Don't you wish there was life after death, though?

[Jem]

I mean, wouldn't it make the thought of death much easier if you thought you were going to paradise? Do you think you'd actually take more risks? I would.

And while I'm on the subject, here's an interesting piece:

Our soldiers need better preparation for life after death, says army chief

General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, said that Christian leaders and chaplains in the Army needed to equip soldiers for the spiritual issues at stake.

“In my business, asking people to risk their lives is part of the job, but doing so without giving them the chance to understand that there is a life after death is something of a betrayal,” he said.

Do people who join the army all believe in eternal life? Is that why they do it?

[Lifelinking]

Don't you wish there was life after death, though?

I honestly don't Jem. As to the good General. What a horses arse. He sounds more like a Monty Python sketch than a Monty Python sketch.







L

[wizzy]

Absolutely not. Whilst I in no rush to die the thought of some infinite after life is horrendous. It'd get kind of tedious for a start. Plus it'd be full of perfect people who never do anything wrong, which would grate. Oh, and according to a lot of versions of religions I wouldn't get in anyway - I'm an atheist, I'm gay and I've done some things which are technically wrong (i.e I'm not perfect all the time) which I'm not sorry for doing. So I'd be going to hell.

[wizzy]

^
Which made me think of this joke (maybe it should go in the jokes section, but if fits in well here)


A guy died and woke up to find he was in Hell. He was really depressed as he stood in the processing line waiting to talk to an admittance counselor. He thought to himself, "I know I led a wild life, but I wasn't that bad. I never thought it would come to this."

Looking up he saw that it was his turn to be processed into Hell. With fear and a heavy heart, he walked up to the counselor.

The counselor said, "What's the problem, you look depressed?"

The man responded, "Well, what do you think? I'm in Hell."

The counselor said, "Hell's not so bad, we actually have a lot of fun. Do you like to drink?"

The man said, "Sure, I love to drink."

The counselor replied, "Well then, you are going to love Mondays. On Mondays we drink up a storm. You can have whiskey, rum, tequila, beer, whatever you want and as much as you want. We party all night long. You'll love Mondays. Do you smoke?"

The man said, "Yes, as a matter of fact I do."

The counselor replied, "You are going to love Tuesdays. Tuesday is smoke day. You get to smoke the finest cigars and best cigarettes available anywhere. And you smoke to your heart's desire without worrying about cancer because you are already dead! Is that great or what? You are going to love Tuesdays. Do you do drugs?"

The man said, "Well in my younger days I experimented a little; never inhaled."

The counselor replied, "You are going to love Wednesdays. That's drug day. You can experiment with any drug you want and you don't have to worry about overdoses or getting hooked because you are already dead. You are going to love Wednesdays. Do you gamble?"

The man said, "Yes, I love to gamble."

The counselor replied, "You are going to love Thursdays because we gamble all day and night--black jack, craps, poker, slots, horse races, everything! You are going to love Thursdays. Are you gay?"

The man said, "Well, no I'm not."

The counselor replied, "Oh, Fridays then, uh, will certainly be a new experience for you..."

[Maria Mac]

I mean, wouldn't it make the thought of death much easier if you thought you were going to paradise?

To be honest, it probably would make the thought of death easier and the thought of a premature death less frightening.

Do you think you'd actually take more risks?

No. Even if I believed in Heaven, I'd still want my life on earth to last as long as possible.

However good paradise sounds, the idea of an afterlife is not without problems. Would I, for example, be able to avoid seeing people I don't want to see even if they want to see me? What if one dies early and one's partner finds love with someone new? Do we all meet up in Paradise and live happily ever after as a threesome?

The whole idea of life after death is so preposterous it beggars belief that sane people really think they're going to get one. I'm sure not all soldiers believe in it even if the horse's arse does.

[Lord Muck oGentry]

Can't really say whether it would help me contemplate death if I thought I could survive it and go on to Paradise or something of that sort.

But that's because I think the notion is incoherent: talk of life after death is simply talk of life going on- only in a rather odd way. So that thought isn't an option but the illusion of an option.

Not that the general will be deterred by such quibbles...

[lewist]

It's all part of the jam tomorrow philosophy that has suited the ruling classes throughout history. In the case of armed forces personnel they persuade young people to participate in wars but it's ok because you will go to heaven when you are killed...

