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The idea intrigues me, and in a way, it'd be cool to be that 'immortal guy' who can tell stories in great detail about things that happened 100 years ago. Imagine getting to experience the birth of democracy, the end of slavery, modern medicine, electricity, clean water, and the technological age in a life time. But then there's the flip side; dealing with a life time of war, tragedy, and sorrow. All of your friends and family will die. Sure, you'll get to meet your great-great-great-great grandchildren, which has never happened before, but at what cost?
Honestly, I don't think I would. Assuming the decision can't be taken back anyway.
Also, would I age? Obviously I'd have to stop at some point, but would I look noticeably 200 years old after 200 years, or could I pass for 30?
If you could live forever in a "paradise" like the traditional Christian heaven, (where nobody is old and you are reunited with lost loved ones) would you take it?
At first glance that seems like it would be great. But I think after the first trillion years I'd start to go nuts.
If you could live forever in a "paradise" like the traditional Christian heaven, (where nobody is old and you are reunited with lost loved ones) would you take it?
At first glance that seems like it would be great. But I think after the first trillion years I'd start to go nuts.
It would depend on the nature of the experience. I'm relatively sure that I would need the oppotunity to grow and experience new things. Nirvana does not sound all that attractive for that reason, but I guess bliss is bliss, hey? As to the original question, it isn't an either/or situation; I'm happy with what I have, additional would be gravy.
If you could live forever in a "paradise" like the traditional Christian heaven, (where nobody is old and you are reunited with lost loved ones) would you take it?
At first glance that seems like it would be great. But I think after the first trillion years I'd start to go nuts.
Just curious, have you ever lost someone who was extremely close to you? I'm just asking as a reference point, really. I like to know other people's experiences when discussing certain things so I can understand a little more of what they see out of their eyes. (You don't have to answer, if this is too personal of a question.)
As to your question, I tend to think that time is only really relevant in this world...
What if we move onto another dimension where time really doesn't exist, and you are living in the moment, in the now? Have you ever been so engrossed in an activity or project where you lose all track of time, and hours pass and you don't even realize it? That state of mind, I wonder, if that is a small taste of something beyond. It's a pretty awesome feeling when you are so engrossed and content and at peace with what is happening, that time is just this irrelevant thing.
Hmmm, Just some random thoughts.
Last edited by .sparrow.; 01-23-2015 at 06:56 PM..
If given the opportunity, would you choose to live forever? Or are you ok with living for a finite time?
I just want too see what people think. I think this could be an interesting thread.
I can not imagine not existing forever, and luckily I have no choice but to do that. Of course I don't mean living forever here on Earth. I LOVE life and living and existing and loving and everything, and I am thankful to God that it never ends.
Oh and there is no time, so the trillion years is irrelevant.
If given the opportunity, would you choose to live forever? Or are you ok with living for a finite time?
I just want too see what people think. I think this could be an interesting thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Freak80
If you could live forever in a "paradise" like the traditional Christian heaven, (where nobody is old and you are reunited with lost loved ones) would you take it?
Live for eternity with a god who would allow the majority of people to exist in eternal torment for not believing the correct things? If given the choice, hell no, because that would be like living under the rule of the likes of Hitler or a crime boss (to the infinite power) for eternity. How is that paradise/heaven?
Given the option of living forever under different circumstances? It depends on the circumstances.
If you could live forever in a "paradise" like the traditional Christian heaven, (where nobody is old and you are reunited with lost loved ones) would you take it?
At first glance that seems like it would be great. But I think after the first trillion years I'd start to go nuts.
The problem with the 'traditional Christian version' is that there really isn't one. Different denominations have different official views, then members of different denominations have different views and so on. And while I'm not Bible expert, scripture is pretty vague about what heaven is actually like.
Generally, many Christians seem to illustrate one of two views: 1) floating on clouds, drenched in golden light or B) greet pastures and clear skied. Neither sounds appealing. There would need to be stuff to do. Few people seem to really speculate that part of it. Never once have I heard someone ask if heaven has libraries, or museums, or cities, or art, or internet. Why? These seem important.
If I could go to a museum to see original Greek art without the erosion of time (fun fact: the classic marble statues we think of now were actually painted back in the day), I would. If I could experience the Library of Alexandria, I would. If I could meet Gandhi or Lincoln or MLK, I would. If I could watch a Shakespearean play in which Shakespeare was actually in, I would. If I could do things like that, further my own experiences, I would want to go to heaven because in theory, there would always be something to do.
But then again, there's a finite number of things that interest me, even if there is an infinite number of things to do.
The afterlife is native to us as no one alive has experienced it, if it's even there. How one views it depends entirely on their world view. For some, eternal afterlife seems impossible. When you die, you die. For some, that's hard to imagine though. I'd say it's simple; what was life like before you were born? Well, that's what death is like. And I'm more than aware that there is a very likely scenario where I'll die and that's it. But then again, maybe I'll die at an old age and wake up on a fluffy bed in a magical palace in heaven looking and feeling like I'm 28 years old. For some, that's hard to imagine, but it's probably no different than waking up from a deep sleep. And while I wouldn't place money on that being what actually happens, I can't really rule it out as I don't have enough information to do so.
If given the opportunity, would you choose to live forever? Or are you ok with living for a finite time?
I just want too see what people think. I think this could be an interesting thread.
Yes.
I was having a conversation with someone who said that they are thrilled not to have eternal life because it would eventually become the worst fate imaginable.
While that might eventually be the case...for now I want eternal life. At this moment in time, I'd want an eternal life in a similar body as the one I have now. The most ideal state I can think of would be, that we've cured aging and have developed the technology to grow replacement bodies for ourselves and upload our memories into those bodies.
Maybe they could do something about the eventual boredom like modifying our brains so that they don't get bored as easily and can hold more information. Perhaps when our brains could get filled to the point that they can't hold any more information, we could develop the technology to delete some of it to make room for more, or even do a full memory wipe and start over.
I could picture our descendants looking back and thinking how could people live that way? To which we might answer: The same way the people before us did it, and before them, all the way back to the first primate that stood on two legs. We became used to our lives and dealt with them as best we could. We humans can be tremendously adaptable and one person's hell could be another's cozy home.
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