Prometheus
Semper Perconctor
Stripper factories and beer volcanoes.
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Afterlife
- Thread starter Dream Angel
- Start date
Thats an interesting theory - I have always hoped that rincarnation does exist! It is one of my favorite. The only problem I have with it, is if we keep having lives so that we can become good enough, surely that rules out hell or judgement (by God) for those who do seriously wrong and do not turn to God i.e Murderers etc. Or do you believe that only the Good are reincarnated?
I have been wondering.... If reincarnation exists then that means that someone can potential be in a terrible state of suffering for eternity if they do not change their ways...That seems pretty similar to the Christian idea of a permanent hell (other than the fact that with reincarnation there is always the opportunity for improvement while Hell is permanent)
Secondly, is it possible to know if whether people have the ability to improve themselves until they no longer sin? Can someone commit a bunch of horrific sins toward someone and then next week stop do some good things for someone else and move up the ladder? How is justice served to the first person all the sins were committed against.
Sorry for the barage of issues/tnagents on afterlife. I was just throwing random thoughts out.
Dream Angel
Well-Known Member
Some interesting points - the first one is a great one! as for the second one, its fine in this thread as far as I am concerned
I can see the point, not sure of the answer myself though - anyone else got any thoughts? 
lombas
Society of Brethren
Quakers and the after-life
Friends do not consider a life after death as a reward for virtue, or as a compensation for the suffering in their lives on earth. Neither has the fear or threat of damnation been used to induce Friends to live better lives. The Quaker view of what happens beyond death is firmly rooted in the experience of this life. Friends believe that life is good, and that an essential clue to its real nature is to be glimpsed in the love that people have for one another.
There is always an element of mystery about love which people cannot fully penetrate, but Friends are convinced that it has a timeless quality. Love cannot be destroyed by death and cannot be limited by time and space. This conviction is underlined by the experience of Quaker worship, and by the awareness that the personality of Jesus was not diminished by his death. His life was based on his profound trust that God is love. Friends respond to this love. They experience heaven here and now, and believe that whatever lies beyond death must be for our good.
Friends do not dogmatise about what happens after death. There are Friends who are convinced that there is an after-life, and those who are convinced that there is not. But all Friends feel that it is more important to get on with living this life, and seek to improve the conditions of humanity in this world, than to engage in speculations about the next.
Fom: Hans Weening, Meeting the Spirit - An Introduction to Quaker Beliefs and Practices
Friends do not consider a life after death as a reward for virtue, or as a compensation for the suffering in their lives on earth. Neither has the fear or threat of damnation been used to induce Friends to live better lives. The Quaker view of what happens beyond death is firmly rooted in the experience of this life. Friends believe that life is good, and that an essential clue to its real nature is to be glimpsed in the love that people have for one another.
There is always an element of mystery about love which people cannot fully penetrate, but Friends are convinced that it has a timeless quality. Love cannot be destroyed by death and cannot be limited by time and space. This conviction is underlined by the experience of Quaker worship, and by the awareness that the personality of Jesus was not diminished by his death. His life was based on his profound trust that God is love. Friends respond to this love. They experience heaven here and now, and believe that whatever lies beyond death must be for our good.
Friends do not dogmatise about what happens after death. There are Friends who are convinced that there is an after-life, and those who are convinced that there is not. But all Friends feel that it is more important to get on with living this life, and seek to improve the conditions of humanity in this world, than to engage in speculations about the next.
Fom: Hans Weening, Meeting the Spirit - An Introduction to Quaker Beliefs and Practices
morning-star
Light Bearer
Ok, I am hoping I am posting this in the right place. I get confused where I am!
I was just wondering everyones idea/perspective/belief on the afterlife - is there one? what does it consist of? or do our thoughts just perish. I am looking for everybodies answer so whether you are muslim, christian, pagan etc etc feel free.....
