If there is an afterlife, what happens to us there is going to matter a whole lot more than what happens to us here!
That's a gamble I'm willing to take, because I do KNOW that I am currently "alive" and all that that entails for me.
I've said it before, but these forces of the cosmos - God, Buddha, Allah, Karma, Cthulhu, whatever - in all of their vast mysteriousness and primordiality, having anything more than passing novel curiosity in the minutiae of specifically human taboos, much less dedicating themselves to enforcing them by punishing anyone who violates them, is a goofy and geocentric idea.
After my crisis of faith many decades ago, I came to the conclusion that there's either nothingness after death (more on that in a moment) or the being(s) that created us are at best, just more powerful beings, but not necessarily benevolent (for example, they're just playing Sims, and we're each just one of the sims they've created), therefore any afterlife that they subject us to would likely have all the pros and cons of being made be the same beings.
If we were created by a benevolent being(s), then they truly know why we have made the decisions that we have, including CTB, and will judge us with that insight, so -as long as I make sound decisions- I don't fear such judgement.
Also how can God be a good God and allow all this suffering
and
I think hell is this stinking world. We are separated from nature, from each other (mostly) and from any creator who may exist. Our bodies experience pain, fatigue, and eventually shrivel and die. We watch family, friends, pets and others pass away and leave us with huge holes that are never filled. Sounds like hell to me.
I can believe in suffering
to a point.
My crisis of faith was triggered by a series of events that made it clear that one particular young girl's life was so devoid of anything other than suffering, that no biblical or religious beliefs could ever justify what she had been made to experience.
To condemn those who seek an end to their suffering to everlasting suffering. I wouldn't believe in a God like that even if he does exist; I don't want to worship evil.
1000%
The idea that life ends at death without an afterlife brings a different set of reflections on how we choose to live and find meaning here and now.
For many people, heaven and hell are seen as fictional or symbolic concepts rather than literal places. This view often comes from an understanding that these ideas were created as part of religious narratives to explain morality, the afterlife, or to provide comfort (or caution) about what happens after death. From a secular perspective, they are often viewed as metaphors that reflect human desires, fears, and cultural beliefs about justice, reward, and punishment.
and
But life is what it is, take it or leave it. As long as you enjoy it or find it worthwhile for any reason, life doesn't need to have any eternal meaning.
This is largely where I ended up after my crisis of faith, and it actually made me value the ways that I could help others in this life, but also value that it should absolutely be my coice to decide when I'm done.
No, I believe it means escaping hell.
While many people don't believe their life is hell, if I were to "design" hell, it would certainly resemble a lot of the suffering I have experienced and seen others experience.
Still, I think religion can do good as well as harm, so I've nothing personally against people who have faith.
I've really tried to walk a tight-rope on this, because, yes, faith can be really helpful to individuals, but I've also seen the damage that gangs of self-righteous "religious" people can cause (to include limiting access to peaceful means of CTB)
Being immortal sounds like a nightmare.
I honestly couldn't agree more!
Surely, the people that wrote them were of the ruling classes. I doubt peasants could write that well. Religious laws parallel civil laws in most aspects. To me, it seems entirely possible they were simply introduced to reinforce civil order. If prison didn't frighten would be thieves, murderers and adulterers, perhaps hell would.
I suspect religion was created simply to fill a void in knowledge, but the powerful will corrupt any at their disposal to increase their power, and history has proven time and time again that religion can be used to manipulate the masses.
I do not personally believe in heaven or hell, however, I do believe that when you pass, your energy gets released into the universe, and you travel amongst the stars as energy.
and
There could also be a some form of reincarnation be it "soul"-based, quantum-based, or some other variety we aren't aware of.
and
I don't believe in either since I'm not religious. I think that after death is just permanent non existence
I believe in the interconnectedness of all, from how atoms make cells, cells make organs, organs make organisms and so on.
(The video/simulation on this page is actually a really cool visualization of this concept -
https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/)
Ultimately, when the cells in my brain stop working as as my brain, the are just returned to the universe to be recycled.
Having recently been declared braindead for 2.5 days, I experienced nothingness, which is honestly all I ever wanted out of death. Now I just need to CTB so that it is permanent.
I do believe that our interconnectedness during life does mean that we will leave an impact on the world, those who knew us (even if only briefly and, even without our knowledge) and in ways that may last past even the lifetimes of those whom we knew. So, I've tried hard to ensure that my impacts have been beneficial, both in individual actions and possible longer term changes in this world.
) as in you won't be automatically going to hell if you commit suicide.
