What do you think happens when a person dies?

Question

I'm presenting a project on the after-life for my College Religions class. I would like to gather some peoples' opinions on the topic. Thanks!

Answer 1

Thats it. Lights out. Its over.

Answer 2

I think all life crease.
I think we are just that dead.
I do think the human body will give us that last ditch effort to protect us from pain in which for a split second we could possible think we are entering soem after life.
We do not know what life is so I do not give up the possibility that the mind can't continue in a bodyless state. For or all we know intelligence could be miscroscopic in size and we are only the hosts.That is a theory kicked around by scientist after sci- fi writers came up with it.
Scientist would not admit it but most ideas in science fact originated in sci-fi books, and pictures.
I think you will become the dust you were born of and once again join the universe as a tiny part of it. Some day your remains either in dust or gas though small will once become a part of soem star, planet, rock, or moon with the even remotest chance of someday becoming a part of soem other life form.

BUt all in all I think when you die the body shuts down all life support systems and that's it. No here after, no hell, no heaven, no nothing. You've had you shot at imortally and like all others before you and after you it's over.
But I welcome any truths, theories, or ideas that differ.

Answer 3

I know where I going and I call it "The Great Campfire in the Sky."
There, all of your friends and family are gathering, the ones that have not been around for a while. Together they form a large circle around the campfire. Songs are song, stories are told, greeting and hugs are plentiful. Everyone takes part in the ritual. Also, a seat is saved for the relatives and friend that are not yet there. Each and every persons life is celebrated and memorials are established for others to visit and see. It is the best time in the world for everyone that is there, so seat down and enjoy yourself. Feel free to sing your favorite song and tell us why you love the song so much, please.
By the way, everyone can sing at the campfire and enjoys doing so.

Answer 4

They are usually buried, burned or embalmed/preserved; and its not a person any longer. 'Perhaps' the former person then ascends/descends to another plane of existence. Who knows! Common sense tell you that the Bible, that is quoted a lot and has many contradictions, is just a collection of writings selected from many more; and it's known that Pope Urban of the early church, destroyed many ancient texts that didn't fall in line with what the church wanted. [The Gospel of Judas is one that was missed] The first word in the Bible were written hundreds of years after the death of Jesus and the first words of the Qur'an were penned twenty-two years after the death of Mohammad. How can anyone remember a true account so long after the event; and who can resist the temptation after such a time, to remember/write an account favourable to their belief?

Answer 5

use Kevin Spacey's quote at the end of American Beauty Lester Burnams speech

"I had always heard that your entire life flashes before your eyes the second before you die. First of all that one second, isn't really a second at all, it stretches on forever like an ocean of time. For me it was lying on my back at boyscout camp watching falling stars, and yellow leaves from the maple trees that lined our street, or my grandmother's hands and how her skin always seemed like paper, and the first time I saw my cousin Tony's bran-new Firebird, and Janey (his dautgher), and Caroline (his wife). I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but its hard to stay mad when there is so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I am seeing it all at once and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon thats about to burst, and then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain, and I can't help but feel anything but grattitude. For every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I am talking about I am sure, but don't worry. You will someday!

I find this profound and inspirational as he doesn't really answer your question but leaves it up to interpretation. I think Kevin Spacey truely feels this way as he says in The Life Of David Gale: "We spend our whole lives trying to stop death, eating, inventing, loving, praying, fighting, killing, but what do we really know about death? Just that nobody comes back. But there comes a point in life, a moment when your mind out lives its desires, its obsessions where your habits survive your dreams and when your losses... (he pauses)... Maybe death is a gift, makes you wonder."

I like these hope you do too!

Answer 6

The bible tells us that after you die that the soul rests inside the body. It shows this in I Thesalonians 4:16 -- For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first--.

Because the dead in Christ shall rise first shows that the souls are still on Earth. You may ask... "What if we have to wait a long time until judgement day?" You know how when after you sleep, its seems like three seconds? It's a lot like that.

The "Dead in Christ" are those who have kept his commandments. So whether you go to heaven or hell depends upon your commitment to Him.

Answer 7

WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT DEATH

Jesus Christ spoke about the condition of the dead. He did so with regard to Lazarus, a man whom he knew well and who had died. Jesus told his disciples: “Lazarus our friend has gone to rest.” The disciples thought that Jesus meant that Lazarus was resting in sleep, recovering from an illness. They were wrong. Jesus explained: “Lazarus has died.” (John 11:11-14) Notice that Jesus compared death to rest and sleep. Lazarus was neither in heaven nor in a burning hell. He was not meeting angels or ancestors. Lazarus was not being reborn as another human. He was at rest in death, as though in a deep sleep without dreams. Other scriptures also compare death to sleep. For example, when the disciple Stephen was stoned to death, the Bible says that he “fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60) Similarly, the apostle Paul wrote about some in his day who had “fallen asleep” in death. 1 Corinthians 15:6.


The Bible teaches that the dead “are conscious of nothing at all.” They are not alive and have no conscious existence anywhere. The account of Lazarus confirms this. Upon returning to life, did Lazarus thrill people with descriptions of heaven? Or did he terrify them with horrible tales about a burning hell? No. The Bible contains no such words from Lazarus. During the four days that he was dead, he had been “conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Lazarus had simply been sleeping in death. John 11:11.
The account of Lazarus also teaches us that the resurrection is a reality, not a mere myth. Jesus raised Lazarus in front of a crowd of eyewitnesses. Even the religious leaders, who hated Jesus, did not deny this miracle.

Think about this too: If Lazarus had been in heaven for those four days, would he not have said something about it?— And if he had been in heaven, would Jesus have made him come back to earth from that wonderful place? Of course not!

Yet, many people say that we have a soul, and they say that the soul lives on after the body dies. They say that Lazarus’ soul was alive somewhere. But the Bible does not say that. It says that God made the first man Adam “a living soul.” Gen. 2:7, Adam was a soul. The Bible also says that when Adam sinned, he died. He became a “dead soul,” and he returned to the dust from which he had been made. The Bible also says that all Adam’s offspring inherited sin and death too.

The Scriptural teaching of the resurrection, however, is not compatible with the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. If an immortal soul survived death, no one would need to be resurrected, or brought back to life. Indeed, Martha expressed no thought about an immortal soul that was living on elsewhere after death. She did not believe that Lazarus had already gone to some spirit realm to continue his existence. On the contrary, she showed her faith in God’s purpose to reverse the effects of death. She said: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:23, 24) Likewise, Lazarus himself related no experiences of some afterlife. There was nothing to report.

Clearly, according to the Bible, the soul dies and the remedy for death is the resurrection. You enjoy the best sleep ever, until Jesus resurrects you, sometime in the future.

Answer 8

Sadly nothing. Except that the person dies.


"I think they are reborn with no knowledge of their previous life (re-incarnation)."

With no knowledge you are a different person. You might as well not be re-incarnated in the first place.

Answer 9

If the person was rich, then when he dies, his body begins to decompose while his family fights over his money.

If the person was poor, then when he dies, his body begins to decompose and his family sits around wishing he had had some money to fight over.

Answer 10

Christianity holds that a persons spirit will rest (accept for ghosts and evil spirits) and wait to be resurrected and either judged or rewarded based on their faith.

28"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. -John 5:28

Answer 11

Islam says that a person is taken to the place that they will be after the day of judgement, heaven or hell, then taken to the grave and asked three questions by the ark angel who is your lord, what was your religion and who was the last prophet. then you are taken to your grave.