Why do people believe in an afterlife??

It may just be fear of being non-existant, and the thought of floating around after you die puts your mind at ease.

autowrench

You say this like one who is really in the know about it. Ever had an NDE? Ever Astral Projected? Ever been "out of body" for even a few seconds?

In the passage you quoted, I was alluding to what had already been asserted by earlier posters of a certain persuasion. I posted those words in order to discuss their views, not to recite my own.

The take home message of my post as a whole, I would have hoped, was that I doubt anybody living is "really in the know about it." Not you, not me, not an atheist amateur neurophysiologist.

But since you asked, of course I've had hallucinations. They are an inevitable part of perception. I also dream. In some dreams, I imagine visiting places.

How is an NDE different from a DDE - a Didn't Die Experience? If someone is telling me about their having been near death, then they are also telling me that they didn't die.

NDE reports are amusing, though. The afterlife show begins with previews of coming attractions while some of the audience is still looking for their seats? Like at the movies? Maybe so, of course. The problem is, maybe a lot of other things instead.

Drawing strong conclusions about the afterlife from consulting someone who didn't die is hardly more logical than atheists' drawing strong conclusions from their inability to consult anybody who did die.

Originally posted by vjr1113

Originally posted by SunSword
reply to post by ac3rr

 

I will not give you a proof. But I will give you an analogy.

Assume there is a robot vehicle on another planet in this solar system. It unpacks from the lander and goes exploring. It is a smart robot and has programs that "learn". Periodically it sends data back to Earth, where a complete set of its programs exist, as well as all data it has ever transmitted. Also, it occasionally receives "messages" from Earth that modify one or more of its programs in the collections of programs that it has. Eventually it runs out of juice, or falls into a crater -- and "dies". All programs wiped, all data gone.

And yet. Back on Earth all the programs still exist. All the data has been received and recorded. So what, exactly, "died" on that planet? Just the hardware.

so thats all we are then just hardware?
if our bodies dont matter and life as we know it is just an illusion? then we could all kill ourselves and everything would be ok

i dont know if you realize, that IS what your saying. and if that is what you're saying, then i think that advice is extremely malicious and i hope you reconsider your views.

Nonsense. Who said "so thats all we are then just hardware"? You, not me. Even in the analogy, the robot is not "just hardware". The software is very important -- without it the robot will not function.

To be honest I think the idea of non existing isn't so bad, the way I figure it is you don't remember yourself before you were born then what's the big deal?

reply to post by eight bits


Thank you very much, that made me laugh. The spider analogy. You are so right, it's crazy how these scientists make something up and then go out to prove it!! Assumptions and conclusions, based on exactly what ?

Anyway, the afterlife; surely life is life. That is what we are.
When a person (brain, body) dies, only life sees it (those who are alive around the dead body). In life we see and experience death. Birth and death can only occur within life (consciousness). There is no opposite to life, life is life. What is it to be alife?
Looking at a dead body, it is obvious that the only thing missing is life, but what is that?

Are we only memories and thoughts? Is that what we are?
Or are we life itself?

This is a good question. There is the belief of reincarnation and then all the ghost videos out there and personal ghost experiences. Like everything else in life you wont really know until you experience it yourself. If you want to have physical evidence I think ghost videos or ghost experiences are the best we have today on life after death ( or whatever you want to call it). I know alot of ghost videos are fake but I would think that atleast one of them have to be real and if that one is real then where do these "ghosts" come from? I know one thing, I would not want to be trapped here after I die.

The spirit of man is contained in his mind. God made us a living soul then he gave us an image of his spirit. this energy called "spirit" by some, Allow us to live after this body dies. the spirit he gave Adam was this image of gods own spirit. it's an energy like our thoughts are energy. but when god gave man this image it allowed all of us to exist beyond physical death.

I believe Darwin was right about evolution but religious people had been taught that the bible was all a physical manifestation of gods works here on earth.they got it wrong. genesis is about our spiritual creation not physical. but the carnal minded who deal in the five senses can't understand spiritual thing's.as I will assume you will require proof, I suggest you forget mans corrupt religions and try to read between the lines of the bible to find spiritual revelation for yourself. But again, I can't expect for anyone to understand what I teach people coming out of the great whores religious system.

Anyone interested in further study MSG me. I can show you every place with definitions in the Greek and Hebrew through out the bible.

reply to post by eight bits

How is an NDE different from a DDE - a Didn't Die Experience? If someone is telling me about their having been near death, then they are also telling me that they didn't die.

Sorry I took you the wrong way, friend. Even doctors have a difficult time deciding exactly when it is that a human being dies. It's not an exact science, you know. This is why I post what I saw and experienced, in the hope that many will do this, and then we can have some insight into this phenomena. I'm sure a book titled, 'What to do after you die" would be taken well. On me, they used the paddles. Clear!

