Do you believe in an afterlife?

[voyager12]

I am open to considering that there is something "after" whatever we call "life" but I tend to believe that when we die there is no second act. We become nothing ( I saw the white light I was in the tunnel!) but we also can't say for certain that there isn't something else coming up next. Who is to say that we are really alive now? Maybe when we die is the moment when we really begin to "live". Oh boy I have been inside too much today Either way it's an interesting issue to ponder...

[Snowguy716]

Living on the vast frozen tundra we call Minnesota, one has plenty of time to think about such things in the frigid darkness.

I would like to believe there is an afterlife, and I consider myself a Christian, but in a spiritual sense. I have no ties to any particular church, as I find all of them too overbearing and judgmental.

If I were to subscribe to any belief, it is that God exists and that his creation is everything that has happened in the universe up to this point. While we are sinners, I do not believe humans are inately bad. I think at the deepest level, humans know what is right and will live accordingly in general. Personal spirituality is a great thing for humans and can provide a lot of healing power. A strong spirit is extremely important to a healthy individual. Spirituality in large groups is often dangerous, however.

When we die, I don't know where we go. I don't believe in hell, or really Satan as many believe him to be. The word Satan comes from Hebrew and means "adversary." "The devil" is never mentioned until the New Testament. I think our knowledge of good and evil has led us to equate evil with the devil.

I would like to think that heaven exists and that it would exist in a different form for each person where one truly sees the divine glory of God and lives among him.

And the great thing about this: Even if none of this exists and I'm just rotting in a grave someday, at least I won't know the difference

[monsoon]

Humans need to believe there is something after they pass on.

[waccamatt]

I believe we go in a hole in the ground when we die.

[Snowguy716]

Like a really nice, heavenly hole.. or just a dirty stinky dark one?

[Charlotteman]

If death means a person is not alive, then that means we've all been dead at one time, and for a long time------possibly infinity. We were all dead before we were born, and we each made it through okay. That's why death doesn't have to be frightening. Whatever lies out there, you've probably already experienced. Whatever it is.

I guess we only find out for sure after we die. But if there is no life after death, then we go to sleep permanently, and there is no thought pattern to acertain what is happening. If that's the case, then we'll never know what's on the other side, since conscious thought would be ceased.

[waccamatt]

Like a really nice, heavenly hole.. or just a dirty stinky dark one?

[RiverwoodCLT]

Do you believe in an afterlife?

Which after life are you talking about.

You should ask, how many time have you been here?

[suburban george3]

We turn into worm food when we die, plain and simple.

[Bill Mocarsky]

How we exist to begin with is the hard thing to fathom. Afterlife is just the next logical step.

[Inkdaub]

I tend to, yes, but I'm not sold an any specific one. When we are babies we have a huge capacity to learn and a drive to experience. We make bad choice after bad choice until we learn something that helps us grow into adults. I think our entire lives could be like this. We are almost constantly learning and growing. It just doesn't make sense to me that all that learning goes to waste once we die. Then again...if I die and know nothing after the fact I guess it won't matter.

I believe in the soul, though. Again it doesn't make sense to believe in a soul that just...evaporates?...after we die.

I don't know.

[voyager12]

I am not a religious person and have a hard time believing in "Heaven" or "Hell". But it's impossible to completely rule out another transistion to a different type of existence because we don't know what we don't know.

[Pillsbury]

I believe in Heaven and Hell. I'm not sure what either is like. I'm not sure if there is a real devil. I'm not sure if we go to Purgatory to be purged of our sins or what. But I do believe in God and I do believe there is a place prepared for us after we die. As for Hell, I'm not sure of an actual place, maybe it's just a place for those of us incapable of love; a place where we create our own Hell in the midst of Heaven......

[lammius]

The only "afterlife" is memories people keep after you're gone.

[Snowguy716]

Do we really exist?

I really wish we knew what made us conscious. I don't think we could ever create a conscious being in the form of AI. We might be able to create something that mimics humans very closely, but ultimately it would have to be completely programmed by humans.

There is something to some of the far eastern religions that believe that we are always part of the world, just not always in human form. I mean, we will continue to be part of the world after we die. Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Who knows. Perhaps Michaelskis will one day be some of the CO2 that contributes to global warming or Lammius will be part of the chemical that leads to a cure for cancer...

It's all very interesting to think about.

[Pillsbury]

Maybe we're all just concious little rocks as I've heard it described before. Like, if you were to throw a rock, and then give it conciousness in mid-flight, that little rock would come up with all kinds of rational ways to describe where he was headed and why he was in mid-air. Same with us. Maybe we're just sailing along, trying to rationalize our trip, when really, no one really knows.

[krazeeboi]

If death means a person is not alive, then that means we've all been dead at one time, and for a long time------possibly infinity. We were all dead before we were born, and we each made it through okay.

[voyager12]

I have a friend going through the last stages of hospice care so the experience has made very introspective about death as of late and questioning of the whole process. I am really in awe of hospice workers they perform such an important service to humanity. I have always approached death as something that is not worth being afraid of, everyone has to go sometime. Life is so fragile that the most important thing is to enjoy each day to it's fullest.