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Personal Beliefs?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Tabb, Jan 12, 2013.

  1. Tabb

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    This is something I have been struggling with a lot lately. As a kid, I often prayed every night. I would make a lazy-but-dedicated prayer to god asking him to say hi, one by one, to my mother and others who died. I eventually grew out of that, and started thinking for myself. Now I sit around trying not to think about it too hard, because what I believe in is reincarnation.

    But the thought of that scares me. It scares me to know that, despite my low self esteem, I might have a husband and a good life one day and it will be for naught. It scares me to know that one day I might be on my deathbed, crying my eyes out because I'd be going off and leaving everything I worked for behind. That I'd have no memory of the people I came to love... that there's a chance I may be an entirely different being. I have a low self esteem, but I like who I am much more than I like a lot of people in this world.

    But... the thing is, it's hard for me to believe in anything besides reincarnation. I don't believe we just turn into nothingness, and I really doubt we go to some eternal heaven after we die. The only thing that eases my mind is the thought that maybe in every life you live, you are still connected to the same people. Even if you may not ever realize it. But even then, it still scares me.
     
  2. BoiGeorge

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    I used to practice Buddhism which teaches that reincarnation is what happens when we die. But since reconverting to Christianity, which teaches that when we die, we go to either heaven or hell, I have a much more peaceful mindframe on what happens after death. I am not scared of death. In fact zi am looking forward to it! Going to heaven for all eternity to be with all my christian loved ones for all eternity. This is just my view on it all :slight_smile:
     
  3. TheUglyBarnacle

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    I am an atheist but, to be completely honest, I couldn't believe in heaven and hell even when I was a Christian. The idea that when I die I will be judged on what I have done and then be sent to heaven, a place with angels, constant God-praising etc, or hell, a place of torture and pain,has always sounded absurd to me.
    I've always believed that there is nothing after we die. Unconsciousness. Like a never-ending, dreamless sleep. We finally rest in peace. It gives me motivation to enjoy my life and be a good person. I don't have to be good in order to get a ticket to heaven. I am good because I am human. I am not scared of death (more than the average person that is). We get one shot at life. Better not waste it.
     
  4. Jim

    Jim
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    I don't believe in anything. I think when we die, we're just gone. Our consciences are just made up of complicated neurones and brain matter. Once that is starved of Oxygen, our consciences will cease to exist. The energy of our biomass in our bodies will decompose and be digested by microorganisms and we will replenish the soil with our decay. So in a way, we are reincarnated, but so is every living organism. Energy isn't created or destroyed, just dissipated.
    I'm not scared at all of death. I welcome it, though I no-longer search it out. I'm fully aware of the tiny impact we make on this universe and how insignificant we are. We have life, not for a reason, but we do have it, so it's best to make the most of it to the best of your ability, as once it's gone, it's gone. I do not believe in an afterlife, and I would hate to have one. Death is a release to me, and to be brought back and end up in an eternity of life in heaven would be my personal hell.
     
  5. Hexagon

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    I have trouble with both heaven and reincarnation, though of the two, reincarnation seems more probable, though still unlikely. Why do you believe the soul is a separate entity from the body? Neurobiology would suggest that your 'self', thoughts and memories are a byproduct of physical processes that cease when you die.

    But in the end, whatever people's supernatural claims, they can't be entirely sure of what will happen after death. So my advice is to live a good life and be a good person. And if you do reincarnate, then you'll either be with those you love, or you'll find others to love. Just as, according to your beliefs, you've left behind those you loved in a previous life.
     
  6. Dalmatian

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    So what you are afraid of is losing something you don't yet have. You think that having a husband and children will make your life so good that on your deathbed you will be struck with sorrow over saying goodbye to them. Ok, all other things aside, doesn't that show you that what you are hoping for is happiness in this life? No matter whether you will die and disappear, die and go to heaven or die and reincarnate, you still are going to live this life. So don't anticipate nostalgia over things that are yet to come. Enjoy them, otherwise you could miss out on them while waiting for them to disappear.
     
  7. Incognito10

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    I am now an atheist but was intensely into Christianity up until the age of about 21. I do not believe anything happens after death. I believe we simply cease to exist--like before we were born, except hopefully we will leave behind some positive after effects once we're gone :slight_smile: And when I really think about it, that is a comfort in a way--all of the thoughts about heaven and hell and where do I stand were terrifying.
     
