Discussion Thoughts on religion/afterlife?

[GongLiFang]

Things like afterlife or god aren't changing my decision to CTB this Friday however it is still something I think about and have questioned before.

I grew up religious so there is this little part of me that wonders if there is god, and if god is real would I theoretically end up somewhere good or bad? It makes me think on my life and wonder what morals it could be judged by and if I adhered to them well enough to not end up somewhere bad. But then again, maybe it could be some ethereal spirit plane that we wander forever, or it really could be any of the many of afterlife's discussed in all of the different types of religions and belief systems.

I can't really say it is as much of a fear as it used to be as I am much more neutral with god/religion because I have had lots of time apart from it and have questioned it quite a lot. But, there is that bit of me that hopes and prays that if god is real I can just get the peace I seek. I don't even need heaven, I just need peace, a state of being (or lack thereof) that I can rest in for all of eternity.

Anyways, I just wondered who else out there thinks about these things. What are your conclusions? If you believe in god what kind of god is it? What afterlife do you think awaits us if there is one?

 

[WorthlessTrash]

There is no evidence being presented that God exists so i dont think of it.

I hope for reincarnation, not afterlife though.

 

[downndone2]

I hope there's an afterlife. I feel like I'll probably be stuck as a ghost or in some type of pergutory. I dont believe in hell, other than the one I've been living in for some time. I want to see those who have passed in my life. Who knows though...

 

[BeansOfRequirement]

I hope there's an afterlife. I feel like I'll probably be stuck as a ghost or in some type of pergutory.

Bruh, what?

 

[downndone2]

Bruh, what?

Lol, if I ctb I wonder if I'll be stuck in pergutory or a miserable ghost. They say many who are murdered or ctb are stuck as ghosts

 

[Forever Sleep]

I'm similar to you- being raised not strictly religious exactly but with the idea of a God and a heaven. I've questioned it many times growing up- especially religions themselves- as they seem more man-made to me and seem to have done as much harm as good.

Still, having lost many family members in childhood, I suppose I have/still do cling to this idea that they still somehow exist somewhere better and that I hope to get the chance to see them again.

It's the logistics of it I guess that I struggle with... Especially the idea of consciousness. It's so difficult to imagine any kind of existence so radically different from what we experience now.

Presumably- if there is a heaven, we don't have flesh and blood bodies- not the ones we have now- obviously! How do we recognise one another? Are we see-through versions of ourselves like in the movies or zombies or something?!! I'd like to hug my family but that's kind of off the cards without a body... I guess maybe we just imagine it all. Plus, how old are we in heaven? To them, I was a child when my relatives past but I'd like to meet them again as an adult.

I think it's consciousness that makes us who we are- or- who we think we are anyway and that seems to reside in the brain. It's whether that can exist outside of the brain that seems to be the question. I think there are theories that part of our consciousness is linked to a much larger whole and that we return to that after death. Still, that seems kind of impersonal- like it's just a kind of life force without any memory of the human life it had. Still, there have been theories of reincarnation I suppose with people remembering their past lives.

There have even been experiments to weigh people at the point of death to see how much the human soul weighs- 21g apparently, although I think the findings were largely dismissed.

Guess I've always wondered if consciousness was the 'problem' though- feel like it's thoughts and awareness that lead to depression. Wondered if it was something we would be better off without!

It's kind of funny the way we say 'rest in peace.' I guess peace can describe nothing happening but it feels more like an experience of relaxation after something stressful- so, we would still need to have awareness to be able to experience peace- or rest for that matter.

Just seems such a weird thing- the brain and consciousness. Don't think even the really clever scientists understand it. Sleep seems to be the weirdest element for me. I don't think we are conscious or aware while we are in deep sleep or maybe even REM sleep- like- we can still experience emotions in a dream but I'm not so sure we think and analyse them the same we do as when we are awake. I don't think I'm depressed when I'm asleep because it always feels stressful and a disappointment to wake up.

Has anyone had a precognitive dream before? It's happened to me once- nothing life changing either- it was the most everyday of circumstances but the dream did happen in real life. I'm certain it wasn't deja vu. Definitely a dream at one point, then reality a few weeks/months later. It was very bizarre. I think it's weird when we dream about places we haven't seen before too. I know there are arguments that we may have seen the images on TV etc but I don't know- it does make you wonder whether there is something bigger that we tap into now and again.

Another theory I worry about is that even if heaven/hell/purgatory doesn't exist, the brain can do some crazy shit- so we might think we experience any of the above right before death anyhow and seeing as time gets super distorted even in dreams, who knows how long that might go on for. Troubles me that if we are nervous about retribution for suicide, our brains may make it happen- even if it doesn't.

There was a case of a poor guy having a brain scan who passed away during it and there was a lot of brain activity happening- lots to do with recalling memories- which led them to believe maybe your life does pass before your eyes before you go but maybe it's this afterlife thing we experience then.

Who knows? Thanks so much for listening to all my ramblings. I've always wanted to talk about the 'big stuff' with people. Not that it resolves much- I think we are sometimes a bit stuck with ingrained beliefs- but it's interesting to see what other people think.

 

[FuneralCry]

There is no evidence of any God existing. I do not believe in any religion or afterlife, I think that when we die there is nothing after this, we cease to exist, we are gone. Death is true peace and freedom from all suffering. I see death as being like how before we were born, time passed and yet we were not aware of anything.

 

[mandyjohnuk]

We probably will live again but won't be aware of our past existence. Only to live again and be miserable.

