Atheists and Afterlife views

[Maurepas]

Meh, I wont be conscious to find out...Brain dead and all that...

[Zandan]

I don't think it was meant to prove anything. Only showing that some have reason to believe that an afterlife exists.

By telling a story about what happened to someone who was still alive?

A coma is thought to be the closest to dead someone can get without actually dying.

[Risottia]

Atheists don't believe in the existence of deities, but there is no requirement that they not believe in afterlives. Atheists may vary in their views on the possibility of an afterlife.

I'm an atheist, and I believe that nothing that makes us the unique individuals we are truly survives death. Our personalities pass out of existence. At best, I can say that there is life after death, but the life that exists after my death won't be my own.

So, as a non-believer in gods, what are your views on life after death?

While I agree that it is not necessary for an atheist to refuse the idea of an afterlife, I personally dismiss afterlife as a huge amount of irrational bullshit. Exactly for the same reasons that make me dismiss any sort of religion.

Btw, the part I bolded is quite sensible. The very concept of "myself" ends with death.

[Kanabia]

I'm fond of the idea of reincarnation, but couldn't say that I believe in it.

Yeah, this.

^

If I had to choose, I'd prefer that to an afterlife where I sit around all day in some hypothetical heaven or hell doing pretty much nothing for all eternity.

[Bormanico]

I don't think it was meant to prove anything. Only showing that some have reason to believe that an afterlife exists.

By telling a story about what happened to someone who was still alive?

Did i say it proves anything? No, i am well aware of that. However, i can't shake off the fact that it had some impact on me. Now will i expect others to believe it? No. Will i expect it to serve as evidence? No. Does it mean that im going to completely ignore it? No.

Just trying to show how others might have different perceptions.

[Maurepas]

I sincerely doubt there are many atheists who don't believe in a higher power, but still believe in an afterlife. Chances are, almost everyone here believes we rot in the ground.

Good luck though!

And the world is flat.

I'm afraid the wooshing sound I heard may have been your point flying right over my head.

Evolution of thought: there is much we do not comprehend because no one has observed it yet; I find it humorous that many of those who believe the universe is expanding because we expect to be expanding can dismiss the possibility of a different type of energy being a part of conscious beings. It holds as much ground scientifically as, say, the existence of dark matter [aka transparent matter].

That implies that I believe in dark matter, its an interesting theory, but, I hold a strict policy of until its proven, it doesnt exist...

[Maurepas]

I'm fond of the idea of reincarnation, but couldn't say that I believe in it.

Yeah, this.

^

If I had to choose, I'd prefer that to an afterlife where I sit around all day in some hypothetical heaven or hell doing pretty much nothing for all eternity.

If reincarnation exists, I intend to be a Housecat in a very wealthy family of PETA members,

[Xirnium]

I reckon there might be something after death. All cultures around the world think that there is. I haven't heard of a culture that doesn't have some form of afterlife.

Oh, this one is funny. Do you know what all cultures have in common? They are all of people each and every one of whom die.

[Maurepas]

I reckon there might be something after death. All cultures around the world think that there is. I haven't heard of a culture that doesn't have some form of afterlife.

Oh, this one is funny. Do you know what all cultures have in common? They are all of people each and every one of whom die.

Nope, the Olympians dont,

[Zandan]

I sincerely doubt there are many atheists who don't believe in a higher power, but still believe in an afterlife. Chances are, almost everyone here believes we rot in the ground.

Good luck though!

And the world is flat.

I'm afraid the wooshing sound I heard may have been your point flying right over my head.

Evolution of thought: there is much we do not comprehend because no one has observed it yet; I find it humorous that many of those who believe the universe is expanding because we expect to be expanding can dismiss the possibility of a different type of energy being a part of conscious beings. It holds as much ground scientifically as, say, the existence of dark matter [aka transparent matter].

That implies that I believe in dark matter, its an interesting theory, but, I hold a strict policy of until its proven, it doesnt exist...

Dark Matter has actually been proven to exist. They found it they same way they found black holes. As with all matter in the universe, dark matter bends light.

[Bormanico]

I do believe in a stronger probability of afterlife. Why? Let me answer with a question. Why do Atheists not believe in God? Because theres no proof. Well... i have no proof of the afterlife but i have heard of first hand experiences which make me question it, at least.

