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Why would you want an afterlife?

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
Why do you want something after you die?

We live a perfect amount of time in my opinion. The average is 100 years which is the exact amount of life that I need and ever want.

Do you know how long eternity is? Of course you do, but when you say you want eternal life you just don't think of it.


10,000 * two googol is not even half of your time existing there. And let me tell you, isn't that a little too long?

Just think, you'll be trapped in consciousness no matter what happens, every second forever you are conscious, no escape of consciousness EVER!!

Think twice about this, and think deep both times. Do you really want that?
 

Greyn

South of Providence
Why do you want something after you die?

We live a perfect amount of time in my opinion. The average is 100 years which is the exact amount of life that I need and ever want.

Do you know how long eternity is? Of course you do, but when you say you want eternal life you just don't think of it.


10,000 * two googol is not even half of your time existing there. And let me tell you, isn't that a little too long?

Just think, you'll be trapped in consciousness no matter what happens, every second forever you are conscious, no escape of consciousness EVER!!

Think twice about this, and think deep both times. Do you really want that?

The average life span is 100 yrs? :confused: That seems a bit longer than my experience.

No one really knows what the afterlife holds, so it is difficult to answer this question. My belief system promises a life free from suffering and death within a new perfect creation where I have a purpose. That does not sound too bad, imo. Especially compared to my present life that has uncertainty, confusion, suffering and death.
 

Penumbra

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Why do you want something after you die?

We live a perfect amount of time in my opinion. The average is 100 years which is the exact amount of life that I need and ever want.
The average life is not 100 years.

Some people die before they are born, some people die as children, some people die as teens, some people die as adults, and some people die when they are old. The average lifespan is in the 70s-80s in developed countries, and as low as 40s-60s in some countries.

Do you know how long eternity is? Of course you do, but when you say you want eternal life you just don't think of it.

10,000 * two googol is not even half of your time existing there. And let me tell you, isn't that a little too long?

Just think, you'll be trapped in consciousness no matter what happens, every second forever you are conscious, no escape of consciousness EVER!!

Think twice about this, and think deep both times. Do you really want that?
This seems to assume that an afterlife must be infinite in duration. Although this is not necessarily the case, it's what it is commonly put forth. I agree that a life of infinite duration could be nightmare-ish.

I personally do not have an interest in an afterlife. I agree that a full human life is enough, as long as it's a good one. But I can see how it would be valuable to some, and I see a benefit in it. For instance, I'd prefer if people who die as children, or who receive grave injustice in life and suffer, get to experience a happy and full life to make up for it. And I can see how it's nice to think that an afterlife could be extremely wonderful and better than this one. I don't know why anyone would seek eternal life though- a happy and long finite life is probably optimal.

Plus, an afterlife provides religions with considerable wiggle-room when it comes to the proposition that their gods are omnipotent, personal, and omnibenevolent, because otherwise they'd have a very difficult time justifying the injustice in this world.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
No matter what is in the afterlife, why would you want to exist for much over a couple thousand trillion googol centuries?
 

sky dancer

Active Member
Why do you assume an afterlife is anything other than another human or animal life? If everything in the universe is impermanent, why assume there is eternity?
 

Draka

Wonder Woman
First off, what makes you think that your method of existing and consciousness would be the same as during a human incarnation? Different forms of existence would be experienced differently. Not to mention that "afterlife" is not a set thing. There are some who believe in reincarnation. Why would reincarnation just be limited to human lifeforms on this particular planet? There may be higher forms to take. More to learn. More to experience. Not to mention that there is nothing that says that eternity is eternity. Who's to say that our spirit does not ascend to a higher form? Or return to a whole that it was fractured off from? There are some who believe in reincarnation until a certain level of wisdom is reached and then the spirit returns to deity. That we are just fragments of deity itself. To just think we die and our spirits troll around in some "heaven" for ever and ever and ever seems kind of limited doesn't it?
 

Koldo

Outstanding Member
Why do you want something after you die?

We live a perfect amount of time in my opinion. The average is 100 years which is the exact amount of life that I need and ever want.

Do you know how long eternity is? Of course you do, but when you say you want eternal life you just don't think of it.


10,000 * two googol is not even half of your time existing there. And let me tell you, isn't that a little too long?

Just think, you'll be trapped in consciousness no matter what happens, every second forever you are conscious, no escape of consciousness EVER!!

Think twice about this, and think deep both times. Do you really want that?

How did you come to the conclusion that 100 years is how long you want to live?
 

horizon_mj1

Well-Known Member
The circle of life on earth is endless, so why would it be any different elsewhere in the universe. When you die if you keep your consciousness from this life and enter a different life (mind you this example does not necessarily reflect my personal opinion) that would be awesome. You would have knowledge even if not relevant, that could help. Being a part of pristine energy for all of eternity does not seem as though it would be boring at all, quite the contrary. To exist for an attempt to achieve perfection and an integral part of that perfection is honorable. To be allowed to try for this "eternally" is even more honorable IMO.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
The circle of life on earth is endless, so why would it be any different elsewhere in the universe.
Though your consciousness isn't everywhere in the universe.

When you die if you keep your consciousness from this life and enter a different life (mind you this example does not necessarily reflect my personal opinion) that would be awesome. You would have knowledge even if not relevant, that could help. Being a part of pristine energy for all of eternity does not seem as though it would be boring at all, quite the contrary. To exist for an attempt to achieve perfection and an integral part of that perfection is honorable. To be allowed to try for this "eternally" is even more honorable IMO.

No matter how good it is, why would you want to exist for so long? Think about living for TRILLIONS of years. The earth isn't even that old yet.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
Timeless doesn't mean a long, long long long long time + infinity, it means that time is inapplicable.

Infinity is not a number, and I shouldn't say it is a limit because there is no limit to it... It's endless in other words.


But people call it eternal, which means infinite.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
First off, what makes you think that your method of existing and consciousness would be the same as during a human incarnation?
I didn't make that claim.

Different forms of existence would be experienced differently. Not to mention that "afterlife" is not a set thing. There are some who believe in reincarnation. Why would reincarnation just be limited to human lifeforms on this particular planet?
Yes, reincarnation would be sad too if there was no end to it, as in Nirvana, but not as bad because most reincarnation-believers say we lose memory of ever having a past life.

But imagine, you could have walked past your own grave in a cemetery once or twice, thinking it as just another person.

There may be higher forms to take. More to learn. More to experience. Not to mention that there is nothing that says that eternity is eternity. Who's to say that our spirit does not ascend to a higher form? Or return to a whole that it was fractured off from?

Never claimed it didn't.

There are some who believe in reincarnation until a certain level of wisdom is reached and then the spirit returns to deity. That we are just fragments of deity itself. To just think we die and our spirits troll around in some "heaven" for ever and ever and ever seems kind of limited doesn't it?

Yes, indeed. But consciousness forever, no matter what it is in, that'd just be VERY long. Imagine an infinite number of pages in a book that you had to read because you needed to find information out of. You will NEVER stop reading it.
 

Greyn

South of Providence
Infinity is not a number, and I shouldn't say it is a limit because there is no limit to it... It's endless in other words.


But people call it eternal, which means infinite.

We can't comprehend infinite. You are also assuming the conscious you presently reside will be the same after you die. I am guessing we will have a very different perspective, so our perception of infinity would most likely be different as well.


On a side, if you are talking about the current concept Christian heaven (clouds, harps and hanging out with your friends/relative for the rest of time) you may want to look a little further into what Christianity promises.
 
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