First let me say that reincarnation does exist, it doesn't mean you will have the same mind or experiences, it means you have the same soul as someone who has lived then died. the memories or experiences of that soul from the past life may come to you, but personaly i don't think you can be reincarnated from someone other than your own family. I am a reincarnation of my grandfather, and the only way I know this is because my grandfather died before i was born, yet i have memories and visions of his life before I even knew he existed. My parents also knew this when I was born. Also I know someone who is reincarnated and he well knows it and have knowledge beyond a lot of people. Any way i'm not saying this proves that I am right. If you believe me then you believe me and I would say you are gifted if you do, but if you don't then thats just who you are and there's nothing wrong with it.

autowrench

No problem, and friend, indeed.

It's not an exact science, you know. This is why I post what I saw and experienced, in the hope that many will do this, and then we can have some insight into this phenomena.

I'm 100% behind that.

If we get enough information, then we will sort these things out, or maybe our children will. So, witness away, and let the information flow.

itisnowagain

Thank you for the kind words.

reply to post by autowrench


I have to tell you, I can only think of two explanations for all you've described here. Either (1) this is all true and you've uncovered perhaps the single greatest answer to humanity's quest for the meaning of life, or (2) Human error (misinterpreting your experiences). And since when has "human error" ever been any sort of reasonable explanation for anything? Whereas uncovering the solution to the mother of all questions sounds WAY more exciting, enthralling, captivating and fun!

How can anything that gratifies the hole in my knowledge, while simultaneously confirming how magnificent I am be false?!? The NUMBER ONE rule of science is if it strokes your ego in any way it's probably CORRECT! Why else would we have egos? It's nature's fact-compass.

Have you thought about getting on the lecture circuit? People need to know these things, and if they don't believe you, screw 'em! I'd like to hear a better explanation!

reply to post by autowrench


I have a very interesting question I'd love for you to answer. Do you think there's such thing as hallucinations? What would you say is the difference between you and someone who's hallucinating?

reply to post by ac3rr


It's just one big hallucination!!
At night, when dreaming, surely, that is just a hallucination.
A figment, of your imagination.
You, are also a figment of your imagination.
So is this.
What is real?

Originally posted by ac3rr
reply to post by autowrench

 

I have to tell you, I can only think of two explanations for all you've described here. Either (1) this is all true and you've uncovered perhaps the single greatest answer to humanity's quest for the meaning of life, or (2) Human error (misinterpreting your experiences). And since when has "human error" ever been any sort of reasonable explanation for anything? Whereas uncovering the solution to the mother of all questions sounds WAY more exciting, enthralling, captivating and fun!

Well, it is all true for me. As I said before, there are many thousands of such stories on the internet about NDEs and Reincarnation. and there are many books on the subject, so no, I have not come onto anything new, rather, reincarnation is older than dirt. Religion has done everything possible to make people think they have but one life, and that's it. I have no scientific explanation of why these things happen to me, but I am more than certain that I am not alone in this either. Even Early Christianity taught reincarnation.

Have you thought about getting on the lecture circuit? People need to know these things, and if they don't believe you, screw 'em! I'd like to hear a better explanation!

No, no way. What happened to me is for me, not for everyone. Why ask for pay to tell a story that many people have, and some no doubt a lot better and more in detail than my own? I know who I am, and I know what I have seen, and experienced in my life. I have been shown the Afterlife, and many other things too.
Humanity is just too blinded by religion to see any further than their own nose sometimes. It is my sincere hope that one day everyone wakes up and realizes who they are, a Divine Spirit that is Immortal, and Powerful.

Originally posted by ac3rr
reply to post by autowrench

 

I have a very interesting question I'd love for you to answer. Do you think there's such thing as hallucinations? What would you say is the difference between you and someone who's hallucinating?

Yes, hallucinations are a very real thing, I have had them in my younger days doing '___' and Mushrooms. But it is not just a hallucination when it lasts for several hours, and leaves you in a cold sweat. What I saw I saw in real time, and remembered it with perfect clarity, unlike a hallucination which would quickly be forgotten.

( for the OP)

Let me ask you this...

Considering how many years we have in "recorded history" and all the thousands of years "self aware" beings have lived on this planet........ And considering science says energy/matter can't be created or destroyed...

Do you really believe...THIS...is the first time you've ever existed?

Where did you come from? Are you really nothing more then complex chemical reactions.......

or is there more that humans can't explain...

Every bit of knowledge we have is nothing but theory.......we have no actual Facts about anything.

So how do you know there isn't an afterlife.......you don't

reply to post by ac3rr


Hope, I think that cover all those who believe in afterlife. We want to hope we will not just stop existing. I try to imagine how death feels like and without the idea of afterlife it is just nothing

I wonder what makes people think they know for sure what happens after death.

Some say "I know that there is life after death" and the other says "I know there is no life after death".

Well then how do this people know for sure?

Older people are experiencing a natural thing in this physical realm, aging. Out of many of the NDE's i've researched, they always speak of (when you die) suddenly being aware of everything. Death is not terrifying to me, although the thoughts of being away from my normal everyday life, with my family, doesn't sit well, I know from experience there is more to this existence/creation. Not mentioning religion, or any religious texts, because im spiritual. Although I think they have interesting stories/life lessons in them, but in the end I just believe in life after death. I have experienced things that science can not explain, and never will because it is not for us in this physical reality to fully comprehend.

