To all Atheists and Agnostics out there, what if death ISN'T the end?

1. 84

   gmwilliamsposted 8 years ago

   To all Atheists and Agnostics out there, what if death ISN'T the end?
   
   This question is not asked from a religious viewpoint but from a spiritual, metaphysical one.
   
   

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2. 93

   UnnamedHaraldposted 8 years ago

   Well, wouldn't that be a pleasant surprise?

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3. 60

   Phil Perezposted 8 years ago

   Okay, if it isn't then there's little we can say to explain it. Personally, if that was the case that "dying" wasn't the end, then I'd say after our brain and heart stop working we decompose into the ground, plants absorb those nutrients from that of which we "gave," then other conscious people eat those plants. That, or when people, "die" we start dissolving into the air which lead people to breathe in that air. That's my metaphysical argument.
   
   As for spiritual, I wouldn't know how to explain it. How does anyone break it down from a spiritual perspective anyhow?

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4. 85

   Austinstarposted 8 years ago

   There really is no such thing as "death". It's just a descriptive state of matter, energy, and space. Even after being declared dead, you are still composed of all the atoms that you ever had. Your brain pathways have stopped transmitting, but they are still there.
   Once your atoms disperse, they become something else in the universe. Matter cannot be created or destroyed, it just changes forms.
   Medical personnel have tried for thousands of years to define death.
   Is it when the heart stops beating? No, because we can now keep you alive after your heart is worn out and can even transplant a new heart.
   Is it when you stop breathing? No, because we have machines that will breathe for you until you get a lung transplant.
   Is it when your brain stops thinking? No, because your body can still be alive in a vegetative state.
   Is it when you are buried, cremated, or shot into outer space? No, because your atoms still exist. They just decay into different forms.
   Do you "go to heaven"? No one knows, but where is it? No one knows.
   Are you just not "you" anymore? Perhaps, but again, no one knows and your atoms are still part of the universe. They cannot be destroyed.
   The only way to find out what happens after you "die" is to do it yourself. And then, in spite of rumors of life after death by magical gods, no one has actually come back from "death" to let us know.
   You may "believe" Jesus or Horus or some other god did, but there is no physical proof of it. It's just rumor and rumors of rumor. There is no actual physical proof of an afterlife, heaven, hell, or coming back from total bodily system failures.
   Once you are "dead", that is it for you. So spend you life like it is the precious commodity that it is.

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5. 38

   ChristinSposted 8 years ago

   I am fully able and willing to believe that physical death is not the end of our existence.  I don't believe there is a "deity" who controls things or takes a special interest in our lives in particular, but I do believe we are more than our physical bodies due to a lot of experiences I've had and what I've come to believe personally.  Many agnostics and even some atheists are very spiritual people and are open to the idea of life beyond "this".
   
   Austinstar nailed it perfectly from a scientific perspective as well - matter "is" so at the molecular level we indeed to carry on - what to? whose to say?  All I know is that I work hard to make the most of this life, because it is the one thing we can be sure of. 
   
   I've always felt bad for those who "wait for heaven" etc.  It seems like a cop-out and a waste of a good life today.  I've also always felt the idea of heaven to be a bit arrogant.  It only takes one short human life span in the grand cosmic scheme of things to earn an eternal paradise?  I could live many lifetimes and not feel ready or worthy of that - and heaven, frankly, sounds boring as hell HA!

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      Austinstarposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. Since we are already "one" with the universe, we don't need to wait to enjoy our life. We can live for the here and now.

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6. 77

   Sulabhaposted 8 years ago

   I just wish to know-
   1. Are you doing some kind of research that you ask so many questions regularly?
   2. I have happened to read a lot of answers that you receive. Don't mind, but you tend to read only what you want to read.
   3. No offense. But after replying -4 times, I have failed to receive any response from you. Even something like whether you agree or not agree..
   Regards
   Sulabha Dhavalikar

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   1. 84

      gmwilliamsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I love to read other's responses.  It is not a matter of agreement or disagreement as others have a right to their respective belief.

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7. 85

   M. T. Dremerposted 8 years ago

   I had an idea for a story once where the main character dies and then immediately wakes up somewhere else. Like, on a different planet or a different universe or something. The thought being that Earth is our first life, and it continues on elsewhere and we get to keep all our memories. It was spawned from the concept of our consciousness and whether or not it can be 'downloaded' to something else. Sure, we could probably copy all of our memories and personality quirks into a robot, but would that really be us? Or would the real us still be dead?
   
   It's all speculation in the mind of a fiction writer. But as of right now, I don't believe anything comes after, for the very simple reason that it doesn't have to. So much of the universe comes and goes without any regard for future purpose. So it seems totally logical that human intelligence/consciousness could be reproduced over and over again without any obvious need to 'save' the ones that already existed. In other words, we're disposable.

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      Austinstarposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Well, not exactly 'disposable', more like not critical for the whole. Maybe not even essential for the universe, we could just be a by-product of the Cosmos. Come to think of it, that may just be it - like the dinosaurs.

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