Do You Believe In An Afterlife?

[greaves]

I don't believe in god, heaven, hell, reincarnation, nirvana, paradise, or any sort of afterlife.

Am I wrong?

[eddielee]

I believe in an afterlife, God, Heaven and Hell. People believe different things. You have to respect everyone's right to believe or not to believe. Belief, or a lack of it, doesn't make a person more intelligent or superior to anyone else.

[Inwood]

I believe that we are no better than any other living creature on this planet. Once we lie down for our dirt nap, in the immortal words of Porky Pig, "th-th-that's all folks!"

Fear of the unknown is what created heaven and hell as a way to calm our fragile egos. Shame that we haven't evolved much in the thousands of years of human existence.

[fight19]

Not realy!!!!

[argomac]

I do believe in an afterlife. What exactly it is I would not presume to say, but the belief in it has pretty much been one of the only things to help me through some tough times. I'm not naive, I'm a resonably intelligent guy. I can totally understand that perhaps there isn't, but I choose to believe that there is. It helps me, and its not hurting anyone.

[DiaryOfAMadman]

I have a complex system of beleifs. I don't beleive in an afterlife, because I beleive that life is perpetual and never actually ends. But I also don't beleive in god or any supreme being.

[marcde]

I don't believe that we all end up in Heaven or Hell - and I still haven't decided where my religious beliefs lie, or if in fact if I have any.

I have visited spiritualists and mediums and cannot rule out totally that there is not some form of spirit presence. Unless these people are complete mind readers, there is no way they would have known some of the stuff that they have told me. Too many obscure things have come up in my readings for example the answering of a question that I had previously only discussed with a close friend. Unless I am totally gullible there has to be something

I may never know........

[Orlandude]

I believe that there is a power greater than ourselves. You can call it "God" or whatever. I don't believe in the notion that "heaven" is a place filled with golden harps and winged angels. I also don't believe that "hell" is a place of "fire and brimstone". I think much of these ideas were "created" by man, out of the minds of men. As in nature, I believe human life may have many forms. If you look at a flower...it grows, blooms, dies and eventually re-blooms again. Do we? Who really knows for sure but a day will come when we will all find out. I believe there is something beyond this life that has nothing to do with the physical world. I've had too many things happen to me to think otherwise.

[runner]

I believe in God (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) and Heaven and Hell.

[wit_afrika]

Yes, I believe in God and the continuation of real life on the other side

[cynicus]

Pascal's Wager:

God is, or He is not. But to which side shall we incline? Reason can decide nothing here. There is an infinite chaos which separated us. A game is being played at the extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up...Which will you choose then? Let us see. Since you must choose, let us see which interests you least. You have two things to lose, the true and the good; and two things to stake, your reason and your will, your knowledge and your happiness; and your nature has two things to shun, error and misery. Your reason is no more shocked in choosing one rather than the other, since you must of necessity choose. This is one point settled. But your happiness? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.

No, thank you. Too many conditions come with "He is." I'll take my chances that it is all myth, superstition, wishful thinking, and chicanery.

[Nyk13]

I believe in reincarnation. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "been there done that" .

[tommy296]

I think of the afterlife as more of a 'recycling plant' than a final destination (mostly because I seem to be working off the karma of Atilla the Hun today). I do believe there's more to it than just this life, but I also believe we should treat it as if it's all we get and live each moment to the fullest. I don't believe in the standard "heaven" or "hell".

[Franion]

Interestingly, reincarnation was part of the Christian religion's teaching for the first 300 years. It was scrapped because Rome needed the fear of god/devil/hell to keep the plebs (and princes) under control.

I believe that this life is a learning process and something happens next, but I wouldn't attempt to speculate what. Then again... being reborn as a dung beetle, or rising to join the ranks of the Time Lords?

[Andreus]

yes

I believe in paradise

[sonny10305]

I think there may be something in the idea of some sort of rebirth.
I just don't know if I still beleive in the Heaven and Hell thing.
I know I believe in God and I believe in Karma

[RenaissanceMan]

I don't believe in a typical literal "Heaven-like afterlife" in the clouds. That seems very unlikely. Some sort of "afterlife", sure. That doesn't mean life as a floating spirit either..and I'm not sure that it is "paradise" in any particular way we think of paradise now.

[frankfrank]

Interestingly, reincarnation was part of the Christian religion's teaching for the first 300 years. It was scrapped

I'd like to see more about this...this is very interesting. Can you send us somewhere?

I believe in most of these things (not sure about Heaven and Hell though). I feel there are far too many supernatural things going on, for there not to be spirits that are within our bodies, and are released at death. I feel that the afterlife is more than three-dimensional, and it doesn't include physical mass as we know it.

[Croynan]

[Pegasus69]

Right now this topic is hitting too close to home. I have been thinking about this very thing for the past week now and have not figured out where I stand on the subject.

[Snade]

Swishful thinking = the hope that God will be merciful to homosexuals despite the Bible's unequivocal condemnation of homosexuality

As far as other concepts of an afterlife are concerned, they, like all belief systems, originate in the human brain; if they make you feel good, have at 'em. Just don't be so naive as to expect others to invest in YOUR own private Nirvana.