What comes after death?

[Moonlit_Angel]

I like to think there is a God....but we are recycled as different beings depending on how we acted in this life. I think it goes along with deja vu....I think when you get that feeling its somethign from a past life.

...exactly! I've thought that very same thing.

Originlaly posted by Dismantled
Funny cause Mr. Dis gets a cold shiver everytime we pass through a busy intersection....maybe in a past life he died at one

I have a serious fear of spiders...going by this, I guess that'd mean I'd have had a bad experience with one in a past life then, huh? .

Yeah, see, I find things like that fascinating. And regarding the animals being angels, hey, it's about as plausible as any other beliefs here . If you wish to believe that, that's fine with me .

Angela

 

[melon]

We can see similarities between many religious beliefs. But to box Judeo-Christian belief as a subset of Zoroastrianism is not a widely held belief.

It is amongst secular Biblical scholars. In fact, amongst that crowd, it's a widely held belief. It's the religious scholars that have a hard time accepting it, because then they'd be forced to admit that their religion owes a lot to a pagan religion.

FYI, I was first exposed to this idea in a Catholic high school religion class. It was also written in our textbook. So I would beg to differ with your comment here.

Melon

 

[Spiral_Staircase]

A couple of interesting quotes on the topic from C.S. Lewis that seem to ring true to me (at least tonight):

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

"Though I do not believe that my desire for Paradise proves that I shall enjoy it, I think it a pretty good indication that such a thing exists and that some men will."

 

[Tennis05]

sorry for those who don't believe, i cannot subscribe to your point of view. i just can't. i cannot believe that we are only matter. think of the people you love and the feelings you get with loved ones around. can you really resign your feelings for people and life to molecules? i can't. i believe in people too much. there are some things that cannot be explained to me through science and love is one of them. Love is proof of God for me.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I hope what comes after is absolute bliss and complete inner peace, freedom from the pain you had in your previous life

also no internet, which will be a great thing..especially the freedom from people who harass you and annoy the crap out of you on the internet

 

[Dismantled]

...exactly! I've thought that very same thing.



I have a serious fear of spiders...going by this, I guess that'd mean I'd have had a bad experience with one in a past life then, huh? .

Yeah, see, I find things like that fascinating. And regarding the animals being angels, hey, it's about as plausible as any other beliefs here . If you wish to believe that, that's fine with me .

Angela

thanks I don't know if I really believe that dogs are angels checking up on us....but maybe I think that thought came to me late on night...I was wondering why a dog that is pretty small animal compared to others lives such a short life....8-10 years when horses and other larger animals live alot longer. Then I was thinking of them being mans best friend, and always wanted to be with us, almost acting human in some ways and then my thought came they can only be here on earth for short time cause they have to go back and report to whoever that maybe??.....

 

[For Honor]

I do not undetstand something....

but maybe I'll get into that later.



After death? It's none of my business. The only thing I really have say over is what I do now, in this life. I don't know how much of Christian I am at the momen, but who knows. I have no dishonesty with God, so he knows where I stand on all things.

But I don't change my positions for fear of pain or eternal damnation. I'm not afraid of death, and I am not afraid of death simply being something I don't know about, or an ending.


Bono's words come to mind -
I'm not afraid to die, I'm not afraid to live, but when I'm flat on my back I hope to feel like I did.


Most of all, I'm honest with myself.
I'm sure that God would appreciate that - even if I don't agree about everything, I'm accountible for my thoughts and actions, and don't have any complaints.


The way I look at it, if God would rather have me lie and say I believe this or that, then that is something I never could respect. I think I have settled my affair on all the deeper things with him in private, so I don't need to discuss them here.


But one of the... ironic/sad things is...
While I don't consider myself very much of Christian (or at least, an active one, that goes to church regularly, or prays often, or discusses the bible or such things), I seem to agree and comply with many of the codes of conduct, more so than most of my other peers who are "openly" Christian. I'm still a virgin, I don't drink (alcohal is a drug, I know), I don't do drugs. And most of the music I listen to is a lot more "proper" than what my peers listen to.

There is a fair chance that I will wait until marriage to have sex even.




Anyways..... as far as after death goes....
I'll deal with it when I get there. I have my reasons for why I do what I do.

I do not seek peace, or rest, or bliss, or freedom, or being with loved ones. I will probably look for those things in my life now, but afterlife...... whatever is there, just like anything else, I will deal with it.

I don't have any preconceived hopes or fears, not at this point.

 

[nbcrusader]

FYI, I was first exposed to this idea in a Catholic high school religion class. It was also written in our textbook. So I would beg to differ with your comment here.

Melon

I don't recall that teaching in my Catholic High School.

But it makes me sad.

 

[melon]

I don't recall that teaching in my Catholic High School.

But it makes me sad.

Why? In the pursuit of the truth, we will find God. He does not live in a lie, no matter how comforting and convenient it might be to us.

That's also why I pursue science, where I think we get a greater idea of the nature of God than we ever do in the Bible. It's almost mindnumbingly perfect.

Melon

 

[nbcrusader]

Why? In the pursuit of the truth, we will find God. He does not live in a lie, no matter how comforting and convenient it might be to us.

That's also why I pursue science, where I think we get a greater idea of the nature of God than we ever do in the Bible. It's almost mindnumbingly perfect.

Melon

As I reflect back on my Catholic High School experience, it ignored any Spiritual Truth about God and promoted the institution of the Church as the authority in my life. There was no interest in whether I believed in God, only that I followed the various rules and edicts established by the institution.

I am never surprized when individuals raised in the Catholic Church walk away when they lose faith in an institution.

 

[melon]

As I reflect back on my Catholic High School experience, it ignored any Spiritual Truth about God and promoted the institution of the Church as the authority in my life. There was no interest in whether I believed in God, only that I followed the various rules and edicts established by the institution.

I am never surprized when individuals raised in the Catholic Church walk away when they lose faith in an institution.

You know, on this aspect, I will not disagree with you. It is a lot of why I lost faith in the Catholic Church. A lot of their "encyclicals" were purposely written in complex, yet nonsensical language meant to confuse their followers into unquestioning belief. You see, though, I eventually became educated enough to understand all the words they used, and I came to the same conclusion you've come to. A large part of me still regrets that it had to come to that, but, like I said, knowing the truth is the way to find God, not through a comforting lie.

But, in many ways, that's besides the point. That may be where I originally discovered the connection between Christianity and Zoroastrianism, but it is also recognized amongst secular Biblical scholars, whom I believe have no particular agenda to push, except for a scientific compulsion to uncover the truth.

And, honestly, the connections are even in the OT (Books of Daniel and Ezra), along with apocryphal texts like "Bel and the Dragon," which are more explicitly Persian (Cyrus the Great is masqueraded as believing in Judaism, despite the Cyrus Cylinder being a more accurate depiction of Cyrus' religious beliefs). Ezra, of all people, is a Persian agent given authority by Cyrus the Great to preach the "word of the Lord," as the first chapter of the book makes explicitly clear!

It's staring us right in the face.

Melon