What other lies are they told to get them in?

[wizzy]

I don't think all soldiers etc believe anyway. I think there's some American website to that effect, called atheists in foxholes.

Here, found it...
http://www.atheistfoxholes.org/

[Oxfordrocks]

Does that mean we would have consciousness for ever?


How very boring.

[Moonbeam]

I have come to terms with the idea that death is the total end and I'm OK with it even though it makes bereavement so very hard to bear. I find the whole concept of eternal life incomprehensible especially when I read stuff like this from Christians:

Since heaven is where God lives, it must contain more physical and temporal dimensions than those found in this physical universe that God created. We cannot imagine, nor can we experience in our current bodies, what these extra dimensions might be like. The new creation will be a place of awesome beauty and is described in terms of precious jewels and metals. For a preview of the description, see Revelation, chapter 21.

Spotted on some forum somewhere.

[Toohey]

Yes, and I could meet most of you lot there. But not before.

[jaywhat]

You are a real charmer.

[tehabwa]

Yes, I would.

Part of it is simply a keen curiosity to find out what will happen next, and then after that, and so on.

Part of it is the idea of ultimate justice -- there are people that it would give me great pleasure to know they will suffer at some point, whether they get away with everything here or not. (I mean, if we never try Bush for Crimes Against Humanity, then at least I'd know he's gonna FRY).

So, yes, I find the idea desirable, on the whole.

Just not plausible.

It doesn't bother me, though. A number of believers find it incomprehensible that a desire to continue to exists doesn't compel me to believe I will continue to exist.

[gregory]

Yes I would like an afterlife if it was guaranteed that I would be happy. So I would want an ideal afterlife.

[Maria Mac]

For once, I agree with Gregory.

[Alan C.]

There is a debate going on at "Liberal Democrat Voice" Concerning an article written there about what General Sir Richard Dannatt said to the troops (the life after death thingy)
Some of the comments from the
Christians............Well! What can I say?
From comment No 11.

Life after death is a fact based on evidence. And if Laurence wants me to show him some of that evidence (I’m sure he doesn’t) then I will happily do so.

In comment 29 he provides these links.
link 1
link 2
link 3
There are over 130 posts, and I'm only up to No 36 so I'm going back now to continue with the fun.

Comment No 61.

Laurence, take a look at the links I posted further up the thread.

I bet you won’t. And that’s because you’re afraid of what you might see there.

Like Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen, you prefer to look through your telescope with your blind eye and see no ships.

What is Facebook anyway?

[FloatingBoater]

I quite like the routine here on earth - Imagine getting to paradise and having to put up with all that "I told you so!" repeated every nanosecond, not to mention all those happy clappy gospel singers. No thank you!

[tehabwa]

Alan,

Although not keen enough to read those huge threads, I would love to know what sort of evidence that person thinks there is.

I mean, what's he/she referring to?

Or is it just that book for something.

[Alan C.]

tehabwa, this is an example (from his links) of what he says proves life after death.

The Fox sisters cause a table to levitate at Rochester in the 1850s; such physical feats were supposed to be caused by the spirits, thus giving evidence of survival.

This is another

In many parts of the world, some young children, usually between the ages of 2 and 5, speak about a previous life they claim to have lived.

And finally, a woman undergoing a brain operation has a near death experience.

the brain cannot function without its oxygen supply for more than a few minutes. Lowering the body and brain temperature to 60 degrees F. - by chilling the blood in a bypass machine before returning it to the body and brain - however, can reduce cellular metabolism so that the brain can tolerate complete cerebral blood flow for the 45 minutes or so required for the brain operation. The patient later reported that, apparently while under these “brain death” conditions, she had a near-death experience (NDE) in which she was able to observe and hear details of objects and happenings in the operating room with accuracy. She also experienced classic components of the NDE, including a tunnel vortex, a bright light, and different figures in the light (many deceased family members, including a distant cousin of whose death she had been unaware).

What more proof do you need?

[tehabwa]

The Fox sisters cause a table to levitate at Rochester in the 1850s; such physical feats were supposed to be caused by the spirits, thus giving evidence of survival.

Ya-huh. I get it now; I've SEEN the LIGHT!

Levitation, which someone said is real, is proof of life after death.

How could anyone dispute that?

Actually, more like


Thanks for the examples.