Hello...

[pagan1]

Greetings fellow Hominids!
I am an Atheist,and this came about through a process of evolution,not just because Santa Christ forgot to leave anything under the tree for me.
I have in previous incarnations walked the Ganges from ashram to ashram looking for God,and studied the Bible from go to ever increasing woe,in the hope of deadening my mind with some religious opium...but the high that I found,just did not stick around...although I must admit to having a great deal of admiration for Buddha,and if I ever did through some quantum time anomaly have the chance to meet Jesus I would be very happy,especially if I was allowed to make a detour and meet Socrates as well...
Anyway the question that I would like to ask is:
Has anyone ever truly believed in Life after Death?
How could any self aware ape like creature fool itself into thinking that when it dies,that through some shamanistic hocus pocus it can live?
Of course I realise the psychological value of pretending to live on some installment plan,whereby you can rape,murder,and pillage either directly or indirectly through some military proxy,then miraculously awaken after death and party with all the slaves,native peoples and other sundry beings that may of needed to be sacrificed in the name of progress,but how could anyone ever actually believe it to be true?

[MommaSquid]

Welcome to the forum, pagan1.  Nice to have you aboard.

[tacoma_kyle]

Hi.

Why'd you capitolise 'Life' and 'Death?'

Just wondering if there was somethin behind it (like the Jew's running the corportations that caused 9/11)


Ok ok, bad joke, . Err reference.

[rlrose328]

Welcome Pagan1... no, I don't believe in life after death.  It's a fallacy spread by the believers, hoping to have it all after they die... I have it all now... a family, love, life, etc.  They can waste it all now in hopes of life after death.  More power to them.

Nice to have you on board!

[pagan1]

sorry for the use of capitals,in regards to the words life and death...I suppose that I am just fed up with being bombarded by christian crap,every time I listen to the radio or watch tv.christmas is the worst time of year for me,I don't mind jesus,and I think that every child is sacred,but what does that have to do with such excess consumption,santa clause and christmas trees?christianity is such a heap of bs!atheism would seem such an obvious and rational choice when it comes to uderstanding the universe in this scientific age,and yet there seems to be such a small percentage of non believers in the world,can anyone explain that?

by the way,rlrose328...I have seen quite a few of your posts,and you would seem to be a very happy atheist,is there any particular way that you have of staying clear and rational in a world gone mad?you mention...family,love,life...I am a single parent with two children,a son aged 12 and a daughter aged 17,I often joke with my daughter and tell her that you are my eternal life,part of my little contribution to the 3 billion year old gene pool...that may or may not last another 3 billion years...

[Girl Dancing In Orbit]

What happens when we die?

Bill Maher explains this one very well :

(...) what is so hard about saying the words : "I don't know" . Of course there are questions that plagues all of us : How did we get here? What happens when we die. Is there a heaven... Am I on the list ? Who let the dogs out ?

But why would you believe what some other human being, who's brain, I promise you, is no bigger or better than yours when he tells you : He knows what happens when you die ?

- Don't masturbate now or you won't get to hang out with Jesus and his buddies in heaven ! How do I know... Well... I've got a pointy hat ! And a robe, and a wand...

It's so gay the whole church ! Why don't you come out of the closet !"

I love that guy

[pagan1]

Hello! Girl Dancing in Orbit...
I agree that there is no way of knowing what happens when we die,so it should be left as a great big question mark...
Please forgive me for being so personal,after all as far as you know I could be some kind of cyber secret agent sitting behind some computer in the vatican,trying to hunt down all the recalcitrant catholics of the world,but you do advocate a very strong feminist view of the world,which is fine by me,but I am just wandering what is your way of explaining the way the world is?Is it some kind of deliberate male conspiracy to totally stuff everything up?Or have men and women been dancing together since the dawn of history,stumbling from one mistake to the next,in some drunken tango?

[Girl Dancing In Orbit]

My way of explaining why the world is the way it is ?

I don't really understand your question.

But no I don't think that men are the #1 source of Evil in this galaxy. One of the biggest problem on this planet, I think, is that people are afraid of who they are. We have to many taboos, and not only sexual ones and religion encourage this by saying "You should be afraid and ashamed of yourself... Feel guilty".

And if you are a Catholic spy then I just want you to know that I have no respect at all for your homophobic, misogynistic and archaic Cult.

Try to come and get me, I'm waiting for you.  

[McQ]

Welcome to the forum. Thanks for jumping right in!

[pagan1]

I am not a catholic spy.I hate catholicism.What I mean by my question is that it seems to me that since the first single celled organism came on the scene 3+ billion years ago everything has been a desperate battle to pass on DNA and survive,so in the human situation maybe for the past 100,000 years men and women have had a back and forth exchange of wants and needs that lead to choices being made,and actions being taken,for eg.genocide,slavery,colonialism,that later on the human race comes to regret...
Of course you have already stated your view by saying that you do not think that men are the #1 source of evil...
As for the catholic church ever since I read about a priest called Giordano Bruno who was burnt at the stake in 1600 something for being a closet atheist and for believing that there may be life on other planets in the universe,as well of course as the thousands of innocent women who suffered this same fate,the church has lost all credibility with me...
So why do you think that the world in general is so homophobic?
Once again I swear upon a stack of Richard Dawkins books,that I am in no way affiliated to or conected with the catholic church!

[Girl Dancing In Orbit]

Once again I swear upon a stack of Richard Dawkins books,that I am in no way affiliated to or conected with the catholic church!

LOL  

I can't give you an epic, universal and Darwinian explanation as to why people are homophobe.

So I'll just say that I think people are homophobic just because being gay is not the norm and people don't like what is outside the norm... Like my signature says : Strangers are strange until they are not strangers anymore.

[pagan1]

So,how are things in Montreal?

[Tricky_Niki]

Welcome to the forum.
Do I believe in life after death?
Nope never have never will. It always seemed kinda silly to me to waste the years we have here being good so we can be rewarded while all the people that cared about us are here hurting. I would rather spend the time I have on this planet enjoying my family, friends and chocolate.

[tacoma_kyle]

Ok so it was the Jews.


Just had to clear that up.

[SteveS]

How could any self aware ape like creature fool itself into thinking that when it dies,that through some shamanistic hocus pocus it can live?

I wonder how many people really believe this without doubt.  Even religious ones.  Otherwise, why are they afraid of dying?  Why are they upset when people close to them die?  I think this belies doubt.....

I find it curious that people say things like "nobody knows what happens when we die".  We can observe a body at death and note all sorts of things that describe very clearly in great detail what happens to us when we die.

If we're talking about consciousness, well, brain activity stops during death, so if consciousness is physical brain activity, seems to me it just stops.  No more consciousness.  Honestly, I don't know how to even entertain the idea of consciousness transcending death without embracing the supernatural.  And why would anyone embrace the supernatural?  What evidence could even be put forth to suggest that the supernatural is real?  Saying "it could be real" is just saying something that can't even be measured or detected can't be proven false - which doesn't sound like a good reason to believe it may be true (the FSM, IPU, etc. etc.).....