Is the possibility of no afterlife such a bad thing?

Question

No afterlife means oblivion which means you would not be conscious of the nothingness. I don't see what's so bad about this (I would imagine I was in oblivion before I was born). Also, does it bother you that you have to be judged after death and sent to another place? I mean, when I die, why can't I just be left to rot in peace?

Answer 1

Humans, in general, have a major issue dealing with the idea of death and mortality. If you study developmental psychology, they have drafted a "cycle" in which one confronts death and the series of phases before accepting that it is inevitable.

Given this, I noticed many find "comfort" in leaving the inevitable, well, inevitable. As Voltaire once said, "If God didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent Him."

I asked a pious Christian once, that just for a moment, accept that perhaps there was no real point to life and that we would just die, as all organic compounds decay and the cycle begins again since matter is neither created nor destroyed - and he couldn't bear the fact, the idea of death alone scared him.

Which is why existentialism is so fascinating, and even more a challenge for those who attempt to fully pursue it -I tip my hat off to them, because the first step is to accept that you are indeed mortal, that you will die, and then to live for the time period that you have and do what you can to the fullest...instead of banking on this idea that you can live later, in some afterlife, after your life here.

Answer 2

The only thing that bothers ME is that I want to KNOW what happens (I am insatiably curious about everything). I cannot believe that there is some special place full of angels and fluffy clouds that I must spend my entire life auditioning for. That's just ridiculous!

But death is a scary thing to most people (right below public speaking, apparently), and a massive, concocted story about going to a "better place" when you die seems only to make people feel better about hardships they face in life.

It's difficult to think that every day you have lived and every experience you have shared and all the knowledge you have gathered simply disappears when your brain can no longer support neural pathways. That the thing that makes you YOU vanishes when your physical body rots.

I cannot say what happens after death, because I don't know. But neither does anyone else, no matter what their faith tells them. I suppose I'll find out when I get there, but I'm not in any hurry.

Answer 3

The realization that there is no afterlife makes one enjoy life even more. There's a finite time to existence. It makes me enjoy everyday, because it may be the last.

People desire an afterlife because they fear death. They want to believe that there is something more. Throughout time, religion has been used to answer that which could not be understood. Consider the polytheistic societies of the past. Zeus, Thor were explanations for lightning. Apollo for the sun.

When science can't provide an answer, people turn to the divine.

Answer 4

If i didn't know there is a God or an afterlife......and this is all there is.....why keep morals, laws, or anything that society has to offer. I would be one of the most notorious men alive. I would take what i want when i wanted it and take out anyone in my way. If people truly believe this is all there is....then what i described would be how most would act.

Answer 5

you see, each human being has a certain amount of energy (call it soul, call it consciousness, call it whatever), and this energy can't just disappear after our body dies. it has to go somewhere, because energy can't just disappear. i don't know if it reincarnates or if it rises at a certain level in the universe or what it does there, but there IS something after death.

oh, and don't worry, i guarantee you that there will be no-one there to judge you for your so-called 'sins' from this lifetime. so rot in peace :)

Answer 6

If there is nothing in the afterlife then it is meaningless. If the afterlife is meaningless, so is your present life. Without meaning, life has no purpose and it is hopeless. Without God, life have absolutely zero meaning.

Answer 7

I was disappointed and cried for three days.

I'm a saint and for what? I asked myself. Finding out there's no God, it seemed kind of pointless sainthood.

So I visited a nice-looking lady and found some solace there. I was surprised how quickly I cheered up.

Answer 8

Dear friend,

There is afterlife, the Bible clearly states this.

Please seek the Lord today, while He may be found.

Ask Him to make Himself real to you.

Answer 9

some people need to have some sort of hope otherwise they will go around commiting suicide seriously i am not joking or disrespecting anybody at all so i figure hey what the hell as long as they don't harm anybody then believe whatever the hell you want just don't harass people into your religion or whatnot

Answer 10

I totally agree. Mark Twain once said: "I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions of years before I was born, and had not been inconvenienced by it"