context by which we operate, which can overlap, but likely includes more or less than your context.

Just a thought.

With that, my answer is 6.) certain and unproven

I am certain of an afterlife. I have no way of proving it and I don't care to. It has nothing to do with science or God.

I am certain of an afterlife. I have no way of proving it and I don't care to. It has nothing to do with science or God.

Now you have some science to back up your belief.

Here is a triple blind peer reviewed scientific study conducted at the University of Arizona providing evidence of the afterlife. Published in EXPLORE: the Journal of Science & Healing. January/February 2007.

veritas.arizona.edu...

I would have to argee with Benevolent Heretic here:

[ ...]my answer is not included in your choice offerings.

So to this...

1) certain!!!
2) possible and proven.
3) possible and unproven.
4) impossible and proven.
5) impossible and unproven.

I would add: 1a)Certain and unprovable

Originally posted by Rren
I would add: 1a)Certain and unprovable

I say unproven, not unprovable, because when I die, it will be proven.

6.) certain and unproven = ta-may-toe


1a)Certain and unprovable = ta-ma--toe


A rose by any other name...

Regards.

Ps,
For the record: I usually call 'em maters. Which i guess... 1)certain! = maters. :p

[edit on 7-4-2007 by Rren]

I think there's two possibilities.
Re-encarnation,
Or, a dream like state.

If you live a happy life, help people and over all have happy positive thoughts, in your final seconds, when your life flashes before your eyes, you see happy things, your at peace. Thus you slip into a dream like state being your in a blissfull situation, thus heaven.

If you lived an angry life, hateful, mean and abusive.. in your final second you will see suffering and misery that oyu have caused or felt. You will see the bad things in life, thus when you pass over, your in a tense, agrevated state.. thus hell...

either way there's only 1 thing I can absolutley gaurantee you about the afterlife..

and that is, that we are all going to find out one day.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Great Tech, I think it's interesting that most times when you ask us a question, you give us several choices from which to choose as our answer... The thing is, most times, my answer is not included in your choice offerings.

I wonder if you've considered that by giving us "choices", you're limiting all of us to the confines of how you think and how your brain works... Not that you're forcing us to pick one of them or anything, but I'm just asking you to see that what goes on in your realm of experience is limited by your context (your beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, etc.). And we each have a context by which we operate, which can overlap, but likely includes more or less than your context.

Just a thought.

With that, my answer is 6.) certain and unproven

I am certain of an afterlife. I have no way of proving it and I don't care to. It has nothing to do with science or God.

Benevolent Heretic, sorry I do not always list all possible choices when I present a question. However, in this case, if someone is certain of an afterlife, then it has already been proven in his or her belief system. I am certain that an afterlife exists because of Jesus Christ, the Bible, and my relationship with God.

If I remember correctly, you may not believe in God. I cannot admire this. But I do admire the fact that you believe that an afterlife is certain. Way to go!!!

Originally posted by GreatTech
madnessinmysoul, correct me if I am wrong regarding the following statements.

If God existed, He must be evil?

no, maybe i'd classify your specific deity as a bit of a jerk, but evil is taking it a bit far.

if there is a deity it must... well, there is no specific attachment to it.

Scientists are the most intelligent beings in the Universe?

..no
scientists are members of the most intelligent species on this planet. but who the hell knows what profession is the most intelligent.

Therefore, the leading scientist must be the most intelligent being in the Universe? If a Being created the Universe, it must have been a human scientist?

again, your attaching these false positions to me. i have no idea what the most intelligent being in the universe is.

Our consciousness has no Soul or Spirit? Everything has been explained by scientists?

well, the first part is right. there is no evidence to support the claims of a soul or spirit.

however, everything hasn't been explained by scientists. if it had they'd be out of a job. see, science is quite humble. they admit that we might not figure everything out and that they might be wrong about what they know right now for some reason or another. religion on the other hand claims to have irrefutable absolute truth that requires no proof.

People who believe in an Afterlife must be less intelligent scientifically partly because science is supreme and there are no complete cures for heart disease and cancer?

well, statistics (which have been posted repeatedly all over ats and bts) have shown that there is some evidence to show that atheists have higher IQs as a group. however, science is a TOOL and is therefore not supreme. N O T H I N G is supreme.

and so what if there is no cure for heart disease or cancer YET, science is actually working on the problem. science is working to DESTROY them.

however, you believe in a supreme being that CREATED them.

Originally posted by GreatTech
2) possible and proven.

I'll take this one, though I would say that is really 1).

I say unproven, not unprovable, because when I die, it will be proven

Well thats a point, now I can't wait to find the answer.

Just making a point with regards to heaven and afterlife etc, which I have to say Richard Dawkins made me first think of.

I think humans and animals both go into an afterlife. I think hell is not a fiery lake or eternal torment. But more rather another earth like situation. I think heaven is a place of peace where you can just chill and not have to worry.

I have entertained the idea of reincarnation a bit. It sounds feasable that some reincarnate because of the occasional child protoge. On the other hand if a child were born with a superb memory and could retain everything he had ever heard he could be a protoge. I suppose there is more to it though than just knowing a bunch of facts. Knowledge is useless if you don't understand it.

I have wondered if we are not more like a super advanced computer that once we've burned out our hard drive were done, its over but I don't think so. Computers can be programmed to talk, solve problems and probably even to act hateful or loving. But the computer will never feel anything, it will never know love or hatred like a human. It will never have all the human emotions.

I have wondered if some of us don't come back as some sort of animal for a season. I really don't know. I wish I knew where all the spirits of the dead laying in the graves are right this second.

Originally posted by GreatTech
I do not always list all possible choices when I present a question.

I know. That's why I said this:

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
I think it's interesting that most times when you ask us a question, you give us several choices from which to choose as our answer...

I didn't say always, did I?

However, in this case, if someone is certain of an afterlife, then it has already been proven in his or her belief system.

Sorry, but this is just another assumption. If someone is certain of something, it's not necessarily been proven. A person can be certain of something, without proof, (that's a belief) and discover that they're wrong.

In my first marriage, I was certain of my husband's fidelity. I was proven wrong.

I am certain that an afterlife exists because of Jesus Christ, the Bible, and my relationship with God.

That's great. But it hasn't been proven. You believe it very strongly, but it won't be proven until you die and discover whether you were right in your certainty or not.

Religion is faith. Faith is belief without proof. Why is it so hard for people to acknowledge that? Is it that it's so hard to acknowledge that one might be wrong?

People who are sure, scare me. I can believe with a high degree of probabliity things are true, but I'm not sure about anything much. What I believe to be true is based upon 3 things
1)Reason
2)Authority
3)Experience
or some combination thereof. And you could be misled by any of the 3, I'm sure.

But I could be wrong.

I cannot say beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have a life after this one, but I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is my belief that we do. There is the possibility that God just created for his own enjoyment and when we are gone, we are gone. I don't happen to believe that to be the case, but I know some people, even self described Christians, who do believe that to be the case. I know, it sounds like an oxymoron to believe there is a God but no afterlife, but there are some who believe that.

[edit on 9-4-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

Originally posted by yeahright
People who are sure, scare me.

:adopts non-violent posture:

Have no fear, we come in peace.



I'm more scared of those whose beliefs change as the wind blows... not suggesting that that's what you're doing, yeahright. I figure you're a tomato too - based on your 'what's true criteria' and on my infantile semantics - ...


How far can one take an analogy before it becomes pointless? Let me know 'cause I can whip up something with apples and oranges... got a shades of grey one that works too.

Regards.