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I'm just curious about something. Atheists (if I understand correctly) believe that death is the end of our existence and that nothing more follows. When the bodily organs shut down and brain activity ceases, that's it. I realize that when you are convinced that this is how it is, it's difficult to try to imagine any other alternative. But try, if you can, to imagine that at the instant you died, you did not actually cease to exist but had full self-awareness and were as cognizant of your surroundings as you were at any time in your life. You realized that you no longer had a body, but that part of you that theists call your spirit was still fully alert and real.
What would your response be?
(I'm looking for serious answers, and I will report sarcasm and flippant responses.)
I'm just curious about something. Atheists (if I understand correctly) believe that death is the end of our existence and that nothing more follows. When the bodily organs shut down and brain activity ceases, that's it. I realize that when you are convinced that this is how it is, it's difficult to try to imagine any other alternative. But try, if you can, to imagine that at the instant you died, you did not actually cease to exist but had full self-awareness and were as cognizant of your surroundings as you were at any time in your life. You realized that you no longer had a body, but that part of you that theists call your spirit was still fully alert and real.
What would your response be?
(I'm looking for serious answers, and I will report sarcasm and flippant responses.)
I don't know that that is what atheists necessarily believe. I've never quite understood why a disbelief in god necessitates a disbelief in 'spirit'.
If it turns out life doesn't end as such, I may well be delighted...with the caveat that I'd need to know more about it... do we get to meet out ancestors, our pets, famous people etc? I don't think that I want to be a spirit in isolation, or just be kind of floating about in the ether for eternity - I need more details. The truth is I don't think any of us can possibly know if there is a spirit world or not. I think it is unlikely, however I have a whole plethora of stories from friends and family about 'feelings' people have had after loved ones had died. I've had a few experiences like that myself, so I'm not necessarily ruling it out. I don't believe in an afterlife as such but I'm not ruling out some kind of 'imprint' left behind. That's the best I can explain it.
However, I live my life under the assumption that this is the only life you get, because that encourages you to cram more in and do better things with it. If I'm wrong than at least I'll have had a crammed life. If however I've been living under the assumption that I can just fit it in the afterlife so I wont bother now, then I think that's a waste.
Well, I guess that depends where I'm at. If you mean like my spirit just falls out of my body and the spirit is in the world as I left it, I guess that'd be cool. I could watch humanity progress. I feel like eventually I'd get bored.
Question: when I'm a ghost (that may as well be what I call it in that particularly scenario), can I fly? If not, the experience would be horrendously boring.
Now, if I wake up in some kind of heaven, that'd be different. While I think the idea of what heaven looks like will be different for every person, I'd like it to be (assuming it's real) a place a lot like Earth, but more diverse and pure. I'd also like it to have an option to 'watch' over Earth. And maybe an option to be reborn; depends how exciting heaven is.
Or if I'm reincarnated; that'd be cool.
Or maybe what happens when we die is so incredibly absurd that no one's even thought it up yet. Who knows. No one. Literally know one. I don't necessarily consider myself atheist, but I wouldn't say I'm totally sold on one religion either. Each religion has it's strong points, and as a guy, Jesus seemed to have a pretty good philosophy on life. But is there a god? Who knows. I hope so sometimes, but I also hope the Bible (or whatever text) got some details wrong and there's some mystery to who this guy truly is.
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Literally, like, "I'm screwed" or in a good way?
