Afterlife - Writers Forum

Lusastrium · 04-21-2005, 08:11 PM

What is your vision of what life after death will be like. Do you just think that once a person is dead, they're dead, or do you believe in some sort of afterlife such as the concept of heaven? Please explain how you envision the afterlife and why you think of the afterlife in this way.

Rico · 04-21-2005, 08:16 PM

I have two views on the issue, one based on my childhood upbringing, the other based on my experiences since.

1. I think that there is a heaven and a hell and God and judgment. Why do I feel this way? Strict Catholic upbringing. I also like to think that the good are rewarded in the end, because in life, they often get the short end of the stick. And I like to think that the bad are condemned, because so often they are the ones in the world that prosper.

2. Part of me also believes in reincarnation. There is a part of my self that I don't think can or should ever be extinguished. We all have trials in our lives and I think that those are marked by the things we do in our previous lives and that our acts in this life help determine the quality of our next life.

Yes, I know these are conflicting views. And no, I don't give a damn.

Lusastrium · 04-21-2005, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico

I have two views on the issue, one based on my childhood upbringing, the other based on my experiences since.

1. I think that there is a heaven and a hell and God and judgment. Why do I feel this way? Strict Catholic upbringing. I also like to think that the good are rewarded in the end, because in life, they often get the short end of the stick. And I like to think that the bad are condemned, because so often they are the ones in the world that prosper.

2. Part of me also believes in reincarnation. There is a part of my self that I don't think can or should ever be extinguished. We all have trials in our lives and I think that those are marked by the things we do in our previous lives and that our acts in this life help determine the quality of our next life.

Yes, I know these are conflicting views. And no, I don't give a damn.

Actually, I think that they way in which you depict your views on religion shows that your spirtual guide is that of karmic doctrine, and I believe that someone did say that karma is action and reaction, which means that good is usually rewarded and evil is punished. Your idea on reincarnation and heaven could be likened to the Buddist ieda that you get reborn until you become God. It's like your a buddist, but you don't believe in Buddha. Have you ever considered reading the sutras?

Rico · 04-21-2005, 08:31 PM

I've read the sutras, actually, a few years ago.

Saponification · 04-21-2005, 08:39 PM

I'm largely Buddhist, but I'm not sure about rebirth. I'm more from the school of thought that says it has to do with states of conciousness, but it wouldn't be that hard to convince me it's an actual physical process.

I've always found the idea of Heaven and Paradise difficult to swallow. Life's full of suffering... a blissful immortality seems at odds with that.

Rico · 04-21-2005, 08:41 PM

Those ideas in me are mostly just childish memories from a strict upbringing. They don't hold much sway in me anymore.

Dooga Aetrus Blackrazor · 04-21-2005, 09:36 PM

When people die they are simply dead. True logic does not suggest anything contrary to that.

Lusastrium · 04-21-2005, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dooga Aetrus Blackrazor

When people die they are simply dead. True logic does not suggest anything contrary to that.

If someone just dies and dies forever, what was the point of being alive? Are humans just tools for evolution, or do we have some other reason to have thought?

Rico · 04-21-2005, 09:39 PM

The point of living is to experience. We are nothing unless we live our lives as if each day was our last.

Lusastrium · 04-21-2005, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico

The point of living is to experience. We are nothing unless we live our lives as if each day was our last.

But who lives every day like our last? I don't think that anyone in this world can attest to the fact that they have always lived to the fullest.

Rico · 04-21-2005, 09:43 PM

No, I don't think so, either. But I maintain that in an ideal world, we would.

Lusastrium · 04-21-2005, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico

No, I don't think so, either. But I maintain that in an ideal world, we would.

A Heaven of sorts would be that ideal world, would it not? So Heaven perhaps is not a place but the ultimate goal of idealism: to create heaven upon Earth by making everyone happy.

Rico · 04-21-2005, 09:47 PM

Heaven is the ultimate goal of all those who wish to reach a perfection that cannot be equaled on earth, in my opinion.

yinyangi · 04-22-2005, 12:06 AM

Yes I do belive in an afterlife; simply because I can't help but believe that that once your died all there is left is your body in the dirt. I do believe in a heaven and hell.

Lusastrium · 04-22-2005, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yinyangi

Yes I do belive in an afterlife; simply because I can't help but believe that that once your died all there is left is your body in the dirt. I do believe in a heaven and hell.

And what might that heaven and hell be like?