Why do YOU think so many people reject the idea ---?

Question

Of life after death. One would think they would want to embrace the idea.

Queen Sabrina one does not embrace potatoe chips! Haven't you ever heard of the phrase "embracing an idea?"

Agony Aunt I think I love you. What a great ans. and you are right!

Answer 1

DAS, for one to believe in life after death, they must first believe in God. Our society has made it too convenient to put God to one side. Even some of the most ardent Christians are greatly tempted by today's offerings of sin and evil, and many give in to it. I am stunned that so many can look around at our beautiful world and the workings of the human body and somehow believe that all this came about by accident. It's just not possible. God's signature is on everything. I know that no one will swayed by my answer and I will pray for each and everyone of them. But I ask that they listen to these words..."I would rather live my life as if there is a God and find out there isn't. than to live my life as if there were no God and find out there is". I don't know who said that but many should at least consider it. I believe in God. I believe in life after death. And I believe I will see my loved ones that have gone before me again. Without that belief, life for me would be totally senseless and serve absolutely no purpose.

Answer 2

Thinking that something is a nice idea doesn't make it true, and someone can like an idea without believing it is true. For example, I love the idea of Santa Claus, but I don't believe he really exists.

However, the notion of an afterlife doesn't appeal to everyone. I think it does more harm than good. For most people it's a harmless source of comfort, but it can lead some to neglect their responsibilities in this life. In the case of afterlife belief systems which include both a heaven and a hell, the rules on how to get to heaven can result in horrific treatment of people who break those rules. That isn't something I have any desire to embrace.

Answer 3

It's kind of like "different strokes for different folks". There are many different views of what this life is all about. Some fear death, others embrace it, yet others do not believe in any kind of after life. Another way to look at things:

We are souls and souls do not die. Our bodies give out but the soul continues on throughout many life times to experience many different kinds of situations and circumstances. With each new lifetime and situation we learn and grow. Ultimately, we become mature souls and have no need to experience new situations because we have grown and matured enough to become one with the creator. That would be what others call "heaven".

You have asked a heavy question :) The answers are interesting.

Answer 4

People reject the idea because they realise that "wishing for life after death" is a very wishful, romantic point of view that has no real grounding in logic or fact.

The harsh truth may be that there is no life after death, but human nature makes some people wish this was not the case and want to believe otherwise.

Answer 5

1. Lack of any evidence. There is no support for this idea in the natural world, science, history, etc. The supposed famous 'past life memories' of people like Bridie Murphy have been pretty well debunked. Bodies continue to lie in graves, etc.

2. Less mystery about death. Death was a pretty potent force, and we created entire mythos around it- just as we did around other powerful forces such as seasonal changes, winds, etc. As we feel we 'know' more (whether we do or not), we seem to have less need of any mythos.

3. Ignoring death altogether. For some odd reason, we simultaneously seem to be bent on totally ignoring our own mortality. Few of us really plan for it, few of us have ever seen a person actually die. We really want death to happen in sterile places away from home, with the dying person surrounded by strangers trying to prevent the death.

4. General rejection of the failed promises of religion. Modern American Christianity is especially bad at promising people success and happiness, while not really delivering on it. It says 'prayer changes things' and it does not. It claims to heal sickness, and fails. (This is NOT a failure of the Christian faith necessarily, but of how it is represented and taught in too many churches.) Other faiths have similar problems.

The idea is 'if the church lied to me about (fill in the blank), then pretty much all of the rest of it is subject to doubt and question, right?'




There is often a faint whiff of hope that 'something' survives death- the pervasive but vague believe in ghosts or spirits, the almost desperate hope that one CAN communicate with dead people, etc. We see an occasional resurgence of this on TV (Ghost Whisperer, etc.) but one rarely sees a full-blown trust in any form of resurrection or reincarnation of the body or soul anymore.

Answer 6

Well, it's not something you embrace like potato chips, it's a really big deal. It all comes down to faith, I'm sure most people would like to believe it, but being the skeptics that we are, it is very difficult.

Answer 7

I can't believe how many negative, ignorant answers you've had so far. A while ago, its people like them that swore the earth was flat and the sun revolved around the earth! They don't believe in anything, not because they are too small minded but they are limited by their own imaginations and mental confines.

I have a friend who died during an operation and she said she remembered looking down at herself and knowing she had to go back. She is (and has been since mid teens been a spiritualist). My dad used to say to me, look at a flower, it comes out of the ground, it grows, it blooms, it dies and then goes.... there is no sign of it, but the next year, the same flower comes back, (alright its not the exact same flower but its from the bulb - the essence - the soul)!

My own view is, our bodies are just a physical vessel that carry us around - I do believe that our souls live on, that we carry on learning and loving... How can anyone looking at the beauty of the universe think otherwise?

On closing just remember, that the end of the caterpillars life is just the beginning for the butterfly.......................

Answer 8

Perhaps because the concept of life after death infers that there are real consequences to your actions while you are alive. Whether the Christian belief of heaven and hell, the muslim belief that if you are a martyr you get 72 virgins (yeah, that will happen) or the eastern religion's view of reincarnation and karma.

it's much easier to say that what I do today doesn't really matter.

Answer 9

I don't know. I don't believe in life after death. I do believe in God as a higher power/force. I don't think he cares if the Bears win (wish he did). I do not believe in organized religion except for its social functions. I believe that I will live on in the memories of my friends and family and maybe some of the work that I have done in my lifetime..

Answer 10

Actually, for me, I do believe in life after death (and death after death), but sometimes I kind of wish that it didn't exist. Just sleeping forever sounds kind of nice. And I think I'd rather not exist than be eternally punished.