How does your religion deal with the afterlife?

When you die, what happens?

Who knows, when I die, I shall deal with that question.

What afterlife? Didn't we do another thread on this fairly recently?

ya, i agree with master vigil. we believe in different things. who knows who is right? we only have faith that what we believe is truth.

but for now, i concentrate on this life, i dont ponderthat much on what comes after i die. it could happen tomrow, or after 50 years. God knows. but for now, i have a math test tomro. and thats were i am.

Remember all, this is just my opinion. It has been asked for and I will supply it but I am not inviting personal attacks, but I am always open to the opinion of others.

The idea of an afterlife by its very nature suggests the concept of a "Death Cult" to me.
To be more specific I would say that the emphasis is placed not on this life but what is to happen when you die. This leads to moralizing and agonizing about rules and regulations based on an existence after the one we are currently experiencing.
I say that we should get everything we can in this life as long as we are not encroaching on someones elses experience in a negative manner because no one can prove to me that this isn't all there is for us.
I've been alive for several decades and it seems like a long time to me. But if I imagine being alive for a hundred years? Would that be enough? A thousand years? Ten thousand? A million? Ten million? Eternity without end with no hope of a final end? I don't know about the rest of you but personally I don't find myself fascinating enough to believe I could maintain a viable friendship with "me" for eternity. In fact that seems like being condemed to Hell. But I guess you would have to know me better to agree with that statement. (hee Hee)

I'm sorry, I realize I can be long winded but I feel I should add here that when I sleep and I do not dream or do not remember my dreams, at least on a conscious level, I do not miss or lament the time that I did not perceive myself as existing. If in death we no longer exist, I will not be aware of it and there is no way for me to be sad or lament that, if I no longer exist! Live for the day!

Well, we lose our physical bodies, and our main consciousness becoems that of our soul. We continue to grow from whatever point we left off, and, being much more aware of the spiritual side of things (what with being only spiritually incarnate) we would feel our separatin from God more strongly, and derive pain from it (our acts come back to haunt us, in a way; God does not need to punish us, we do it ourselves).
Other than that? We'll view the physical world as mystifyingly as we view the spiritual, and view work in God as fun.
Details, however, are unknown, and possibly unable to be comprehended.

maybe we are dead right now, just waiting to be reborn again. just a thought.

(maybe we are dead right now, just waiting to be reborn again. just a thought.)


Interesting, a few years back I read The Art of Dreaming and Carlos Castaneda made a similar point. Are you familiar with his series?

no. sounds good though! ill take a peek.

Faust said:

The idea of an afterlife by its very nature suggests the concept of a "Death Cult" to me.

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Personally, I'd describe my beliefs as a life cult. To me, you don't actually "die" as such until you reach enlightenment. Life is the standard unit of existence.

I don't know what's coming after i die. There is very little in the Jewish faith dealing with the afterlife. And personally i'm not gonna concern myself with it. I'll just try to live my life the best way i can and be the best me i can be! :162:

Many believe that when they die they go to heaven. The Bible (Revelation) is clear that only a small number of 144,000 are promised a heavenly hope after they die. The remainder have a hope of being part of the "great crowd" (Revelation) who have the opportunity of living forever here on earth.

Ernestine said:

Many believe that when they die they go to heaven. The Bible (Revelation) is clear that only a small number of 144,000 are promised a heavenly hope after they die. The remainder have a hope of being part of the "great crowd" (Revelation) who have the opportunity of living forever here on earth.

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Calvinist?

In Islam, we believe that after you die, you stay in your grave till the Day of Resurrection, when you either go to Heaven or Hell. If you would like any more details, I'd be happy to give them.

RearingArabian, what are the other details?

Ernestine said:

Many believe that when they die they go to heaven. The Bible (Revelation) is clear that only a small number of 144,000 are promised a heavenly hope after they die. The remainder have a hope of being part of the "great crowd" (Revelation) who have the opportunity of living forever here on earth.

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Miaze not calvinist Jehovah witness. 144.000 is the magic number for those who will truely recieve salvation in their faith. Funny thing is in Houston last year they filled up enough spots to rent out the astrodome for one weekend.

Remember that the next time one knocks on your door. Just say I would join TODAY, but i hear you have already sold the first 144000 tickets and I can't think of a reason to join other than to get into your retirement community...

here read more about them here.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2919/reasons.html

Quaker views on the afterlife tend to be diverse, but almost all of us agree there is "something" after this life. some of us imagine it like a Christian heaven, others as a state of spiritual freedom and closeness with God. few, myself included, believe in hell as a place where sinners go to suffer.

i feel that there is "something" after this life, but i don't worry about it too much. i figure, i'll find out once i get there and keep doing my best here and now.

after death, we are reabsorbed into the force and at peace and in harmony, or we are sent back for further studying on the earth. Its kind of like the school year, you go to school, learn a bunch of stuff (life), then go out for summer (death), then come back again until you get a job, and then retirement (reabosrbtion into the force).