I believe in death after life.
Big greasy worms, and maggots too and bacterium too.
I do not believe in life after death. Since the mind/will/personality/memory deteriorates with damage to the physical brain, I do not see any way these could continue when the brain is non-functional (cremated, decayed, or deprived of energy when blood flow ceases).
Having said that, I recently skidded on an icy road and bounced off the concrete barrier (minor damage to my car, none to me). I have driven that road hundreds of times in all weather with no problems. Five minutes after I got to work I got a phone call that my great-uncle had died - at the exact moment I had the accident. I had no conscious feeling of his presence, but I have to wonder: did he save me from a worse outcome, or cause the accident by startling me? Or was it just a weird coincidence?
Terry, who cares? You're safe.
The questions regarding proof for the existence of God and life after death are both meaningless to me. I think one is better off studying the questions (i.e., the nature of our linguistic behavior) and growing out of them rather than getting mired in the futile search for their answers.
Bokmarking,
Nice Thread BlackTulip,
Your Brain is still healing, and it is only natural to ask all these questions, answers will probably change with time, I will explain that later from my personal experience.
And, more importantly, our questions should change with time.
Do you mean "should" in an ethical sense or as an expectation?
An "evolutionary" expectation.
Pardon my naivete (acknowledged in the quotes)
curtis,
She? Why do you call God a she?
Heph! So good to see you woman! I am working now but even if I appear offline on Yahoo IM me. Would love to catch up with you! I have horses Heph! Two now and getting another one! I have missed you!
Let me repeat my position on this question of life after death. I do not believe in life-after-dying. That's absurd. Without a living body and an active brain there cannot be a conscious existence.
On the other hand--and this is harder for people to follow; I don't know why--I do not believe in death-after-life. I cannot "logically" imagine a "state of death" where there isn't someone who is in that state.
When I cease to live there will be no "me" to "be" in a state-of-death.
But, I must contradict the above: as some may know about me by now, I also do not believe in a "me" who is in a state-of-life even now. There is only this experience of living; no "ego" or "self" who is the subject of that living--there is just living: tasting, sensing, feeling, laughing, crying, sweating, sleeping, f*cking, loving, hating, walking, running, etc. etc.
Who performs all these living acts and events? Hindus might say Brahman and Buddhists might say Buddha. I find both figures of speech meaningful. There is ONLY "God" and that is us, and all else.
Arella Mae wrote:curtis,
She? Why do you call God a she?
Because everyone else calls god a "he." By switching back and forth between calling god it, he, and she, I'm merely accenting my forward thinking on the topic.
God is beyond pronouns. Unfortunately, that means we have to call God by the name, God, everytime we have to refer to God. It could make for some really strange and repetitive sentences, but I'm sure God wouldn't mind. Thing is, God might mind being called God, because God's name isn't God.
I've just taken the pronoun issue to an unnecessary extreme, haven't I?
God is an interrogative at best........a pejorative at worst.
JLNobody wrote: But, I must contradict the above: as some may know about me by now, I also do not believe in a "me" who is in a state-of-life even now. There is only this experience of living; no "ego" or "self" who is the subject of that living--there is just living: tasting, sensing, feeling, laughing, crying, sweating, sleeping, f*cking, loving, hating, walking, running, etc. etc.
Who performs all these living acts and events? Hindus might say Brahman and Buddhists might say Buddha. I find both figures of speech meaningful. There is ONLY "God" and that is us, and all else.
While I agree that there is no ego/self that is independent of the experience of living, I have never understood how you could deny that "I" exist when I assumed that everyone has basically the same sense of personal awareness.
Then I read about Cotard's delusion, which gave me some insight into how people can hold beliefs that defy all attempts at logical persuasion. I am not saying that your belief that your ego doesn't exist is a delusion any more than my belief in egos is, but that I understand better how different brains can generate totally different perceptions of reality - even ones that seem absurd such as believing that you are dead or that you are personally loved by a supernatural being who will torture your soul for all of eternity if you do not acknowledge his son.
Good reply, Terry. I can only suggest that you LOOK more at the phenomenon of "self" as opposed to assuming and thinking things about it.
German finance Minster will be immensely happy if i die today
and the invisible God had no place to accomadate my soul in Hell.
Heven is reserved for a handful of few.
have heard from a very reliable source, that heaven is getting close to full.. Perhaps it's time for the true believers to get in early or perhaps make reservations. All you evil doers who know you are going to hell looks like there may be help on the way ... Satan refuses to pay carbon credits, reckons with global warming he will have plenty of room in the future.. Looks like you lot gunna have to stay here a lot longer than you would have had to.
Is death a reality to the individual or is it just something we experience when someone else dies? In theory the dieing individual would not realise he/she is dead as they are dead, if the consciousness survives the physical body kicking the bucket then life for them would just continue, and death would become instantly meaningless and laughable.
As for heaven and hell, they are places of the imagination and the hopeful, whos lives are full with so much guilt its their only hope of retribution to find a religion "Which forgives"
As for me, survival of the physical body death is a cert. If it isn't sure i'll not know any better and hence will not care.
As for a God, would it not understand in its infinate knowledge and wisdom why i think his religion is idiotic, corrupt and has been corrupted since Constantine created it. I believe itself (If it exists) would laugh at the literal reading of books that have been obviously edited from source, mistranslated and used to commit the most awful deeds.
