Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes, I have never been in any doubt about his views. However, shortly after he died, there were some numbnuts claiming that his interment in Westminster Abbey meant that he had requested a Christian burial before he died.
Anyone smart enough to appreciate Hawking knew how abysmally stupid that idea was, but some did buy it.
I want to hear about the perhaps-nonexistent phenomenon of the deathbed deconversion...which people were religious all their blissfully ignorant lives before finally deconverting when afflicted with suffering in their final moments? Instead of the 'problem of evil', call it being blindsided by the problem of mortality.
Yes. The thought had crossed my mind once or twice. But in my case i can't imagine anything more in the final seconds apart from regrets that i never made the Mile -high club, that thinking: "Well, now we find out...."
It might be a nice tactic to field, but I don't really believe it, so I never think of using it. It's easier for the Theist side, they don't care whether they believe it or not (never mind whether it's credible or not) just so it wins them a point. And, as i say, Theists think in terms of the One -point win. If the point is actually a relevant one, it's virtually proof that God is real.
Hawking never had a near-death experience. In death, he has found out otherwise.
Or more likely not. Have you experienced death to know if nde are even similar to actual death? Otherwise you are projecting your belief as an actual proven fact. Let the man die and be remembered for who he was not used to push a religion upon him that he did not belief
Yes. The thought had crossed my mind once or twice. But in my case i can't imagine anything more in the final seconds apart from regrets that i never made the Mile -high club, that thinking: "Well, now we find out...."
It might be a nice tactic to field, but I don't really believe it, so I never think of using it. It's easier for the Theist side, they don't care whether they believe it or not (never mind whether it's credible or not) just so it wins them a point. And, as i say, Theists think in terms of the One -point win. If the point is actually a relevant one, it's virtually proof that God is real.
To posit a possibility consistent with my views: If it IS our goal in this life to achieve a state of mind in agape love for all, it is certainly possible that we could do so at the very end of our life. Of course, all the nonsense about what you believe about anything muddies the waters considerably, but In my view, that is totally irrelevant. If you sincerely come to realize that love is the answer to life and sincerely achieve that loving state of mind, that CAN happen in mere moments at the end of life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
Personally, I think that most deathbed conversions (and I think are some) are merely a CYA situation, rather than any real belief.
I agree, but their insincerity and focus on the wrong things do not speak well for their likelihood of success, IMO.
Pretty hard to find out something when your brain no longer functions.
You assume that the brain which produces the entity known as YOU is responsible for how that entity functions after it has been produced. We DO know that our decisions are made before the brain responses can be recorded. We are living in a delayed "broadcast" of our actual Self as it makes decisions once formed by brain activity preceding our awareness. It is that entity (YOU) who is formed by the brain but not part of it that survives our physical death. It clearly has the decisionmaking and thought capabilities once formed without the need for the brain that formed it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes. The thought had crossed my mind once or twice. But in my case i can't imagine anything more in the final seconds apart from regrets that i never made the Mile -high club, that thinking: "Well, now we find out...." 
surely not. They can't suppose God is fooled by that? Reminds me of a Peanut's cartoon
