Do you believe in any after-life, in other words what happens when you die? Nothing? Just a curious Christian, not meaning to offend. It's hard for me to understand not having an afterlife, curious to your opinion.
2006-12-24 05:24:46 · 38 answers · asked by Scott B 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I'm proud to say that I have absolutely no idea.
I'm just glad I know I'm not gonna burn in hell forever and ever and ever simply because I was not raised Christian.
2006-12-24 05:25:58 · answer #1 · answered by Lizzyyyy 3 · 5⤊ 4⤋
Some atheists do, but I do not. There is no REASON to do so, because in all history, there has never been any verifiable evidence that indicates that there is some kind of life after death. All the evidence (every single time a person, animal, or plant has died) indicates just the opposite - that the whole being (living thing) dies completely.
As an earlier answerer says, many (but not all) atheists are materialists or atomists, which just means that they believe real things are a part of the real physical world. So far as man has been able to prove or detect, nothing exists if it is not material. Unless we someday determine that souls or spirits are somehow physical in nature, there is no reason to believe that they exist.
It's hard for any of us to imagine not being alive. We are all born with a self-centered perspective as living, thinking entities. It's the only perspective we have ever known. This undoubtedly accounts for the idea of an after life. It's actually easier for us to IMAGINE that we have an after life, than it is to imagine that we simply are no more. The latter requires a kind of anti-imagination, because you have to stop yourself from imagining what might be. Our brains are not designed to handle such problems effectively.
I hope that helps.
2006-12-24 06:00:32 · answer #2 · answered by HarryTikos 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No I don't. The truth is I don't know, but neither do you.
I do understand why we have the hope of this...and I would love for it to be true, because I'm annoyed that this life is all there is, and that I will end up as worm food...but that is really all that happens. We simply cease to be...just as we didn't exist before our births.
It's hard for me to understand a belief in an afterlife. Unfortunately, nobody has ever come back to tell us about it....your mythical friend Jesus included. Heaven sounds so booooooooooring. Walking around singing praises to god for eternity...how utterly pointless.
The Christian and Muslim religions, and
all the frauds like Sylvia Brown, James van Praagh etc exploit the vain hope that we do somehow survive our own deaths. They don't know either. They are happy to make up stories and take your money though to make their earthly life more comfy...I think they realize this is all there is too...otherwise why wouldn't they be eager to join the dead?
God is imaginary, there is no such thing as a "soul" that survives our mortal death, and there sure isn't a heaven paved with gold, or a burning hell for our souls to be deposited for eternity.
2006-12-24 05:42:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
More of an agnostic here, but I don't concern myself with an afterlife. Nobody on earth -- even Christians -- know for a fact what happens after death. (Believing isn't knowing!)
So instead of worrying about something that I have no control over, no knowledge of and no possible way of getting knowledge of, I just worry about making this life as good as I can for myself and others.
When death comes, it will come. It's a part of life. And while I have to admit that anything is possible, I have a *very* hard time believing that the afterlife (if it exists) will consist of a heaven and/or hell as conceived of in Christian belief.
2006-12-24 05:28:34 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
No, I do not believe in a life after death. I don't believe in Heavens, Hells, Souls, Spirits, Angels, Ghosts, Hob Goblins, or any of that stuff. Things that go bump in the night are usually the Cat, or something that was carelessly stacked during the day.
Other people believe different things. Atheism only means not believing in God. It is not like religion. There is not a set of things that are believed. If you go looking for an Atheist manifesto you will not find it. Dawkins is respected but it is, after all is said and done, his opinion. The modern version of militant atheism is being created by the religious fundamentalist communities. It is being created both as a convenient enemy, and in reality as a reaction to the absurdity of American Evangelism.
2006-12-24 05:35:41 · answer #5 · answered by Barabas 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I personally dont believe in an afterlife, but one does not need to believe in God(s) to believe in an afterlife. In my opinion, when you die, you die, it's like an eternal coma, no waking up and you're not aware that you're dead. It's a scary thought to most as they would like to believe that theres something after death waiting for them.
2006-12-24 05:28:58 · answer #6 · answered by Dr. Douche 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am a Buddhist, which is a sort of "structure atheism"....
The Buddha once said,
"some are reborn in human form, good people go to heaven, bad people go to hell, those who abandon attachment attain nirvana (eternal bliss, or oblivion, depending upon your belief...)"
I believe this to be true for all mankind, not just Buddhists, by the way....So, I believe that true Christians, who live the teachings of Christ, instead of using the Bible to pound people over the heads will definitely reach the heaven they are hoping to reach.
People who say "you are going to hell because you do not believe in the "truth"" are definitely going to hell themselves.
Namaste, and Happy Holidays....
--Tom
2006-12-24 05:33:23 · answer #7 · answered by glassnegman 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do not, no - but an atheist can believe in an afterlife and still be an atheist.
There is no evidence for an afterlife. Our "souls" are constructs of our genetics, brain chemistry, and experiences. Once we die, our brain dies, and our "soul" with it.
"Soul" to me is just another word for our identity as individuals. Curious that who we are can change with brain damage or brain disease, no?
2006-12-24 05:28:19 · answer #8 · answered by Snark 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
It's the "undiscovered country".
What I find rather pathetic, however, is that people waste time and energy working towards what can never been known instead of making the knowable, life in the here and now, more tolerable. If we all lived for today, think of what could be accomplished!
B
2006-12-24 05:45:10 · answer #9 · answered by beatriceorme 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It's hard for you to understand, or comprehend not having an afterlife because you haven't come to terms with the fact that wanting one is just a product of human ego.
2006-12-24 05:33:32 · answer #10 · answered by faupauxs 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I have accepted the fact that I am going to die, and once I do, I don't believe I am going anywhere. This does not scare me either. Death is a huge part of life, it is the complimentary factor, in which is obviously opposite of life.
2006-12-24 05:28:50 · answer #11 · answered by ? 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