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arcura · Sep 16, 2008, 10:24 PM

The bible tells us several times that Jesus is the Lord of life.
This is from the New Jerusalem Bible.
Luke 7:11. It happened that soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people.
12. Now when he was near the gate of the town there was a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople was with her.
13. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her and said to her, "Don't cry."
14. Then he went up and touched the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, "Young man, I tell you: get up."
15. And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
16. Everyone was filled with awe and glorified God saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us; God has visited his people."
17. And this view of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.
2 questions...
1. Do you hope for or believe in a life after this one?
2. Can you see why there are so many people who believe in a person who has the power over death?
Peace and kindness,
Fred (arcura)

smearcase · Sep 17, 2008, 06:50 AM

I am certainly not an expert on religion but I don't think you can be a Christian unless you believe in eternal life. In my opinion, if there were no death, religion wouldn't exist. I think but do not know that all religions have some beliefs in afterlife.

John 3:16 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Footnotes:

John 3:16 Or his only begotten Son

arcura · Sep 17, 2008, 08:30 AM

smearcase
Thanks for your opinion.
Peace and kindness,
Fred (arcura)

Credendovidis · Sep 20, 2008, 07:03 AM

Dear Fred

No. I do not hope for that. Not that I am afraid for such an afterlife at all.
But I do not see any need for a life after this one and only life.

Only our present life is for sure : we exist, though only for a short period.
We should concentrate on that one and only life, and make the best out of it.
Whoever likes to BELIEVE in an afterlife : fine with me.
As long as that is not done at the expense of that one and only life you have now.
And not at the expense of many others who share this life with you.

Unfortunately that is for many theists precisely the situation : they seem to devalue their one and only life against a claim of a life after this one : a claim, not a surety.

If you truly believe that a God put us on this world, the first directive would be to live this life to the fullest.

:rolleyes:

Have a nice day, dear Fred!!

:D

inthebox · Sep 20, 2008, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by arcura

The bible tells us several times that Jesus is the Lord of life.
This is from the New Jerusalem Bible.
Luke 7:11. It happened that soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people.
12. Now when he was near the gate of the town there was a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople was with her.
13. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her and said to her, "Don't cry."
14. Then he went up and touched the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, "Young man, I tell you: get up."
15. And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
16. Everyone was filled with awe and glorified God saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us; God has visited his people."
17. And this view of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.
2 questions......
1. Do you hope for or believe in a life after this one?
2. Can you see why there are so many people who believe in a person who has the power over death?
Peace and kindness,
Fred (arcura)

1 - I believe!
2 - Yes, I for one, though I believe in an eternal life with God, am scared of dying.
What person would not want to live [ this life ] longer?

Credendovidis · Sep 20, 2008, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by inthebox

What person would not want to live [ this life ] longer?

That is just the problem with the "afterlife" (if that exists) : it will NOT be the same to this life.
You will NOT have a body, as that remains on earth.
So all you can have is a soul...

But any format of afterlife is based on religious claims : there is no guarantee there is any!!
All one can do is BELIEVE in it...

To live this (only) life longer, it is most important to live this life to the fullest.
To put all your actions and care towards a better living, to greater health, to keep your body healthy by keeping your weight under control. Just one look at today's overweight western youths indicates that there is a huge problem with that general health.

If one can not meet up with the demands of healthy life on earth, what makes one think that one can meet up with the demands of the claimed afterlife??

:rolleyes:

.

ordinaryguy · Sep 20, 2008, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by arcura

1. Do you hope for or believe in a life after this one?

If I do wake up in an after-life, I'll be pleasantly surprised. If not, I won't be disappointed.

Originally Posted by arcura

2. Can you see why there are so many people who believe in a person who has the power over death?

Well, duh! They want something more than oblivion as a reward for bearing the burden of this life, and they'll believe whatever they have to believe to get a promise of it.

JoeCanada76 · Sep 20, 2008, 07:43 PM

I know there is an afterlife.

Choux · Sep 20, 2008, 08:05 PM

Death is eternal peace; some what to believe that their consciousness will live forever.

When I have asked them in the past what eternal consciousness would be like, no one will answer me, Fred.

What will eternal consciousness be like?

Choux · Sep 20, 2008, 08:07 PM

Death is eternal peace; some what to believe that their consciousness will live forever.

When I have asked them in the past what eternal consciousness would be like, no one will answer me, Fred.

What will eternal consciousness be like?

It is not for me... I don't Believe in eternal consciousness. In fact, that sounds like hell to me!

