Where does this come from?

Question

Even though I am not a Christian, this is a serious question.

I’ve heard many people make comments along the lines of ‘we’ll have to wait until we die to know the answer to that’, etc.

The concept is that all will be known when their soul get wherever it’s going.

Is there any basis for assuming that just because you die you somehow magically get all this knowledge?

Answer 1

I believe that we shall be in a greater dimension with a greater perspective Many of the things which preoccupy us now will have been removed from our consciousness as irrelevant to that new, enhanced existence. On the other hand we shall be more fully aware of many things which remain a mystery to us in our earthly state. So while we progress in knowledge and awareness, at the same time we shall have discarded many of the things which perplex us now simply because they are no longer of interest to us and shall have no reason to regret never finding out what they were all about.

Answer 2

no. there's no basis for that assumption. though many people will debate that it's a matter of faith, and having that faith you know have a soul, life everafter, a free pass to heaven, and then revelation. i doubt near death experiences too. i mean you get close, but you're not dead.

but to answer your question 'where does this come from?' and taking the flip side, i have a few ideas.

fear. we're afraid we'll never know, so we chuck it up to mystery, magic, seredipity, fate, god, mumbo jumbo, etc. not that there's anything wrong with that -- in a way, it is a coping mechanism for not knowing much to begin with -- unless it leads to the next...

laziness. we won't bother looking for other solutions, like, oh i don't know, like treating christians, muslims and buddhists equally instead of eradicating each other.

and the third. naivete. it's wishful thinking or racking up points for the ticket to the pearly gates.

i'm catholic but i never understood the point of monks and hermits praying in isolation. what's the point? it doesn't do anybody any good as far as i can tell. sounds, and looks selfish to me. are they all trying to unlock some knowledge that cannot be gained from being with others, helping others? magically, as you say?

Answer 3

There is absolutely no proof at all that we will learn anything after death, or that there will be any existence after death at all. However, having said that, if you are a Christian, then the idea is that once you get to heaven everything will be revealed. There's a line in Their Eyes Were Watching God, the novel, in which it is stated that the old gossips go to church only so they can go to heaven and learn all of the secrets behind the rumors they've heard for years. Also, and another however, one must wonder about the whole meaning of life if there is no god and there is not after-life. It could truly be, 'life sucks and then you die'. Not a pleasant idea at all.

Answer 4

I didn't think anything happened after you died, just like you, until I read about near death experiences. Many have had these experiences, almost all similar. It is not the tunnel experience the media tells you about, but it is the experience of talking to dead relatives. Almost all NDEs seem to report talking to relatives who have passed on. You would think if your brain was dying it wouldn't be able to filter out images of the living from the dead.

Scientists will call these experiences the last gasps of a confused mind before it flickers out, but they have no proof.

Science is funny. They require proof from everyone but themselves. When science has a theory, the media reports it as fact with no solid evidence to back it up. Frustrating.

It could be that there is life after death, as appears to be the case in thousands of accounts.

So who knows what we could learn after we die, hopefully some answers.

Answer 5

I think there is enough evidence that has surfaced thru people that had a near death experience
they speak of a totally overwhelming sense of love . pure bliss
and what not and i think jesus spoke on this tto
now for those who havent had these experiences , maybe theay need to get to church..
so do some research on NDE and see for yourself if this seems plausible?
it made sense to me
a commom objection to this will be " well they saw it on the history channel and just remembered the whole thing, or " it was the drugs"
i dont buy that because alot of those storys go way back even before media was so prevalent

Answer 6

I think this comes from the longing to know the truth, or perhaps the belief that if we ever are revealed the truth it will come in death. Some believe that when you die you will meld with the divine super conscious and all will be revealed. The Bible says that all will be revealed on the Day of Judgement. Even though this is Revelations and is about the Apocalypse many associate Judgement Day of revelations to Judgement Day of their own life.

Answer 7

I think Robert Heinlein put it best in "The Notebooks of Lazarus Long" (Time Enough For Love): "There is no conclusive evidence of life after death. But there is no evidence of any sort against it. Soon enough, you will KNOW. So why fret about it?"

Also, Carl Sagan said just before he died that he was about to find out who was right: those against any belief of an afterlife, and those for. It's all about the evidence; there may not be any magic involved at all...

Answer 8

Physical existence removes the possibilty of being "Truely Transcendental" as Ralph Emerson stated. Hence once the burden of physical being is eliminated, the Soul is left free to rediscover itself.

The question you asked has nothing to do with Christianity.

Answer 9

None, generally. As one sage individual stated, "just because Uncle John is dead doesn't automatically raise his wisdom or consciousness level"--in giving advice to a young, unusually psychic person, who was receiving "messages" from a deceased relative.

Obviously wiser people who move on, and "ascend", as the saying goes, do have something to say worth listening to, i've been given to understand--St. Germain, for example :)))