Religious Faith and life beyond this mortal realm

Unveiled Artist · Nov 14, 2019

adrian009 said:
What does your faith or worldview have to say about an afterlife? Some world views see death as final whereas others see us having a soul that continues for eternity. How does an afterlife or lack thereof help us live the best we can in this world?

Our religion has so much diversity and defined by it that there is no one belief that's the foundation of all.

With that said, personally I don't believe I live in any form after death. Family and loved ones hold memories and energy (fancy word; can't think of a correlation) of me, memories, etc.

When I dropped my aunt's ashes on her mother's grave, I said "that's it." Closure let's be gradually be more comfortable with the idea of not existing. Accepting fear and admitting it is a cornerstone of growth. Live as you Will die tomorrow. We don't know when we will die so there is no If.

TransmutingSoul · Nov 14, 2019

I have come to see that the death of the body is a spiritual birth into worlds to come.

I see this material life is about obtaining and living all the spiritual virtues, as virtues are our true reality and our spiritual limbs.

Thus for me Faith has changed the way I see material pursuits. I see Faith is about sharing all your life and all that you own in this life, for the good of family, community and all humanity.

Regards Tony

ecco · Nov 14, 2019

wandering peacefully said:
Besides, I cannot begin to fathom how long eternity is to have to live that long. Why would anyone want to?

In eternity, you not so favorite aunt would pull you to her bosom and pinch your cheeks gazillions of times.

After spending less than .00000000000000000001% of eternity, one would be so bored from repetition that one would pray for death. But it wouldn't come because god needs all those angels he keeps making.

The religious never think of these problems with eternity.

Trailblazer · Nov 14, 2019

ecco said:
After spending less than .00000000000000000001% of eternity, one would be so bored from repetition that one would pray for death. But it wouldn't come because god needs all those angels he keeps making.

The religious never think of these problems with eternity.

I think of them a lot, but it is not as if I have a choice...
What God has ordained, God has ordained.

Trailblazer · Nov 14, 2019

wandering peacefully said:
So no, I don't believe in it and it makes me all the more grateful for this short life we actually do get to experience. No good behavior looking for afterlife rewards, just doing my best to love and live this life to its fullest and help out where I can.

That is very laudable.

wandering peacefully said:
Besides, I cannot begin to fathom how long eternity is to have to live that long. Why would anyone want to?

It is not about what we want, it is about what is.
If we have to live forever we have to.

The upside is that I have heard we will no longer think in terms of time, so we won't be thinking as we do here "Gee, I really don't want to live forever, when is this eternal life going to end?"

Hockeycowboy · Nov 14, 2019

Jesus’ sacrifice was to “buy back” what Adam lost, for himself and us, his inheritors: perfect human life.

The Resurrection, the only afterlife promised in (Biblical) Scripture, is in ‘two steps’ (if you will)...the “first”, “earlier resurrection -Revelation 20:6; Philippians 3:11” for those who will rule w/ Christ -Revelation 5:11 (His “brothers -Matthew 25:40”); the Resurrection for the vast majority of mankind, both “the righteous and the unrighteous -Acts of the Apostles 24:15”, will be here on Earth.

Why does most everyone think they’re going to Heaven?
What’s wrong w/ living here, on this Earth, forever? This is what Revelation 21:3-4 implies. And Isaiah 11:6-9, and so many other passages! Psalms 115:16; Psalms 37 10,11,29; Matthew 5:5.

Hockeycowboy · Nov 14, 2019

ecco said:
In eternity, you not so favorite aunt would pull you to her bosom and pinch your cheeks gazillions of times.

After spending less than .00000000000000000001% of eternity, one would be so bored from repetition that one would pray for death. But it wouldn't come because god needs all those angels he keeps making.

The religious never think of these problems with eternity.

Not with more planets forming for us to eventually explore and inhabit, and more organisms evolving as they do!

You’re limited by your own imagination. Living forever would also allow you to see your gggggggggggggggg+ grandchildren

osgart · Nov 14, 2019

I'm 50/50 on an afterlife. If existence is as mundane as nature that we sense then death and a final end is welcome.

However if there are endlessly fascinating other realities in an infinite existence going in all directions, I will gladly sign up for eternal life. If life is ever learning and ever growing, with a spiritual dimension sign me up.Ceasing to exist in the face of infinite potential would be a tragic loss.

