I've been wanting to bring up this topic for a while now, so, here goes. Please bare with me.
Of all the conundrums, trials and tribulations that humanity has ever faced, I think that there is one ultimate question which has haunted us since the dawn of time. Is there an afterlife? When our physical body fails us and dies, does a part of us live on, or is it simply lights out?
Most religions share at least one thing in common: the belief that, once we die, we do go somewhere. Although they may not agree on what the afterlife is, they do agree that there is, at the very least, something. Even many irreligious people believe that there is some form of life after death. For the purposes of this topic, I do not ask what the afterlife may hold, whether it is good or bad, or even who is or is not permitted to exist there. I simply ask whether or not it exists.
There are two thoughts on this matter. The first is that, as most religions hold as their core belief, a part of an individual is eternal, and goes on to the afterlife. The latter is that of personal oblivion: the individual has no soul, and we are but a conglomeration of cells and matter that inevitably dies, permanently.
So, what are your opinions NSG? Do you think that, once we die, there is an afterlife to look forward to? Or, rather, do you think that it is but a vain hope shared by most humans for fear of oblivion?
My opinion is that there is an afterlife. I don't know what it is or whether it's good or bad, but I think there's enough evidence to conclude that it exists. Some of the facts are a bit far-fetched, while others are more realistic. Basically, most evidence for an afterlife lies in NDEs (Near-Death Experiences), which, since they involve as their source of information a person whose body is slowly failing them, tend to be discredited as the hallucinations of dying people. So, needless to say, it's a field of science that doesn't get much academic attention. That said, I think it's an important one which is all too often overlooked.
People who experience NDEs are, as the name implies, experiencing a near death situation. The circumstances vary, but the general scenario is that they're nearly brain-dead and are about to die. So, basically, it's a person who almost dies, experiences something surreal while they're essentially brain dead, and comes back to life (usually after doctors have saved them). These people usually claim they experienced the afterlife, and tend to go through the rest of their lives with a new sense of happiness. What's intriguing about NDEs is not so much what people say, but how universally similar it is to the stories of other people who experience NDEs. There's always a white light and an "outer-body" feeling which most people describe as the soul temporarily leaving the body. Yes, this could be discredited as a final bought of dopamine-induced semi-consciousness as the many chemicals comprising the brain begin to coagulate, but I think it's something more. You could ask a Canadian and an Indian about the NDE they experienced, and both would mention the white light and outer-body experience. What's even more intriguing is that in some cases, people describe watching their own surgery take place, but from a bird's-eye view. After their operations, some have even described the entire layout of the operation room, right down to the medical equipment that was used, things they could not possibly have known during their comatose state. Things they could not possibly have known, unless, of course, they had a soul, and the afterlife truly does exist.
I could add more evidence aside from NDEs to explain why I believe in an afterlife, but I'm curious about your opinions. So, what do you think?
