Afterlife

The cessation of neurobiological activity has a rather predictable conclusion.

Here me out here.. This is a good read, and it took a good minute.

If, let’s say, that throughout time, squirrels developed enough of a mental capacity in order to begin questioning why they were here. What would be their most logical explanation? That they were put here by something they can’t see? That the thing put them here may control of their destinies?

This is the ONLY answer that the squirrels can come up with. "It must be something we can’t see, because if we could see it, we’d know why we were here".

As humans, we have adopted this way of thinking with our lives. Because we are the only animals with "rational thought" capabilities, humans (christians, and others) seem to think that the invisible thing that created us will judge us, and send us to a peaceful afterlife.

Will squirrels be judged and sent to an afterlife? Most would say no, because they don’t have souls. But, what about when they develop the ability to think rationally, like humans did? Then they may THINK they have souls too…

Do you understand what I’m getting at? Religions are a natural occurrence as an organism attains the mental capacity to question their existence. Humans are the only example of this on earth. Upon analyzing the concept of a religion, it is clear that we are just smart squirrels, who gained the ability to question life.

On a related note, what idea relates to the most people? The idea of existence. What’s the easiest way to gain a following of massive amounts of people? You develop the most credible explanation for why we are here. This has been going on throughout history, most likely since we were "cavemen." Why do ancient religions fail? Because they are obvious fabrications- like Greek mythology.

So, what should a religion do in order to keep people believing, and give the least chance of failure? Fabricate proof that validates our existence. Proof that you can’t validate. Like that book

Keep the faith!

Are these ideas that I’ve laid out illogical? They seem rather plausible to me, as a philosophical thinker.

I do not follow what I’ve been taught since I was young, unlike many people who are "born" into a religion (as I was). I simply find the most likely truths in life, and that is what I believe in.

Manipulation is easiest when you are young, as beliefs can be embedded in you for your lifetime. They are sneaky, these religions are..

I would love to hear your input, laptop jesus. I want to see how you keep your faith, when all signs point to what I believe?
Sorry jesus, I figured you were catholic. Or jesus on his laptop.
m.o.G sounds very intelligent. Someone went to CCD class!

I can not justify what does not exist. The idea of it is wonderful, but that’s all it is, an idea.

I know they don’t believe in the Christian idea of hell, but what about heaven or any kind of afterlife whether that be reincarnation or whatever.

I assume if you do believe in an afterlife but not heaven, it would be more a personal belief but not necessarily any doctrine in Judaism, right? Or no?

Thanks.
Plushy: Thanks! Interestly, I chose the name because there was a thing of chips ahoy cookies on my computer desk, lol.
Thanks for the answers everyone.

We Jews do believe in heaven and the afterlife.
We believe the soul goes through a cleansing period (for about 11 months) before it enters heaven.
We believe all moral people merit heaven, regardless of their religious beliefs or lack thereof.

A- did not believe in life after death, B was not monotheistic, C did not have a code of behavior for believers, D encouraged the warrior class to wage war in order to achieve paradise in the afterlife.

None of the above.Or rather, more information needed. I suspect the intended answer is (d), but – of course – there have been periods when Christianity has done precisely that.

Ha! That’s a good one scrotum. I think it is stupid to be afraid of something you will have no control over.

Not really.

We DO believe in a ‘world to come’ (aka "heaven"), and we believe that "the righteous of all nations have a place in the world to come." IOW, we DON’T believe that only Jews will be in heaven, but righteous people of all beliefs.

We do NOT believe in hell. That’s strictly a Christian construct. I have to tell you that Christians are usually stunned to hear this, and will argue with Jews about it!–but no, we don’t believe in hell.

But we don’t put much emphasis on any of our beliefs about the afterlife. Judaism isn’t nearly as concerned with heaven as it is with life here on earth. We do believe that this world is just the entrance hall to heaven–but our sages teach (in Pirkei Avos) that it’s better to have one day here on earth than eternity in the world to come. Why? Because here on earth we have the chance to observe the vcommandments, while there will be no commandments there.

websites or answers
the steps to get to the weighing of the heart

Check out the "Egyptian Book of the Dead", or more correctly, the "Book of Coming Forth by Day", at
http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/egyptian/bookodead/

Did the chinese believe in the afterlife like the egyptians?

The Chinese did believe that there was an afterlife and that their ancestors often influenced the world of the living as ghosts. One of the main aspects of Confucian thought is to be filial and pious towards one’s parents so that they aren’t forgotten or dishonored; otherwise, they won’t help.

will you be known in heaven as your known here and be reunited with your family upon reaching the afterlife?

In Heaven, you will be in the prime of your life. You will remember those who made it to Heaven, but God will not allow the memories of those who went to hell so that you will not miss them, or be sad. There is no pain or tears in Heaven.

The dead in Christ shall rise to meet the Lord in the air. Our physical bodies will be changed, & we will be dressed in robes of white.

Almost every group of humans developed a mythology in their religion, faith, spirituality for an afterlife. As an atheist I think that the afterlife is BS. Why do do need afterlife beliefs? The religions that believe in God all want to have a heaven. And even the more supposedly "secular" Hindu/Buddhism/Eastern religions have their own fake afterlife/reincarnation stories and such.

I’m an atheist agnostic and feel that religion, faith, spirituality is all about imaginatively lying and building a lifestyle dedicated to it. Why don’t we do away with it? There is no afterlife or spiritual/supernatural realm. The "before-life" (before birth) is exactly the sam as death. It’s just a lack of consciousness and existence except as personal memories in the minds of those who knew you.
Every person who’s died is in no spiritual/magical/supernatural realm. They just don’t exist anymore and the physical material which made them returned to the planet. It might seem sad to many but it’s true.

Why do we need elaborate death stories with ideas of heaven/reincarnation, etc?

You seem very sure of yourself and your dogmatic belief in no life after death. I wish you a pleasant surpise after you die.

Human beings, at the least the ones who are honest with themselves, are terrified of death. I have toyed with the "we just go back to where we were before birth" notions as well, but they ended up being whistling in the dark — a way to convince myself that non-existence didn’t bother me.

Ultimately, I became convince of life after death by pondering the experience of the Christian disciples, who personally experienced the Risen Christ. When I start to wobble in my faith, I remind myself of their experience and strength in the face of persecution.

YMMV, but it’s no longer a question for me of *needing* to believe in life after death. I am assured of it, and live in hope for it.