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6 months ago I would have said "you die, go to sleep, and eventually rise to the resurrection day when you either proceed to heaven or hell". But thanks to my brother's challenge, I've decided to find out why I believe... and I found that I had no reason other than religious brainwashing. There is no god. When you die, you die. Nothing happens. You cease to exist. But while death might seem sad and empty, I've found that this life is so much more beautiful! Well, except for some of my sweet, dear, loving brainwashed family members thinking I'm filled with the devil on a pathway to hell. If you believe in god, heaven, and hell... I challenge you to find out WHY you believe. Here is the document I created to show my family members that I put some thought into my decision. Keep in mind it is written from a Christian perspective: http://copywritingsells.com/documents/BelieveInGod.pdf
I would argue, that a memory of my first year of life exists, and even a "record" of memory from the womb, but that it's written in incomprehensible infant language of basic needs and wants, so my educated and cultured mind finds it unable to be categorized or "printed" to files of mental reference, and hence, it prevents me from recalling it as a sort of protection against the misinterpretation that would be inevitable if we all could say "I remember the womb and it was dark so therefore I argue X applies now." Our memory writers at the time were unqualified, so the mind does not consider them memories as to protect the integrity of the entire collective memory. I see your point though, that my "suspicion" is inconclusive to answer the OP. It certainly doesn't mean that I didn't have some undetermined and currently undetectable existence, but it's the closest circumstance I have to not existing physically. I have no conclusive answer to what happens after death. I'm not personally ruling out any real afterlife or alternate existence, except heaven, hell, or reincarnation as understood historically, for lack of a more encompassing term. I'm not saying were just food for worms, I'm just saying I definitely don't think there's an eternal existence, and probably not a physical one either.
A second question would be... "how do you know that?" or "why do you think that?". It might provide a bit more insight rather than having a bunch of random imaginative tales such as moes (which, I know, was done in jest).
you're prosthelytizing atheism....like me saying, "just read the words of Christ and consider..." but honestly, i was just kidding. not meant to be offensive or taken seriously.
Ah - gotcha. No worries. It's not my intent to try and change people's minds. But I would like people to think about their reasons for believing. I'm totally fine if they disagree with me as long as they have good reasons to answer "why do you believe that?" Know what I mean? I'd just hate to see this world go into a massive holy war because of opposing views when those views aren't even rooted in critical thinking or rational thought. And I also dislike people thinking I'm going to hell unless they have a good reason for validating this belief. (I guess... I just wish all Christians were like YOU man!)
This thread is funny because I'm here in Fargo talking with my rich relatives about Christianity, and my cousin starts talking about original sin and how that shaped everything, so he talks about this for about 20 minutes straight, then he finishes... I just say "Well... why did God even put that tree there to begin with?" He thinks for a second then says "Thats a good question".
Go for it - and thanks. A couple times I mention my specific denominational upbringing (7th day adventist), but as long as you don't mind that it's fine.
Come on, man. Pascal's Wager is a load of crap. He's no risk taker, nor are you "playing the odds" by believing in it. You can't "choose" to believe in a god or an afterlife; you either do or you don't based on a number of factors. Your personal belief has absolutely no bearing on whether such things exist or not. That aside, how would anyone be playing the odds by choosing one god out of the thousands that are believed in the world over? It's just not reasonable. Even if there were a Christian god that you had to believe in to get to the afterlife... if I were to just say I believed in him to stamp my ticket to heaven, surely an omnipotent being such as that would see through my clever ruse.
I'm a risk-taker because I believe that when I die, there is absolutely zero chance I will burn in a fiery lake for the rest of eternity? Just say that out loud to yourself and ponder how stupid it sounds.
Won't somebody tell me, answer if you can! Want somebody tell me, what is the soul of a man I'm going to ask the question, answer if you can If anybody here can tell me, what is the soul of a man? I've traveled in different countries, I've traveled foreign lands I've found nobody to tell me, what is the soul of a man I saw a crowd stand talking, I came up right on time Were hearing the doctor and the lawyer, say a man ain't nothing but his mind I read the bible often, I tries to read it right As far as I can understand, a man is more than his mind When Christ stood in the temple, the people stood amazed Was showing the doctors and the lawyers, how to raise a body from the grave
I will read your document when later but for now if you need proof of God Spoiler proof of the Devil Spoiler
While I don't necessarily believe in a Heaven or Hell, I DO believe that there is a karmic energy out there that keeps things on an even keel for the most part. I find it hard to imagine living in a world where the bad go unpunished and the good go unrewarded, whether in this life, or the next (or the next, or the next, etc). Reincarnation is what makes sense to me, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate this life that I have now. I might not take every memory with me onto the next life, but my impact on the world is surely being felt in one capacity or another, and I intend to make that impact a positive one.