 

[CannotAnymore]

It is clearly documented that religion is created by man and is used for control. Also if there is a heaven and hell you mean it's just one or the other, like am I going to hell with Hitler because I don't think I am Hitler bad...

 

[GongLiFang]

Presumably- if there is a heaven, we don't have flesh and blood bodies- not the ones we have now- obviously! How do we recognise one another? Are we see-through versions of ourselves like in the movies or zombies or something?!! I'd like to hug my family but that's kind of off the cards without a body... I guess maybe we just imagine it all. Plus, how old are we in heaven? To them, I was a child when my relatives past but I'd like to meet them again as an adult.

I think it's consciousness that makes us who we are- or- who we think we are anyway and that seems to reside in the brain. It's whether that can exist outside of the brain that seems to be the question. I think there are theories that part of our consciousness is linked to a much larger whole and that we return to that after death. Still, that seems kind of impersonal- like it's just a kind of life force without any memory of the human life it had. Still, there have been theories of reincarnation I suppose with people remembering their past lives.

Another theory I worry about is that even if heaven/hell/purgatory doesn't exist, the brain can do some crazy shit- so we might think we experience any of the above right before death anyhow and seeing as time gets super distorted even in dreams, who knows how long that might go on for. Troubles me that if we are nervous about retribution for suicide, our brains may make it happen- even if it doesn't.

There was a case of a poor guy having a brain scan who passed away during it and there was a lot of brain activity happening- lots to do with recalling memories- which led them to believe maybe your life does pass before your eyes before you go but maybe it's this afterlife thing we experience then.

Thank you for all of your points I find all them interesting and it is nice to see I wasn't the only raised on the concept of a heaven only to later theorize what the logistics of it is. I also wondered what theoretical ages people would be too and how we would actually experience things. I always thought that maybe we are just a collective consciousness that roams around if the afterlife is real. However, I always hoped if it was real if we could somehow still view the living world as well. Either way, this is all just theory and vague ideas from different religions.

I also thought about the in-between dying and living and what kind of things the brain does, after all, there are stories about people's "near death" experiences and the things seen/experienced always vary. Sometimes it is a god like figure, or lights and colours, warmth, people see places or people etc. etc. Poor guy getting the brain scanned though, but interesting finding for sure.

Anyways, I very much enjoyed your ramble!

 

[eremito]

regardless of the religion, I think that our consciousness survives our physical life on Earth. In the sense that it moves somewhere else to another dimension - but it continues to exist in a non-physical form, as pure energy maybe.
Depending on our vibrations, we may fall into different dimensions, different levels of density.
So our mind (or some form of mind, consciousness rather) remains perceptive.
What do you do to pluck courage to face suicide?
I guess that a lot of people here are just contemplating this option - what about those took an attempt yet survived.
Your experience is especially valuable because you are the ones who crossed the line from contemplation to action.

 

[SuicidallyCurious]

If god is a Jew , Christian, or moslem I want to go to hell

 

[alexlondon365]

i've heard of scientific studies proving that people have lived other lives before, so i guess it's all a merry go around until hopefully at some point the consciousness goes back to source.

 

[GongLiFang]

If god is a Jew , Christian, or moslem I want to go to hell

Aren't those hells like, suffering? I am probably severely uneducated on this topic, so correct me if I am wrong, but if my memory serves I wouldn't want that for eternity

i've heard of scientific studies proving that people have lived other lives before, so i guess it's all a merry go around until hopefully at some point the consciousness goes back to source.

I have thought a lot about reincarnation and I hope if I do, I don't have to remember this life and my consciousness will then be completely separate. Considering my reasons of leaving are mostly due to not wanting to experience the oncoming horrors of this planet. But I have hope that I won't because if we remembered our past lives I probably would have by now.

 

[Poisonblood]

Religions are bullshit invented to steal from people and control them. Look at prominent religious leaders, many of them have private jets, yachts, mansions, luxury cars, etc. Many of them are also pedos.

There are 3 possibilities about "God":
1. "God" doesn't give a shit
2. "God" is evil
3. "God" doesn't exist

 

[Cynic]

I believe there is something, but that it's incomprehensible to us until we actually do die. I think that the possibility of nothing isn't worth considering because oblivion is also incomprehensible. I would imagine the "afterlife" is like another dimension of sorts - how would you explain the third dimension to two dimensional beings? You couldn't.

I think r/NDE is very interesting & I would consider taking a look at it.

 

[RandomBeaver]

While I do personally believe in a God that is good and not evil, I find it really hard to rest in that. Otherwise I wouldn't have suicidal thoughts.

From a scientific perspective, I'm totally scared of the brain activity even after death. I mean by that that we don't know if it's not a hell of a suffering to die. Sure we could say it's like loosing consciousness, but who knows if it's not pure suffering? That's probably unreasonable anxiety.

 

[Alex6216]

I think it exists but it's not something I want to exist. I have no idea why people think no afterlife after death is so bad, it's not like you'll feel pain or suffering, you're going to be under anaesthetics forever if the atheist afterlife is true which isn't so bad compared to burning in Hell or being reincarnated as an Congo slave. I hope I am wrong and there is no afterlife because I really dont want to continue as anywhere, I simply want to not think or be aware of anything forever.

 

[Graytaichi]

The whole world is in a mess. Compare yourself with those less unfortunate not within your circle of friends. Dont be selfish and think the world is alright. Youtube "unintelligent design" by graytaich0. We are already in hell right now. I cant be sure what happens unless we are dead, prob we will end up in endless sleep.