This happened with an Aunt of mine, which is infinitely more skeptical on everything related to religion. She's a judge and she is very objective and analytical, and absolutely despises everything related to the supernatural. One day, she had something fucked up happen to her and she got sent to the hospital. She was in a coma for a couple of weeks. She told me that while she was in a come she would wander around the hospital in spirit form (sounds stupid, bear with me). When she woke up, she knew the names of every employee in the hospital (she had never been to that hospital before). The people at the hospital were shocked.

She told me this, and i believe her because i know her very well and have met few people more sensible and level headed. I don't expect others to believe it, but i have heard of other similar accounts that do make me wonder.

You realize that this proves nothing whatsoever, right?

As said in the first paragraph. Go reading comprehension!

[Cabra West]

I don't think it was meant to prove anything. Only showing that some have reason to believe that an afterlife exists.

By telling a story about what happened to someone who was still alive?

A coma is thought to be the closest to dead someone can get without actually dying.

See bolded.
When you're in a coma, at least parts of your brain still function. When you're dead, they don't.

[Maurepas]

I sincerely doubt there are many atheists who don't believe in a higher power, but still believe in an afterlife. Chances are, almost everyone here believes we rot in the ground.

Good luck though!

And the world is flat.

I'm afraid the wooshing sound I heard may have been your point flying right over my head.

Evolution of thought: there is much we do not comprehend because no one has observed it yet; I find it humorous that many of those who believe the universe is expanding because we expect to be expanding can dismiss the possibility of a different type of energy being a part of conscious beings. It holds as much ground scientifically as, say, the existence of dark matter [aka transparent matter].

That implies that I believe in dark matter, its an interesting theory, but, I hold a strict policy of until its proven, it doesnt exist...

Dark Matter has actually been proven to exist. They found it they same way they found black holes. As with all matter in the universe, dark matter bends light.

Nah, at present it is still Hypothetical, there are some phenomena that can be observed, yet unexplained, that it may have an effect on...

But, as yet, we dont actually know if it exists...

[Maurepas]

I do believe in a stronger probability of afterlife. Why? Let me answer with a question. Why do Atheists not believe in God? Because theres no proof. Well... i have no proof of the afterlife but i have heard of first hand experiences which make me question it, at least.

This happened with an Aunt of mine, which is infinitely more skeptical on everything related to religion. She's a judge and she is very objective and analytical, and absolutely despises everything related to the supernatural. One day, she had something fucked up happen to her and she got sent to the hospital. She was in a coma for a couple of weeks. She told me that while she was in a come she would wander around the hospital in spirit form (sounds stupid, bear with me). When she woke up, she knew the names of every employee in the hospital (she had never been to that hospital before). The people at the hospital were shocked.

She told me this, and i believe her because i know her very well and have met few people more sensible and level headed. I don't expect others to believe it, but i have heard of other similar accounts that do make me wonder.

You realize that this proves nothing whatsoever, right?

As said in the first paragraph. Go reading comprehension!

[Xirnium]

Nope, the Olympians dont

Then it might be interesting to ask Zeus what he thinks would happen to a god if he died. Don’t you dare talk about the Titanomachia.

[Bormanico]

I don't think it was meant to prove anything. Only showing that some have reason to believe that an afterlife exists.

By telling a story about what happened to someone who was still alive?

A coma is thought to be the closest to dead someone can get without actually dying.

See bolded.
When you're in a coma, at least parts of your brain still function. When you're dead, they don't.

My story wasn't directly partaining to afterlife HOWEVER since its more related to spirits/Astral projection it does have some unofficial importance to the discussion.

[Helgrin]

I reckon there might be something after death. All cultures around the world think that there is. I haven't heard of a culture that doesn't have some form of afterlife.

Oh, this one is funny. Do you know what all cultures have in common? They are all of people each and every one of whom die.

I was just saying that they all have all have afterlife in common, so they might be onto something. But then again, everybody used to think that the Sun revolved around the Earth. I wasn't using it as evidence, it was just a thought.

[Zandan]

I don't think it was meant to prove anything. Only showing that some have reason to believe that an afterlife exists.

By telling a story about what happened to someone who was still alive?

A coma is thought to be the closest to dead someone can get without actually dying.

See bolded.
When you're in a coma, at least parts of your brain still function. When you're dead, they don't.

I'm not saying that they are dead, I am merely pointing out that they are very close. I'm not telling you that an afterlife definitely exists, all I'm saying is that some believe it to exist for different reasons.