We don't just throw these "foolish" beliefs out the window, because in the end the main thing that will hold us together with love is the belief in an afterlife, and being eternally happy with one another as one. Going back to where we came. Religions as of now cause more trouble than they do good, obviously. That's because people hold them so dearly to their heart, they believe every single word that come out of their book.

I agree with you on some things, but here's where you are wrong:

"What we do know though is that when a person dies, brain activity eventually ceases. No neurons firing, no consciousness. You may see things before you die, time may distort, etc, but eventually it will stop. I don't know what else there is to prove. It is up to the people saying your consciouness will somehow magically travel to another dimension to prove that, not me to disprove it. I mean I could understand believing in that if some people had mind powers like telepathy, the force, whatever, but no one does. Your consciouness resides in your brain, end of story.

I responded to someone who said something similiar to this statement, such as "NDE's are fairly easily explainable." This is all wrong. The only explanation is yes, the brain is still active so you experience things just as when your dreaming. Ok, that would make sense. Yet, what about people who have been dead, and I mean completely dead, they are braindead, their brain is completely shut down and now functoning whatsoever, they are dead. (This comes from a story I read of a teen who was killed in an ATV accident) He somehow came back to life, and reported seeing everything that was going on. Being out of his body, and listening to the nurses/doctors have conversations. When he came back (like many others) he actually could repeat certain phrases that were spoken, and this is fact. This was confirmed by the doctors/nurses who said "wow, that is what I said" or "that's what we were talking about." This was while his brain was shut down and he was DEAD. So that "scientific" explanation does not hold water. Everyone was in disbelief. How does that happen? How can someone still be conscious IF their brain is the only source of that concious, and that source is dead and not working at all?

Also, what about people who are dead for days. How can someone be dead for 3 days, their body is cold and lifeless yet they wake up on the autopsy table speaking of a spirit who told them it was their time to go back? How does that ever happen once you are dead for over 3 days? Also, why would they wake up on an autopsy table and randomly talk about a spirit? Would it be because they want fame a fortune after waking up from being dead for a little over 3 days? (Even though that didn't happen) It doesn't add up, and it is not explainable.

These aren't fairy tales. Ignorance is bliss my friend. As for the the brain powers you speak of, and nobody having them you are also dead wrong. After much research on Edgar Cayce, he is the real deal. He is one of, if not the most confusing, spectacular human to walk this Earth in the last 100 years. Why dont you look into him? It wasn't even his predictions, it was his medicinal information that convinced people. From famous celebrities to presidents of the United States, they all went to him. Some predictions came true, some not, more than likely because the future is not fixed.

He cured peoples diseases, his trance-like readings brought back new mixtures that could cure a certain medical problem that no doctors even knew at the time, which is probably why he caught the attention of many famous people. He could fall asleep with is head on a book, without ever reading it, and know exactly what it was about. Some will say "that's bull, show me evidence, show me a link, show me proof, show me a video of him doing that 80 years ago" and so on. Fact is, he predicted the day he would die. He experienced very painful headaches towards the end of his life, and even said he was told while in trance he had to stop doing it so much. Yet, all he wanted to do was help people. He said the day he would die, and when that day came, Edgar Cayce died.

Call it BS, but like I said, Ignorance is bliss. There are things this species will never fully comprehend. If we have a soul, and this "soul" is real and it's energy, then we are undestroyed. Matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed, we are made of energy. We are made of these tiny particles that make up the fabric of the universe, we are energy. Everything is born, and everything dies, and even when it dies the matter and energy will carry on to once again be reborn. It's an endless cycle.

Originally posted by Lavarian
First let me say that reincarnation does exist, it doesn't mean you will have the same mind or experiences, it means you have the same soul as someone who has lived then died. the memories or experiences of that soul from the past life may come to you, but personaly i don't think you can be reincarnated from someone other than your own family. I am a reincarnation of my grandfather, and the only way I know this is because my grandfather died before i was born, yet i have memories and visions of his life before I even knew he existed. My parents also knew this when I was born. Also I know someone who is reincarnated and he well knows it and have knowledge beyond a lot of people. Any way i'm not saying this proves that I am right. If you believe me then you believe me and I would say you are gifted if you do, but if you don't then thats just who you are and there's nothing wrong with it.

I will agree. I was curious about reincarnation, but I have had dreams of what I can only say were from my past life. I love the guitar, electric/classical, I enjoy classical music, especially lute music. Before I stumbled upon renaissance lute music, I had a dream of being a man in a small town back around 1400's-1700's (that's what I took away), standing on a cobblestone street playing a lute for about 3 folks. This like many dreams, just leaves that one image in your mind waiting for you to remember it.I just happened to stumble upon lute music and music from that time period, only to remember the dream. I also had a dream in which I can say may possibly be reincarnation. I made a post here: Dream

It's really amazing, if anyone is interested in something that is very strange, that's the link. Im not saying it is reincarnation, but if you read the story you will see many things add up.