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Belief in afterlife
- Thread starter Jadamas
- Start date
I believe in the afterlife as much as I believe in the beforebirth.
But that's me. Technically, you can believe in the afterlife while lacking belief in any deity.
Ciao
- viole
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
As an atheist,
Yes. I believe spirits of our family are still present here helping us out; I believe that the presence of spirits/energy of a said loved one is alive in the presence of those who knew him or her.
I'm learning more about attachment and how we can't die until we have no attachment as to die in peace in liberation. It's a tough thing to think about since I rather just. die. Though I understand why one can be attached so much they just can't die.
Both of these aren't afterlife, though. The former is present in the environment and person of that loved one. The latter there is no limbo phase. It's like gook on a string. There is no string but because of the gook, we think there is. When we clean the gook from the string (gook meaning attachments), we find there is no string; emptiness. When we realize that we have no more continued existence.
I don't believe in deities; so, the word heaven is foreign to me. I looked it up on the search criteria for some definition. Couldn't find a concrete definition. I wonder if Muslims believe on the afterlife.
Since atheism is only a (lack of) position on one question (existence of a deity), the answers to other questions are not determined simply by being an atheist.
For me, I don't believe in an afterlife. But I also don't believe in a before life. As far as i understand it, life is a complex chemical process. When that process stops, so does life. Sort of like what happens when a candle goes out. it would be silly to talk about an 'after flame' burning of a candle.
You'll find beliefs in the afterlife very.
From the scientific stance the beliefs in the afterlife stem from
Consciousness, it is not well understood, many believe it to be more that just electrical impulses
Conservation of Information, a Theory based on Black holes
Conservation of Energy, a law based on a closed system.
For me an Agnostic, no I do not believe in an afterlife and I am grateful for that.
At conception the cells that are implanted will grow and a `spirit` of life matures.
That `spirit` will become one that is a being of cognizance and awareness.
Knowledge is gained throughout one's life and become the basis of one's gnosis.
When one dies, that `spirit` travels forward through gaseous means to the Cosmos.
Cognition and consciousness die with the death of one, awareness fails also.
Afterlife ? `spirit` ? Ask the Cosmos, or trust your beliefs, and good luck with that !
Very shortly now I'll decease and my `spirit` will find out, and I'll join you there.
That `spirit` will become one that is a being of cognizance and awareness.
Knowledge is gained throughout one's life and become the basis of one's gnosis.
When one dies, that `spirit` travels forward through gaseous means to the Cosmos.
Cognition and consciousness die with the death of one, awareness fails also.
Afterlife ? `spirit` ? Ask the Cosmos, or trust your beliefs, and good luck with that !
Very shortly now I'll decease and my `spirit` will find out, and I'll join you there.
PureX
Veteran Member
One of the biggest reasons there is so much argument and confusion between theists and atheists is that both insist on defining these states according to what one believes or does not believe. And it's a problem because beliefs often contradict, and migrate, according to whim and circumstance even within a single individual. Also, beliefs are very rarely total, and so no one would be totally a theist or totally an atheist according to belief.
For these reasons the defining factor between theism and atheism is NOT what one believes, but what one accepts or rejects. That is the theistic proposition that God/gods exist and that the existence of such effects the human experience. (If "God" didn't effect the human experience there would be no point in considering the fact or nature of "God's" existence.) So that "believing in" gods or afterlives or whatever is not what designates a person a theist any more than not "believing in" gods or afterlives or whatever designates one as being an atheist.
Interestingly, however, few people want to acknowledge this reasoning, and instead want to insist that it's all about what they "believe in" or don't "believe in". Their ego, it seems, trumps their desire for reason and clarity almost every time. They want it to be about what they personally believe or don't believe rather than the validity of the ideal being proposed.
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I realize that different sources define atheism and agnosticism differently and it is a bit controversial. Both atheists and agnostics have a 'lack the belief. in Gods, and I prefer the Merriam Webster definitions that make the distinction between the two. The definitions are clear and specific.
