A question for atheists.

[*michaelsean*]

Just to mix it up a little. I was curious that if when you die you found there is a God and afterlife, would you be completely stunned, or is there a small part of you that doesn't completely dismiss the possibility. I guess it would be the difference between there is no God and I have never seen any evidence of God, although I guess the latter could be agnostic.

Don't know how to answer the opposite question in that I would never know, but I don't dismiss that part of, at least my belief, is comfort. I can say though, that outside of not wanting to believe in my own oblivion, I feel this isn't it. I could certainly never prove it to anyone, and I have no argument for an atheist, but on the upside, I don't believe it matters what you believe or even if you don't believe. This isn't a test. There is no hell. This is an experience.

[Au165]

Everyone wants to believe there isn't an "end" because finality is scary. The idea you could walk down the street get hit by a car and then it's all over for good is not something anyone is truly comfortable with. I think about god/heaven the same way I think about the lottery, sure it would be awesome if I "won" but I know realistically odds of that being happening are virtually none...but it's still fun to think about occasionally.

[*Nately120*]

I'm open to the idea of there being a god or gods, but my detachment from religion is my inability to say that one particular god/belief is 100% true and all the others are untrue or not real.  THE main rule of religion seems to be based around specifically rejecting other possibilities and that's not really my thing and I lack the confidence to do so.

That and my doubt that modern day Americans have an accurate idea of the god they're sure they're going to see, anyways.

[*michaelsean*]

(02-17-2020, 12:28 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I'm open to the idea of there being a god or gods, but my detachment from religion is my inability to say that one particular god/belief is 100% true and all the others are untrue or not real.  THE main rule of religion seems to be based around specifically rejecting other possibilities and that's not really my thing and I lack the confidence to do so.

That and my doubt that modern day Americans have an accurate idea of the god they're sure they're going to see, anyways.

I think most religions are completely wrong.  I think some eastern religions are way closer to correct, and some of their more elevated members may be probably dead on.  

[CKwi88]

A god in the sense of the dude with the long beard chilling behind some pearly gates in the clouds? Yeah I'd be pretty surprised.

Some sort of an afterlife wouldn't surprise me too much though.

[*michaelsean*]

(02-17-2020, 12:57 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: A god in the sense of the dude with the long beard chilling behind some pearly gates in the clouds? Yeah I'd be pretty surprised.

Some sort of an afterlife wouldn't surprise me too much though.

Well no.  Forget all the religion stuff. 

[6andcounting]

I'd be interested in learning the truth since everything we know now is just the living human version of our understanding of how God works and many of our views contradict (different, religions, denominations etc.) each other.

[BmorePat87]

I guess I'm agnostic. I think there could be something bigger than all of this, but not some being, more like an energy? I guess I'm just describing the force, but I don't think there's some being judging our actions.

[fredtoast]

The workings of the universe are beyond human comprehension.  We can't stop puzzling over the "beginning" of the universe because our human brains are unable to comprehend that concept of something with no beginning.  Same for the concept of "infinity".  We just can't make our minds understand the idea of a universe with no end.

Sometimes I look at the world around me and think it is too complex to just be randomly crated.  So I do think there is some force toward organization or order in the universe, but I have no idea if it is just some other natural law like gravity.

But I am 100% sure that the crazy religions humans have created to explain the unexplained are all wrong.  None of them make a lot of sense on a "universal" level.

[Dill]

(02-17-2020, 10:51 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Just to mix it up a little.  I was curious that if when you die you found there is a God and afterlife, would you be completely stunned, or is there a small part of you that doesn't completely dismiss the possibility.  I guess it would be the difference between there is no God and I have never seen any evidence of God, although I guess the latter could be agnostic.

Don't know how to answer the opposite question in that I would never know, but I don't dismiss that part of, at least my belief, is comfort. I can say though, that outside of not wanting to believe in my own oblivion, I feel this isn't it.  I could certainly never prove it to anyone, and I have no argument for an atheist, but on the upside, I don't believe it matters what you believe or even if you don't believe.  This isn't a test.  There is no hell.  This is an experience.

Speaking as an atheist, not an agnostic, yes, I would be stunned.

I would add, it's not just that I haven't seen any evidence of god; it's also that I have seen plenty of evidence that people project various heavens and gods into some afterlife space.  