My religion sees life as a desperate beggar in the universe, that may, or may not survive death. I only want to help where I'm able and can.

Life got this far, why not all the way to eternity! My logic doesn't rule it out!

atanu · Nov 14, 2019

adrian009 said:
What does your faith or worldview have to say about an afterlife? Some world views see death as final whereas others see us having a soul that continues for eternity. How does an afterlife or lack thereof help us live the best we can in this world?

Do we really know the present life?

Trailblazer · Nov 14, 2019

osgart said:
I'm 50/50 on an afterlife. If existence is as mundane as nature that we sense then death and a final end is welcome.

However if there are endlessly fascinating other realities in an infinite existence going in all directions, I will gladly sign up for eternal life. If life is ever learning and ever growing, with a spiritual dimension sign me up.Ceasing to exist in the face of infinite potential would be a tragic loss.

Good to see you again osgart.

You won't have to sign up because if the spiritual world exists we will all go there. I am 100% certain, not only because of what Baha'u'llah wrote but because of what has come through mediums who communicated with souls in the spiritual world.

Indeed, according to Baha'u'llah there are endless possibilities in the many worlds of God:

“Absolute existence is strictly confined to God, exalted be His glory. Well is it with them that apprehend this truth. Wert thou to ponder in thine heart the behavior of the Prophets of God thou wouldst assuredly and readily testify that there must needs be other worlds besides this world.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 157-158

“As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 151-152

“O My servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes.You are destined by Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of their benefits, to share in their joys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining grace. To each and every one of them you will, no doubt, attain.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 329

“If any man be told that which hath been ordained for such a soul in the worlds of God, the Lord of the throne on high and of earth below, his whole being will instantly blaze out in his great longing to attain that most exalted, that sanctified and resplendent station…. The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 156

“The world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different from that of the child while still in the womb of its mother. When the soul attaineth the Presence of God, it will assume the form that best befitteth its immortality and is worthy of its celestial habitation.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 157

TransmutingSoul · Nov 14, 2019

Hockeycowboy said:
What’s wrong w/ living here, on this Earth, forever?

No thank you, how much hell can one take.

Regards Tony

blü 2 · Nov 14, 2019

adrian009 said:
What does your faith or worldview have to say about an afterlife? Some world views see death as final whereas others see us having a soul that continues for eternity. How does an afterlife or lack thereof help us live the best we can in this world?

My worldview says that there's no coherent concept of a soul, that nothing distinguishes the 'immaterial' from the imaginary, and that the biochemical / bioelectrical patterns formed on the frame of our brains / bodies are all we are; and when that fails, we cease to be.

So we get only one life, and this is it. However, we have evolved moral tendencies, and each society we find ourselves in fills that out with particular codes of conduct, so it's up to each of us to find a satisfactory balance ─ how to be a good child, friend, partner, parent, neighbor, employee, boss, citizen, human.

Whether or not there's an afterlife, the important thing is to finish this life thinking that as an evolved gregarious primate you've had a fair shot at living a life aiming for decency towards your fellow humans. The Buddha and Plato's Socrates said much the same thing.

Hockeycowboy · Nov 14, 2019

Tony Bristow-Stagg said:
No thank you, how much hell can one take.

Regards Tony

Lol, yes the way things are now....
But Tony, why did God put A&E here, in the first place? They weren’t put in a slum....but a beautiful garden

Now, please reason on Isaiah 11:6-9, and Psalms 37 9-11, 29.
Notice the future tense.

If the wicked are gone, don’t you think that that, alone, would be wonderful?

A world wherein peace prevails, even between the animals and man?

Add to this, no more sickness (Isaiah 33:24) and no more death or pain (Revelation 21:3-4)....really, a fulfillment of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-10) — “Thy will be done...on Earth” — that we’re supposed to pray for...(why pray for it to happen?)

With plenty of food for everyone...Psalm 72:16, ASV:

“There shall be abundance of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.”

There’s too much pain, now....but not in the future! Ephesians 1:9-10

Take care, my cousin!

LuisDantas · Nov 15, 2019

adrian009 said:
What does your faith or worldview have to say about an afterlife?

To the extent that there is an afterlife, it is the living legacy that remains after we are finished.

