What do you think happens when you die?

[~Xandria]

Okay so, the way I feel about this is kind of complex. I'll reveal what I personally believe after some others have shared their thoughts and opinions. :P Then again, I do consider myself pretty much agnostic (meaning, I simply don't know for sure what happens when you die and I don't think anyone really does, but I still do have an idea of what I think may happen) I don't believe in any gods though.

 

I know we have a good sized community and a lot of different beliefs on here, I'm sure. I would really love to read about them all. I'd also really like to get the views of what you think happens from other agnostics/atheists/pagans, but of course all thoughts will be welcome, whether you are religious or not.

 

If you do comment, please explain why you have these beliefs and when you came to your ultimate conclusion, or anything else you would like to add.

 

- I know this is the debate chat, but, as always, please do keep things civilized and don't disrespect others opinions. :) Thanks for reading!~

[lilllisan]

Ooooh! I can't wait to see what everyone believes happens to you after death! I'm not really sure myself yet. :)

[karmacow]

Well, I'm kind of hoping for reincarnation. I have trouble accepting what I suspect will happen, which is nothing much. I don't like the idea of being gone forever. Heaven would be nice too, if they will let non-believers in. But I don't believe in anything. I don't feel like I've got any basis for forming an opinion on what will happen.

[Anxious Zombie]

I'm hopeful for reincarnation as well, not that I would know it if it happened :P But the scientist part of me believes somehow I'll just end, like an old game turned off for the last time

[maikofire]

There's a part of me that wants to go to heaven, a part of me that just wants to end, and another part that wants to turn in to a friendly ghost. :)

[Anxious Zombie]

I don't think I'd like to be a ghost, to me it seems almost exactly like being the only one who figured out how to live forever. I would have to see all my friends and family, who are still around, die. Then what if they don't become ghosts too? Alone for the rest of forever is not my cup of tea.

[oowowaee]

I think you die. I think that's it. I remember in grade school asking the priest at my school if I was supposed to take the bible literally. She said "no", that was kind of the deal breaker for me. I can see throwing yourself whole heartedly into belief, but for me, this middle ground approach is not feasible.

 

I wrote a paper the other day that ended with something like "even if there is life elsewhere in the Universe and we are unable to verify it ourselves, perhaps we can take some solace in knowing that their fate will be our own".

 

With respect to the other people who responded reincarnation, what happens at the end? Everything dies, life in the Universe will ultimately cease to exist...what is the final stage of reincarnation for you when life is no longer possible?

[Neomancer]

Death will be the same as the time you did not exist yet. So, nothing.

It would be great if there was something 'after' of course, but that's just wishful thinking. Humans are simply intelligent enough to even ponder such things, unlike other animals. But those millions of lower lifeforms that die every second in nature simply stop existing as well. Like a giant recycler.

[karmacow]

I think you die. I think that's it. I remember in grade school asking the priest at my school if I was supposed to take the bible literally. She said "no", that was kind of the deal breaker for me. I can see throwing yourself whole heartedly into belief, but for me, this middle ground approach is not feasible.

 

I wrote a paper the other day that ended with something like "even if there is life elsewhere in the Universe and we are unable to verify it ourselves, perhaps we can take some solace in knowing that their fate will be our own".

 

With respect to the other people who responded reincarnation, what happens at the end? Everything dies, life in the Universe will ultimately cease to exist...what is the final stage of reincarnation for you when life is no longer possible?

 

Two of us in this thread said that reincarnation would be nice, not that it's something we believe would happen. But if it is real, it's also entirely possible that there is an end at some point and it would just be lights out.

[MaskedBeastDesGardius]

I'll go to Hell where i reign Supreme and watch anyone i want burn slowly. That's what they deserve.

[coltom]

Do you have vengeance that would never be stated? What anger do you have, that you would wish an eternity of suffering? I will not tell you not to kill, I certainly don't have the right, but if you must kill than kill clean, kill without pain because the removal of another's soul from this world is the only fitting option. No young one, never wish pain upon anyone, you do not know what demons torment them within their shallow souls, what madness drives their pain, what hell lies in their slime toad sucking souls. Never wish pain.

 

 

============================

 

I've died, then I didn't. When I needed her, my first beloved was there to comfort. When I didn't, she wasn't there.