[*michaelsean*]

(02-17-2020, 02:45 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The workings of the universe are beyond human comprehension.  We can't stop puzzling over the "beginning" of the universe because our human brains are unable to comprehend that concept of something with no beginning.  Same for the concept of "infinity".  We just can't make our minds understand the idea of a universe with no end.

Sometimes I look at the world around me and think it is too complex to just be randomly crated.  So I do think there is some force toward organization or order in the universe, but I have no idea if it is just some other natural law like gravity.

But I am 100% sure that the crazy religions humans have created to explained the unexplained are all wrong.  None of them make a lot of sense on a "universal" level.

I certainly can't prove God, but I believe I can logically argue that most religions are not even close.  There is no logical reason for the God of religions.  No reason for a vindictive God that gives you the blink of an eye in eternity to figure everything out etc.  I'm not making a comment on religious people, but rather what they have been taught of God.

[*michaelsean*]

If you read about Arturo's experience, it's hard to just dismiss that. I see no advantage to his coming here and relating that. Of course just me saying I see no advantage of him coming here is a shortcoming of mine in that it's a back door way of looking for evidence through negative evidence. I don't know if that term makes sense, but i can't think of another one.

[Vas Deferens]

This afterlife shit is so self involved. Get over yourself.

[NATI BENGALS]

As an agnostic idk.

What if we are gods? This is as good as it gets. Our existence seems pretty rare in this crazy unknown universe right?

Its probably lights out game over when you die. So you better live it up while you got it. An afterlife would be an added bonus.

[treee]

I probably would not believe them when they reveal they are god, even if they do a bunch of magical crap to try to prove it. How do I know they're not just an egotistical alien or something?

[Benton]

(02-17-2020, 02:34 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: I guess I'm agnostic. I think there could be something bigger than all of this, but not some being, more like an energy? I guess I'm just describing the force, but I don't think there's some being judging our actions.

I'm a Christian, but that's sort of how I interpret God. A conscious energy. 

[Arturo Bandini]

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but the existence of God doesn't immediatly imply there is an afterlife.

Is there afterlife for schrimps ? Why would there be one for humans and not other living things ?

I'm pretty sure when you get one with the universe, you lose your identity and you cannot care less about having been the one you pretend you are at the moment.

To be extremely clear, what we are now is not LIFE, we get back to life losing our identity.

What is real is indestructible.

[Arturo Bandini]

(02-17-2020, 02:45 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The workings of the universe are beyond human comprehension.  We can't stop puzzling over the "beginning" of the universe because our human brains are unable to comprehend that concept of something with no beginning.  Same for the concept of "infinity".  We just can't make our minds understand the idea of a universe with no end.

Sometimes I look at the world around me and think it is too complex to just be randomly crated.  So I do think there is some force toward organization or order in the universe, but I have no idea if it is just some other natural law like gravity.

But I am 100% sure that the crazy religions humans have created to explain the unexplained are all wrong.  None of them make a lot of sense on a "universal" level.

There is something called the present moment I guess in english and you can read books about it since you have not experienced it, it's not understandable.

Once you get there, you got it. Everything is happening at the same time. The start and the end of the universe is happening right now.

Everything that is possibly impossible is happening right now. 

The universe is a mathematical problem with only one answer which is God. 

Religions are just hopes and fears and antic people, nothing more. 

[*michaelsean*]

(02-18-2020, 06:06 PM)Arturo Bandini Wrote: Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but the existence of God doesn't immediatly imply there is an afterlife.

Is there afterlife for schrimps ? Why would there be one for humans and not other living things ?

I'm pretty sure when you get one with the universe, you lose your identity and you cannot care less about having been the one you pretend you are at the moment.

To be extremely clear, what we are now is not LIFE, we get back to life losing our identity.

What is real is indestructible.

I would think you can join the oneness and separate from it as we have all done here.

[Arturo Bandini]

(02-18-2020, 09:28 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I would think you can join the oneness and separate from it as we have all done here.

Yes, it's something like the Force but universe life has no more sense so you basically realize that you weren't really living so it doesn't really matter. 

We're basically God pretending to be separated from himself by an identity system so once this system is off, you just realize back your true nature and stop pretending to be separated from Oneness. 

I don't believe there is a place like Heaven where you know you are reunited with other folks.