Wondergirl · Sep 20, 2008, 09:00 PM

Yes, I believe in life after death. In fact, I have volunteered to be in charge of all the cats and kittens.

JoeCanada76 · Sep 20, 2008, 09:29 PM

That is awesome...

arcura · Sep 20, 2008, 09:42 PM

Choux,
I believe that eternal consciousness l will be as the bible tells us.
That is a life with the glory of God no tears, no sadness, no illness or handicaps, all pleasant and joy.
Being a tired, sick old man who lived through a war or two in a world filled with some successes, some joy but lots of misery and disappointments I look forward to that.
Peace and kindness,
Fred (arcura)

Alty · Sep 20, 2008, 09:53 PM

I hope, want to believe.

The thought that I'll never see my parents again after I die is too much to bear. I want to believe in heaven, I want to believe that I'll be reunited with my loved ones.

Now, if I'm wrong, I guess it doesn't really matter, if there's nothing after death, then there's no hope either.

For now, as long as I'm alive, I'll hope, to do otherwise would be torture.

arcura · Sep 20, 2008, 10:12 PM

Atenweg,
I hope as you do.
But think of this. We all are part of this universe; In reality we are made of star stuff made from the stars that make the stuff (elements) of the universe.
Also we are part energy that may dissipate but will remain.
When our star (sun) grows old in a few million years it will grow huge absorbing this planet and others we will be star stuff again and when the sun then blows off its star stuff into space it becomes the dust that new stars and planets are made of.
If nothing else we all will be a part of this ever growing universe for trillions of years.
Peace and kindness,
Fred

Wondergirl · Sep 20, 2008, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by arcura

Atenweg,
I hope as you do.
But think of this. We all are part of this universe; In reality we are made of star stuff made from the stars that make the stuff (elements) of the universe.
Also we are part energy that may dissipate but will remain.
When our star (sun) grows old in a few million years it will grow huge absorbing this planet and others we will be star stuff again and when the sun then blows off its star stuff into space it becomes the dust that new stars and planets are made of.
If nothing else we all will be a part of this ever growing universe for trillions of years.
Peace and kindness,
Fred

I'm hoping for something a little more exciting and personal than that.

arcura · Sep 20, 2008, 11:42 PM

Wondergirl,
So am I.
But if there is no hereafter as I believe that there is that is what remains of our remains; a part of this glorious, immense universe.
Peace and kindness,
Fred

germain · Sep 20, 2008, 11:51 PM

I just want to paint a picture for you. If you've ever had this you relate very well if not try your best to understand the concept.

I have had these multiple times. Lucid dreams. It is when you are in a dream and you suddenly realize you are dreaming. Think about it. Your consciousness is in a world not in the physical. You are literally somewhere else. How would you explain this? Nobody can. You're you, moving and interacting with things that are not "real" as we are taught. So dwell on that. You exist somewhere not in the physical world in these dreams. Can this be related to life after death? I believe so.

Credendovidis · Sep 21, 2008, 05:44 AM

Dear Fred,

I have to repeat my previous entry here, as some intolerant person has deleted my reply to you.

You asked : Do you hope for or believe in a life after this one?

My answer to that is :

No, I do NOT hope for any format of afterlife (not that I am afraid for "afterlife", but I see no reason for it to exist).

No, I do NOT believe in a life after this one.

One has to live NOW and plan one's life to live to the fullest. IF a God entity exists, I can not "see" that such entity would expect from any human being not to live to the fullest here on earth, instead of focusing completely on some claimed but unproved "afterlife".

Believe whatever you prefer to believe. Accept the Bible whatever way you prefer. For me it is just a compendium of stories written by people about a non-proved-to-exist God entity and a group of dessert people living between 3500 BC and 200 AD in the Middle East.

Have a nice day, Fred !

:rolleyes:

Credendovidis · Sep 21, 2008, 06:00 AM

Originally Posted by Altenweg

I hope, want to believe. The thought that I'll never see my parents again after I die is too much to bear....

That goes for all of us, I assume. The idea to rejoin all those loved ones who over the years fell away is gratifying. But common sense tells me that this is not possible.

At the same time the realisation of that impossibility may assist many to live their own lifes to the fullest, and show their interest and gratitude towards their parents and other loved-ones now, before they pass away.

To prevent that creepy feeling after some loved-one falls away (the feeling of "if I had done this in time", or "if I had visited him/her last week", or "if I had phoned two weeks ago", etc.), you should do NOW what should/can be done. The "hereafter" is no replacement for what you failed to do now.

And note dear Andrea : I do not mean YOU personally. I mean all of us.

:)

.