Some world views see death as final whereas others see us having a soul that continues for eternity. How does an afterlife or lack thereof help us live the best we can in this world?

I think that it is healthy to want to leave a good, constructive legacy. Expectations of some form of second life or afterlife are not at all healthy, by my experience. Many a person lost his or her way by hoping for one.

Aupmanyav · Nov 15, 2019

Hockeycowboy said:
You’re limited by your own imagination. Living forever would also allow you to see your gggggggggggggggg+ grandchildren

That will be nice I suppose a veritable army of brats, if the eyes keep working till that time and if the mind keeps working till that time.

Aupmanyav · Nov 15, 2019

Trailblazer said:
“O My servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. ..”
"The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men.”

What ego! "O my servants"! I will hate to be anyone's servant. "Blissful days and joyful nights, heavenly delights". Don't torture me, Trailblazer. Tell me exactly what they are?
Now, first you tell me that there are such delights and in the next paragraph you tell me that they cannot be revealed or described!
That is unfair. Like you will see the emperor's new clothes only when you have allowed cutting off your nose.

YoursTrue · Nov 15, 2019

osgart said:
I'm 50/50 on an afterlife. If existence is as mundane as nature that we sense then death and a final end is welcome.

However if there are endlessly fascinating other realities in an infinite existence going in all directions, I will gladly sign up for eternal life. If life is ever learning and ever growing, with a spiritual dimension sign me up.Ceasing to exist in the face of infinite potential would be a tragic loss.

My religion sees life as a desperate beggar in the universe, that may, or may not survive death. I only want to help where I'm able and can.

Life got this far, why not all the way to eternity! My logic doesn't rule it out!

Few people want to die when they're happy. So there are things I see in this life that I enjoy. Not a lot, because we are, unfortunately, surrounded by problems and awful things. But even photographers who have been on wartime assignments get relief when they see a beautiful, peaceful scene. So imagine life without problems. No one hungers, no one is sick. This is what God promises in the Bible. Psalm 37 and 72 as well as other scriptures reflect these promises.

Hockeycowboy · Nov 15, 2019

Aupmanyav said:
That will be nice I suppose a veritable army of brats, if the eyes keep working till that time and if the mind keeps working till that time.

No brats, I hope! Lol.
Your eyes - and everyone’s - would always stay sharp and focused, your mind would always stay sharp, too.

You’d always look like you’re 30 (never age), and have the energy of a 20-yr-old.

(Your body would always rejuvenate itself...but everyday, you’d get a little wiser.)

I’d never get tired or bored w/ such conditions! I could look at my wife forever! (I married a looker.) Especially when she’ll look like she’s 30 again! She will have to get a stick, to keep me off! Lol.

TransmutingSoul · Nov 15, 2019

Hockeycowboy said:
Lol, yes the way things are now....
But Tony, why did God put A&E here, in the first place? They weren’t put in a slum....but a beautiful garden

It is a good question to ask about the Story of Adam and Eve. One can also choose to see it is a Metephor of how man is created with free will.

Adam is man and Eve is our Soul. The tree of good and evil is our ability of mind.

Thus we have the potential with our own choices of all good, or all evil.

The more we choose the good, the more we produce fruit from the tree of life, the more we choose not to do good, the more we feed all that is Satan, the devil, evil, or the lack of good.

Regards Tony

Hockeycowboy · Nov 15, 2019

Tony Bristow-Stagg said:
It is a good question to ask about the Story of Adam and Eve. One can also choose to see it is a Metephor of how man is created with free will.

Adam is man and Eve is our Soul. The tree of good and evil is our ability of mind.

Thus we have the potential with our own choices of all good, or all evil.

The more we choose the good, the more we produce fruit from the tree of life, the more we choose not to do good, the more we feed all that is Satan, the devil, evil, or the lack of good.

Regards Tony

The problem with thinking it’s allegory, is that Adam is mentioned in the genealogies of several people. (In the Bible.)

Imaginary people cannot be ancestral.

Religious Faith and life beyond this mortal realm

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Witness for Jehovah

Witness for Jehovah

Nothing my eye, Something for sure

Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Witness for Jehovah

Aura of atheification

Be your own guru

Be your own guru

Faith-confidence in what we hope for (Hebrews 11)

Witness for Jehovah

Veteran Member

Witness for Jehovah