Reality of Death

I say it is unfair for humanity as a whole to suffer physical death based on the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God knew that Adam and Eve would disobey Him by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This act alone brought to the world the curse of sin and through sin spiritual separation from God that led to physical death. Of course, this is the Christian explanation for death and dying. All religions have an explanation for death, dying, and the afterlife. The question remains: WHO IS RIGHT?

Who is right?

I'll tell you after I'm dead...

Oh wait a minute. I'm not allowed.

But rest assured, we'll all find out.

Or not.

I say it's a myth and I don't believe any of it.

As Seizan suggests, an answer is unverifiable.

Druidic Dan the druid man.

"WHO IS RIGHT?"

Seriously though, who are you asking? And what will make him "right" versus anyone else's opinion? Would it be because his answer makes us feel good or reassured, or satisfies our hopes, or sounds logical? Maybe it's well-written, reads convincingly, and is full of clever catch-words? Does that make it "the right answer"? Over whose? And why?

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that there have been many such answers given over the past few thousands of years. And wars have been/are being fought over the answers given.

Man has been asking that question for as long as he could ask questions -- "What comes after?"

Here at A2K we pride ourselves on having a huge panel of experts comprised of some of the finest (retired) minds with a great depth of experience (we made LOTS of mistakes, some of them painful) in hundreds of (outdated) subjects, and we are able to converse on a nearly infinite number of topics (once we find our teeth)... What was the question again...? Oh, yeah.

The point is, as long as there has been anyone, no one has found the answer.

I suppose we just have to wait. In the end, we all find out if it is the end. And as far as I know, no one's coming back to inform us.

I guess it'll just be "our little secret".

Until then, we all just go on doing the best we can until we have to stop. Just let's be sure to "leave the campgrounds clean and in better condition than we found them", so to speak.

The Bible isn't exactly a book of fair deals.

Look at Job.

All who know me are aware how opinionated I am. But it's true. Nobody who is irrevocably dead has ever been able to give us the definitive answer.

I can't help but agree

"Nobody who is irrevocably dead has ever been able to give us the definitive answer."

It just struck me as funny -- a non-definitive answer give by anybody who is irrevocably dead -- would constitute a definitive answer...

:-)

I remember Sgt. Preston, I was very young but I loved the show. But Moose and Squirrel, unforgettable.

I sort of remember Sgt. Preston.

I hate to contradict you, but I've totally forgotten Moose and Squirrel - if I ever encountered them, I mean.

Does the name "Bullwinkle" ring a bell?

I rather admired Dudley Dooright of the Canadian Mounties, George of the Jungle (though he was not of Moose and Squirrel lineage), and Mighty Mouse.

THEY never worried about death. For them, the only thing that "came after" was the next exciting episode.

I would love to believe that 100% for us too, but I really don't know...

Maybe someone just shuts us off, or changes channels.

But cartoon characters never seemed to be concerned.

Our role-models for living...

Hey @usn0814, if life is a joke and everything we do is of no consequence, if there really is nor right/wrong, good/evil, etc., what would you have us believe, how would you have us change our lives, and what would it accomplish?

How would embracing such an attitude or lifestyle help anything at all, or change our lives right now?

What would be the benefit of your belief if that was all true?

Also -- I still feel a lot of hesitation in your posts -- lots of "if", so even you aren't really convinced -- is that right?

Anyone else hearing the old Muldar/Scully "I Want to Believe"?

My personal belief, which is worth not much to others, is that animals, which includes us, grow, live, and then die, after the fashion of flowers and other plants. Life's meaning beyond that is, take your choice between philosophies, arts, and industries for the short time you are here. If you believe in life after death or reincarnation or whatever it's no skin off of my nose. Just, once we are dead we can't post on a2k any longer.

I guess the thing that strikes me is that as long as humans have been around that's been case, yet after tens of thousands of years and the death of billions of humans, people are still all hung up about "what comes next"?

There are reasons to grieve the death of other people and mourn their absence. And for the individual, there are reasons to fear the circumstances of one's demise in situations where one is suffering from prolonged pain, the results of a traumatic event, or where one is neglected and alone. But these are universal fears and we have social institutions (families, friends, hospice services) and medical treatments (palliative care, nursing facilities, assisted suicide) which address these concerns. And we have the many accounts of those who have accepted their end with grace and dignity and died the "good death". So buckle up and enjoy what's left of the ride!

As has been said, I don't fear death and I don't have to live in some future life. My only objection is the possible suffering that precedes it. That said, I value living enough to prolong it as much as possible.