[MaskedBeastDesGardius]

@ coltom : I only wish pain for the ones who did pain to me .... not anyone else

[coltom]

Oh, as my I Grandmother used to say, "Little Teel, you can't live with them, and we don't own enough land to hide all of the bodies." The truth, the Truth is that once you allow yourself to hate, to wish pain upon those that have hurt you, than when does it stop? My beloved, the woman I love with the depth of my soul, at one time told me she did not love me, that I was to leave, that she had found another. You think you've been hurt, than wait until a wife tells you those words. Had I allowed myself the hollow pleasure of hating, than how could I have ever realized that she was right. How could I have realized that while it might not have been my "fault" I certainly had not done all that I could have done. Had I allowed myself to hate, if the darklin daemon that is inside us all had been allowed to grown, then how could I ever forgiven her. How could I known to grow, become better. How would she have ever fallen in love with me again, gave us this beautiful child, given us so much happiness. Hate is worthless, revenge is a fools game. If you ever must kill, do so cleanly, quickly, and with honor. Know that you do not kill just a scum puppy, know that you kill someone's child, their spouse, a friend, a cousin. You just don't kill one scumpuppy, you take a person from this web of the world, and the strands are connected in ways you can not understand.

 

Aiyee, anger takes you away from world, it takes you from your tasks, it takes you from your pleasure. Pity the fools that attempt to harm you, and know that you can become better than they. Kiantchawa.

[Neomancer]

I'm pretty sure he was just trolling.

[coltom]

Aiyee, such is the most likely. Yet, when I get rolling on a sermon it is sort of hard to stop.

 

I will try to limit myself to no more than one a week.

[allthestickysugar]

I'm gonna echo what most everyone else has said-- I think death will just consist of nothingness. The cessation of existence. I wish I could sincerely believe something else, because I think death is really scary lol. The idea of just being gone really sucks. But I think the idea of living forever would be really weird too. I can't imagine doing anything FOREVER.

 

It would be cool if, when you died, you could jump into a new life, kind of like reincarnation but maybe in a different dimension or planet or time, over and over again...

[Bright ^_^]

I'm a follower of Jesus and his teachings. So, I believe that there is a heaven and a hell and that everyone who ever lived will find themselves in one or the other after death. It's not random, though. God is infinitely perfect. He is the creator of all, and so he has the right to judge all that people do because he created them. And because he is perfect, he is perfectly just in his judgments, much more so than any human judge could ever be. All humans deserve hell because all have disobeyed God in some way. There is no person who does not have some pride, lust, greed, hatred, deceit, or selfishness in them in thought, word, or deed. I believe that hell is not a fun place where you sin all you want and devils and Satan boss people around. According to Jesus' teachings, it is eternal torment and misery beyond comprehension.

 

However, God is perfect. A perfect person cannot only have perfect judgement and wrath. God is perfect because he also has perfect love. He wanted to create a way for people to have a relationship with him, because he loves the people that he created. But he can't just dismiss the judgment -because then he wouldn't be a perfect and just judge. A fair judge gives the right punishment for the right crime -a judge just doesn't let criminals go free. But he is perfectly loving and wanted to forgive people.

 

Jesus was his answer to this problem. Jesus is the son of God the father, but he was also a human being. He was one person, but had two natures, God and human. Because of this, Jesus was able to act as a perfect bridge between God and people. Jesus lived a perfect life -he never disobeyed God and he always did was God wanted him to do. Jesus (God himself!) died on a cross, falsely convicted as a criminal. Why did Jesus die? Jesus was taking the wrath and judgment of God upon himself for the disobedience and sins of the world. Essentially, Jesus became a substitute. For anybody who believes and trusts Jesus and chooses to follow his ways, they become one with Jesus. In his death, their wrongs were judged; in his life, they were given his perfect goodness. For anybody who trusts Jesus, they will be seen by God the father as if he was looking at his own son -completely perfect in every way.

 

These people who are forgiven, who trust and follow Jesus, will go to heaven when they die. I don't know a whole lot about heaven, but I do know some things that make me very excited! In heaven there will be no pain, no death, no tears, no hurt. We will have new, glorious bodies that don't wear out, decay, get hurt. We will be with God and experience his infinite and perfect love in a way that I can't even imagine. Heaven will be forever because God is eternal and human souls are immortal (this also means that hell is forever). In heaven it's said that the streets are made of gold so pure that it's transparent -this most valuable substance on earth is used for roads, for walking on, like dirt. In this way, heaven is so much more amazing and wonderful and perfect than anyone could ever imagine. It certainly won't be boring!