[Maurepas]

Nope, the Olympians dont,

Then it might be interesting to ask Zeus what he thinks would happen to a god if he died. Don’t you dare talk about the Titanomachia.

They spend an eternity in Tartarus of course,

[Czardas]

The only afterlife is the one you make for yourself. With death comes cessation of consciousness.

Hence, I plan to be cryogenically frozen before my death, to be awakened at some point in the future when they have discovered a way to make people immortal. Or, failing that, for the maximum length of time they can keep me frozen without me actually dying. Living forever, even past the extinction of the rest of the human species, would be preferable to dying forever.

[Bormanico]

I do believe in a stronger probability of afterlife. Why? Let me answer with a question. Why do Atheists not believe in God? Because theres no proof. Well... i have no proof of the afterlife but i have heard of first hand experiences which make me question it, at least.

This happened with an Aunt of mine, which is infinitely more skeptical on everything related to religion. She's a judge and she is very objective and analytical, and absolutely despises everything related to the supernatural. One day, she had something fucked up happen to her and she got sent to the hospital. She was in a coma for a couple of weeks. She told me that while she was in a come she would wander around the hospital in spirit form (sounds stupid, bear with me). When she woke up, she knew the names of every employee in the hospital (she had never been to that hospital before). The people at the hospital were shocked.

She told me this, and i believe her because i know her very well and have met few people more sensible and level headed. I don't expect others to believe it, but i have heard of other similar accounts that do make me wonder.

You realize that this proves nothing whatsoever, right?

As said in the first paragraph. Go reading comprehension!

Not nitpicking! I think its important to read atleast the first paragraph before replying to it.

[Risottia]

Dark Matter has actually been proven to exist. They found it they same way they found black holes. As with all matter in the universe, dark matter bends light.

Nah, at present it is still Hypothetical, there are some phenomena that can be observed, yet unexplained, that it may have an effect on...

But, as yet, we dont actually know if it exists...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter

As important as dark matter is believed to be in the universe, direct evidence of its existence and a concrete understanding of its nature have remained elusive. Though the theory of dark matter remains the most widely accepted theory to explain the anomalies in observed galactic rotation, some alternative theories such as modified Newtonian dynamics and tensor-vector-scalar gravity have been proposed. None of these alternatives, however, have garnered equally widespread support in the scientific community.

Alternative explanations:
Modifications of gravity
Quantum mechanical explanations
Or just neutrinos?

[Maurepas]

Dark Matter has actually been proven to exist. They found it they same way they found black holes. As with all matter in the universe, dark matter bends light.

Nah, at present it is still Hypothetical, there are some phenomena that can be observed, yet unexplained, that it may have an effect on...

But, as yet, we dont actually know if it exists...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter

As important as dark matter is believed to be in the universe, direct evidence of its existence and a concrete understanding of its nature have remained elusive. Though the theory of dark matter remains the most widely accepted theory to explain the anomalies in observed galactic rotation, some alternative theories such as modified Newtonian dynamics and tensor-vector-scalar gravity have been proposed. None of these alternatives, however, have garnered equally widespread support in the scientific community.

Alternative explanations:
Modifications of gravity
Quantum mechanical explanations
Or just neutrinos?

Exactly, and until I can get direct evidence, I maintain that it doesnt exist, merely interesting speculation...

[Zandan]

The only afterlife is the one you make for yourself. With death comes cessation of consciousness.

Hence, I plan to be cryogenically frozen before my death, to be awakened at some point in the future when they have discovered a way to make people immortal. Or, failing that, for the maximum length of time they can keep me frozen without me actually dying. Living forever, even past the extinction of the rest of the human species, would be preferable to dying forever.

I'd have to disagree, I'd rather die forever than live forever. Living even after humans go extinct would be a very lonely existence.

[Helgrin]

The only afterlife is the one you make for yourself. With death comes cessation of consciousness.

Hence, I plan to be cryogenically frozen before my death, to be awakened at some point in the future when they have discovered a way to make people immortal. Or, failing that, for the maximum length of time they can keep me frozen without me actually dying. Living forever, even past the extinction of the rest of the human species, would be preferable to dying forever.

Hey, let's get a spaceship and fly at almost the speed of light for a while, so that time doesn't pass very much for us. Then when we slow down they will have invented Immortality. (This is based on Einsteins theory of relativity.)