From: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheist:
a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods : one who subscribes to or advocates atheism.
The difference is quite simple: atheist refers to someone who believes that there is no god (or gods), and agnostic refers to someone who doesn't know whether there is a god, or even if such a thing is knowable. ... Atheist shares roots with words such as theology and theism, which generally have something to do with God.
The agnostic 'lacks the belief in Gods;' but takes the skeptical position that there is a lack of evidence to conclude whether God(s) exist or not,
I do believe there are two variations of agnosticism: (1) Those that are simply indifferent and do not care whether Gods exist or not. (2) Those who actively propose the philosophical/theological position of agnosticism as opposed to theism or atheism.
In answer to you question: Do [some?] atheists believe in afterlife?
Many if not most 'materialist' atheists do not believe in an afterlife, nor any worlds beyond our material world.
On the other hand some atheists, for example Zen Buddhists believe in an after life of reincarnation, but do not believe in God(s).
Some might... word has it that it happens among Brazilian Kardecists.
Generally, though, atheists tend to usually also be skeptics and non-supernaturalists. That means lacking afterlife beliefs.
Unless you accept the belief that there is life (of other people) after our individual deaths, of course. But that should be a non-issue.
Altfish
Veteran Member
I'm an atheist and I do not believe in an afterlife. As others have said, when I die that's it. It's over, I'm gone. It'll be just like 1800, I won't be here.
BUT hopefully people will still remember me, talk fondly of me, my children and grandchildren will have pictures of me, etc.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
Audie
Veteran Member
That aint a atheist. It is a lesser-goddist.
Audie
Veteran Member
I take a photo of my Dad, when I got to interesting
place, and hold it up so he can see.
It is a way to honour him.
Speaking only for myself, who self-describes as agnostic deist:
I don't believe in the afterlife described by most religious folks and traditions. The premise that upon death I will become a disembodied entity makes no more sense than the premise that I was such before birth.
That said, the main problem I have with all that is the assumption that I am my identity. That I, Tom, can exist apart from my meatself. That's implausibly irrational.
On the other hand, obviously my meatself, the matter at least, will continue on. In the vast cycle of transformation it will wind up continuing to exist, much of it as part of future living things. In other words, it will both cease to exist and also continue to exist in different forms, completely dispersed.
Similarly, I prefer to believe that there's another aspect of me that will both cease to exist as a discrete thing, but continue to exist in a broader sense. I call that my soul, for lack of a better word. I think my identity is the place where those two parts meet, so when I die and they separate my identity will vanish.
My soul I prefer to believe is the part of me that is really a part of God. It's like a cup of water scooped up out of the ocean. When the cup is poured back into the sea, it both ceases to exist while also not. The part of me that is important rejoins God, never to exist as a separate thing again. Because it always was a part of God and could never really be separated, my identity is an illusion. When I die I will cease to have that illusion of separation and become one with God again.
I used the word "prefer" to describe most of that because it's a Faith Based belief. Faith is what people believe because they prefer that it be true, in the absence of evidence. There is no evidence for my Faith. But that doesn't matter, because it works for me.
Tom
I’m asking because I started reading this book, and I was curious.
By the way, did someone read it?
https://www.amazon.com/Life-After-Death-Dinesh-DSouza/dp/1596980990
By the way, did someone read it?
https://www.amazon.com/Life-After-Death-Dinesh-DSouza/dp/1596980990
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
Can you give us more of an idea-topic of whats it about. I get kinda fishy on scientific evidence of the afterlife. Religious, yes but not scientific.
Technically, however many Buddhists believe in reincarnation have failed to understand the core concepts.
Rebirth is not reincarnation.
I thought that was well established. It is routine for Muslims to present us their version of Pascal's Wager, after all. It seems to be based on 23:99-100 from the Qur'an.
Besides, the Qur'an is rather clear on the matter. Besides Surah 23, there is also 3:185
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_view_of_death#In_the_Quran
https://www.clearquran.com/003.html
https://www.alislam.org/quran/3:186
http://www.alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/3/185