 

This is what I believe. I have believed this from a young age -I grew up in a family of followers of Jesus and was surround by many people who followed him. I've had many doubts over the years, but every time I have come to the conviction that all of this is true. It is not a blind faith. There is so much historical evidence supporting the accuracy of the Bible and I also have a lot of person experiences that support my convictions.

 

Sorry for the super long post, but I don't want people to misunderstand what I mean. ^_^

[the_microwave]

I don't think anything happens after you die. Your existence comes to an end. I don't believe in the concept of a human soul that is separate from the body and eternal, so I can't imagine death as anything other than the end of personal existence. It's not as comforting of an idea to most people as something like reincarnation or heaven, of course, but I also don't think it's an inherently unpleasant idea. In fact, I prefer it to the idea of any afterlife.

 

In the old show 3rd Rock from the Sun, Dick gives a eulogy that goes something like this: "How can we honor the memory of a man like Leonard Hanlin? Like all men, he was governed by the laws of physics. It is a scientific fact that hearts and clocks slow down as they approach the speed of light. Dr. Hanlin's heart reached that speed at 7:35 p.m. last night, according to the coroner, transforming his matter into energy, into pure white light. Though he is no longer with us, he is all around us."

 

It's a beautiful quote (even more so in the context of the show), and it's one that I think of whenever I think about matters like this. I do believe that when we die, there is nothing that comes after for us--but mass is neither created or destroyed, and so our deaths will create life for others; in a sense, it's a form of reincarnation. Hundreds of years after we die, we will have gone from making up a single being to making up a thousand different beings.

 

"Though he is no longer with us, he is all around us," Dick said. Our lives will be gone. Our energy will remain. That, to me (and I speak on a completely personal level), is a purer poetry than any doctrine has ever offered.

[Atomic_Goose19]

I personally believe you just sit there, you wouldn't know your dead because your brain doesn't function. nothing happens, no gods. Seems the most boring and sad but it's just what I believe.

[Calfie]

I think my heart stops beating.

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[Cassia]

I think that after death, consciousness ends. It seems kind of scary for my thoughts and memories to all just disappear into eternal nothingness, but I take solace in the fact that we never physically disappear. The atoms in my body will continue on in the soil, air, water, and other living creatures, just as I am composed of atoms from creatures that lived millions of years ago. In a way, I'll still be here.

 

I also think that by making the world better in some small way and living on in the memories of others, in a way, I never truly die because the small marks I made on the world will live on.

[worstpoetryever]

I, too, think that you just cease to exist. It terrifies me, really. It makes me feel so small and insignificant, and even if I managed to save earth; make world peace and end hunger, it'll all be gone in less than the blink of an eye, in a cosmic perspective. Humanity still remembers Einstein and Elvis and ancient warlords, but in all likeliness humanity will see an end and no one will remember. I often feel like just enjoying life and making the best out of it is pointless, because I'm afraid I (my consciousness, soul, identity) will end. I think of it as being over-refreshed one night; maybe having a lot of fun and at the time feeling amazing, but the next day you remember nothing.

 

What makes me feel better again is that my own consciousness is the only thing in the world that I can take for granted, there's no way for me to make sure that anything else is real. Cogito ergo sum, etc. etc. I feel better by keeping the uncertainty of everything in mind. I don't feel like everything has to matter or make sense. I guess my rationing is just a detour to eventually get to the "carpe diem"-attitude, but it's what works for me. I always felt like I needed to have all the answers in order to be able to relax and take control of my life, but right now the knowledge of me being incapable of knowing is comforting. Maybe that is similar to how religious people feel? Not about the life-after-death-part, but the submission to the circumstances (whatever they are).

[AJ11]

I think there is something after life,

 

I think that because nothing in the universe ever actually ends, everything is recycled in some way, water energy power -every atom goes around and around all that energy simply circulates into different forms rots down or is used and goes around again.

 

so I think that our feelings energies and passions as well as our physical bodies are part of all of that and that they are recycled and reabsorbed into the energy of the universe.

 

I have no idea if it is reincarnation as it is generally thought of, but I think that our energy goes on in the universe and I think part of our consciousness is absorbed and goes on too... it seems logical to me having looked at the way things work in nature.

[Maraquaza]

I think that after death you lose conscience

[coltom]

I died, but then I got better.