Many Thanks
Every luciferian has a different idea on this Im sure but personally I believe that there are many dimensions and that we go to another went we die. I very much doubt there is a heaven and hell at least portrayed in the typical heaven is all pure and good way etc. I also think that we get recanted, especially if we have not achieved a full state of higher mind (to the point that normal bodies are not important)
constantine
the Great
pure energy until reincreation 10 billion yrs from now. quite simple
constantine
the Great
I am not trying to rudely disagree with you (you had some good statements) but I think that the problem today is that people do not care about what happens to them in the future. But what it comes down to is that what happens to us after we die is a very serious question and the most important question that we can ask ourselves. For instance, the Christian belief of heaven and hell for eternity is serious (the scary thing is the Christian idea of it is not completely illogical). What I don't understand is why people don't take the question more seriously but just go about their lives as if it is not a big deal.
Because it shouldn't worry them if they don't believe in Christianity. We all well know what Christianity teaches about the punishments of non-believers. They just simply don't buy the absurd idea. Worrying about this life is more important because it is (in my non-beliefs) the only life we have.
I understand what you are saying but just because someone believes in one option doesn't mean that the other options do not exist. It is like having the option of chosing between several roads to travel down. You have to make a decision and it would be foolish to make a decision without taking into consideration the other options. Do you think that an elderly person who is about to pass away is more concerned about the life he led or the future and where he will be going. You are right in that we need to be concerned about this life but is this short time on earth, that will be over with in a blink of an eye, be more important than the amount of time after this world. Whether an afterlife or not, its still a long time.
Are you concerned or just curious !!!Ok, I am hoping I am posting this in the right place. I get confused where I am!
I was just wondering everyones idea/perspective/belief on the afterlife - is there one? what does it consist of? or do our thoughts just perish. I am looking for everybodies answer so whether you are muslim, christian, pagan etc etc feel free.....
Many Thanks
Other possibilities exist yes. I tend to believe in a reincarnation, in which we are simply another Human in another time frame.
I took into serious consideration the possibility of any other religion being the 'right' religion. The concept of eternal Hell for choosing the wrong belief goes against Human reasoning and contradicts an omnibenevolent God. It is an illogical and malevolent attempt to punish His own creation. I would accept being punished to the extent that I sinned. That is why eternal Hell is not a use of discipline. It is nothing but torture and God is using it for His enjoyment of seeing Human souls burn and scream for eternity!
To me, living for 75 years is quite a long time, and is much longer than the majority of animals that live on this planet. I hope that an elderly person is wise enough to believe he did all he wanted in his life and not worry about something he cannot begin to comprehend.
Dream Angel
Well-Known Member
Both proberly! I may be more curious at the moment (because I know I still have 60odd years to live - hopefully) but as time goes on and I will get older, I will prob be more concerned than curious! Thats of course unless I decide what I believe and have faith in something, but at the moment I dont.
The general idea is that 'death' is what one is 'saved' from, because if you realize a larger picture of reality it provides a context in which one can anticipate an existence that transcends 'life as we know it'.
Sorry this is a long answer but I wanted to make sure we are on the same page as for understanding what side of the issue I am coming from.
First of all, considering how most Christians act today, I would not consider their lives as happy moral. A majority of them are worse than any of the Non-Christians. Thats why I question the faith of alot of so called Christians.
Nonetheless, without God, we would not be alive, under the presumption that God created everything, the Christian faith believes that He created us and originally there was no Hell until we started rebelling against Him and God would not be just if He forced us to be with Him so He allowed people to be separated from Him (Hell). A man named Chesterton said "Hell is God's great compliment to the reality of human freedom and the dignity of human choice". When we sin (lying, cheating, stealing lusting, etc) we are saying to God that we want the quick desires rather than being Him. Now the degree of punishment is not determined by how long it took to commit the crime. For example murder may take only a few minutes but breaking into a house may take half a day. This is the same when we commmit wrongdoings in our life, that does not mean that we deserve a punishment equal to the amount of time we did wrong things. The crime is based on the affect that the crime had on the victim. Since God is eternal the crime we committed is against Him and has an eternal affect. Even if we feel sorry for what we have done we cannot be with God because our sin now separates us from Him. Now we have all committed things that are wrong but trying to repay our sins through good works only leads to self righteousness. The only way that seems to make sense to me is if someone else saved ourselves so then we cannot take credit for saving ourselves. So that is where the crucifiction of Jesus comes into play (whole other topic). God knew that we wanted to be with Him even though before we rebelled against Him. So He sent His son Jesus so that we do not have to be separated from Him.
I know that was a long answer but I felt that I needed to throw the whole idea out for it to make sense.