I know that most Atheists believe we are here as a result of some sort of "accident" that manifests itself as "life". And I know that atheists don't believe there was an intelligent being behind this life. (GOD)
Are there any atheists that tend to believe, or at least ponder whether there couldn't be some kind of afterlife along the same lines that they think life exists.... As some kind of "happening" or manifestation that just happens.... and not as a result of a God? Just curious
Thanks
D.
2007-01-15 13:18:45 · 21 answers · asked by David S 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
There are some, but personally I think that belief comes from the same source as the belief in God. It is hard to imagine living as a conscious being, then having that consciousness end when the biology stops functioning.
But it is the only thing that makes sense. We are animals just as the beef on your McDonald's hamburger was an animal. Life begins and ends. And except for the chemicals that go back into the environment, that's it. No more consciousness, no more story to remember or retell. So leave a legacy for yourself. It probably won't last for ever, but it will outlast you.
^v^
2007-01-15 13:33:33 · answer #1 · answered by NHBaritone 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"Memories live on" Memories die with the person who has them. Others can remember the same events, but of course that's different. There is no such thing as a "soul", so the question of whether or not it lives on is meaningless. It is quite possible that an atheist could believe in life after death, and I'm quite sure that many do, though the majority do not. It's also quite possible that there IS life after death, but there isn't any evidence for it, so the correct conclusion to draw from the state of the evidence is that there isn't any afterlife. It's not strictly true that energy "never dies", but even if it were true, that doesn't have the impact that people on this forum often seem to assume that it has. We are not just "energy" - we are energy (and of course matter) organized in a certain way. The matter and energy that make up -me- will still be around 1000 years from now, but not in anything remotely like the organization that it currently has. That makes all the difference in the world. I am not just a collection of matter and energy: I am a certain interactive organization of that matter and energy. If you change the organization enough, my consciousness will cease, even though the same matter and energy still exist.
2016-05-24 19:23:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yea, definitely. Given how much we DON'T know about existence it seems far more likely there is a continued existence after this life considering existence has already proved it can animate us once. Think about just how much we don't know. Of the whole spectrum of light we only perceive a fraction of it (ROYGBIV). What would reality be like if we could see it all? And matter is a form of light at a different energy state (E=MC^2). Not to mention that once you get to the subatomic level, the lines between objects blurs and particles hop around and exist in terms of probability (this the principle behind the electron microscope). I find it far more likely something will happen then nothing.
2007-01-15 13:31:19 · answer #3 · answered by neuralzen 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only afterlife I believe in is the next life I will live after this one ends (reincarnation). I believe each life is a stepping stone towards growing spiritually. No, I'm not buddhist. I don't practice any form of religion whatsoever and I do not believe in any deity.
2007-01-15 13:51:07 · answer #4 · answered by Maureen B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are atheists who believe in reincarnation. I'm not one of them though, although I like to ponder on different ideas. I don't completely reject the possibility of an afterlife, but I find it rather unlikely that there is one. I think we just die.
2007-01-16 00:30:14 · answer #5 · answered by undir 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't beleive in an afterlife. I do, however, like the *idea* of an afterlife. No one can possibly know what lies after death, and anyone who claims they do is selling something.
And no, intelligent life is not here by an "accident". Natural Selection is many things, but it is not "random". Sheesh.
2007-01-15 13:26:54 · answer #6 · answered by Scott M 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I personally am not an atheist, but I have known quite a few. No, to my recollection, none of them believed in an afterlife. To me, it seems like a bit of a contradiction of terms.........!
2007-01-15 13:26:59 · answer #7 · answered by Gee Wye 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
say that there is life after death and you die and go to heaven where every thing is perfect. now when you are in heaven but your best friend isn't there because he when to hell how would heaven work with out your best friends to me that wouldn't be heaven. now there is many other things to put in play like being happy in heaven but what if the person you didn't like was there heaven wouldn't be that great but in heaven every thing works out right but wrong you can't take off someone in heaven or put someone in heaven if they don't belong there so there for you can't have a heaven with all those great things because it will not work. so the life after death thing isn't all that true but if there is life after death why do we have to die to get there. it all don't make sense when you think about it
2007-01-15 13:32:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some Buddhists claim to be atheists and they say that there is some form of reincarnation and hellish and heavenly realms of existence.
2007-01-15 13:21:33 · answer #9 · answered by darth_maul_8065 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
of course. Just because you don't buy BIG religion view of doing things doesn't mean you don't believe there is an afterlife of sorts.
what a bizzare thing to think that the two have to be tied together.
2007-01-15 13:26:41 · answer #10 · answered by darklydrawl 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