  8. Owen

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    Of course it won't be for naught. You will have enjoyed having that good life. You will have brought some joy into the life of other people (your husband, your friends, your family, etc.).

    If we are mundane creatures (as I believe we are), then we only cause undue pressure on ourselves by demanding that we leave something everlasting after we die (be it salvation, our soul reincarnating, whatever). The way I see it, we are only human, so there is no greater purpose in the world than to make the lives of other humans better, to leave a positive impact on this mundane world of ours. But even if you don't do that, your life still wasn't wasted if you enjoyed the ride.

    Just make sure you don't get so bogged down in worrying about whether it's all worth it that you neglect to make it all worth it. :slight_smile:
     
  9. aconite

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    I was a Buddhist, and wasn't a good one. I've been questioning things since I was little and thus become an atheist since frankly, religion is nonsense to me. Not that I'm against people having religion, I just don't feel the need to believe is such things.

    I couldn't say what will we become after we die, heck I haven't died yet. Maybe we'll just disappear, or maybe we'll reincarnate, or sent to heaven or hell. But none of us know for sure right?

    There are some good nature in beliefs, in conclusion they all point to one thing: be a good person, think about your life carefully. More importantly enjoy it. We don't know what happened after we die, so why worry when we have no control about it? Think about what to do in life, no need to think far ahead as long you kept in mind that you can live a good life for yourself and people that you will leave behind. They will remember you and your life will never be in for nothing.
     
  10. I was raised Catholic, so I was raised with the idea of Heaven and Hell like other Catholics are. The afterlife scares me too. Ever since I was realized I was bisexual, I was always afraid I was going to Hell for it.
     
  11. ameliawesome

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    ultimately i trust the universe, that everything that happens is meant to happen. i also believe that anything any human being can think up about the afterlife probably isn't accurate, because i don't believe that we are meant to know all of the answers. this plane of existence is meant for experience, observation, physical connection, spirit building. of course, like i said, i don't believe i know all of the answers :slight_smile: so i'm happy to learn new things and think new ideas as life continues.
     
  12. Eatthechildren

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    I'm an atheist. But I don't fear death, because I understand what will happen. I will die, and cease to exist, and what made me will flow out of "me" and into something else :slight_smile: And in that way, we're all liquids :slight_smile:
     
  13. FranklinK

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    I think it is all crap. When you die you die. Religion was once necessary to motivate, organize, and keep peace in civilizations/tribes. Back in the dark ages when there was fucking chaos and even before that when paganism was a huge thing. Religion is a tool people used to make all the bullshit in life worth it and to give themselves peace of mind about the unknown.

    I honestly don't think religion is necessary anymore and I think the world would be a better place without it all together as far as peace and equal rights goes. A lot of people ask me what I believe in if I don't believe in religion in general. I just tell them that I believe in tomorrow. There aren't any inconsistencies with time and whether I'm dead or alive tomorrow will still be here. Which is more reliable than some old book written by the hand of man not the hand of 'god' and has been revised and rewritten too many times to count.

    Religion is a tool for control and a cash house. That is my personal belief.
     
  14. I'm neutral on religion. Maybe one of them is true, and maybe not. Maybe athiesm is true, or maybe the truth is something we haven't considered yet. I don't rightly know, and I'm not about to guess, so I just observe (I enjoy the subject of religious studies) without becoming an adherant.
     
  15. SeerOfHeart

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    I'm very neutral in terms of religion. I don't specifically believe in an entity such as god, but I don't necessarily believe that there's nothing out there either. I guess that makes me a bit of an agnostic, but I don't label myself as that either.

    I tend to just observe and respect other people's religions and beliefs, and there are bits and pieces that I do agree with from many of them, though most of these are centered on morality rather than faith. I try to stay open to most ideas, however some more farfetched ones just rub me the wrong way.

    And as for the afterlife, I don't know. I'd honestly rather focus on the time I have now than what might happen when I'm gone. I guess we'll all just find out when we die, huh?
     
  16. aeva

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    I agree with this, although my reason for believing so is that even though I am an atheist, I think if anything WERE to be out there (whether it's a higher being or an alternate plane of existence), it is so far beyond the realms of human imagination that it's sort of ridiculous to even speculate about.

    Personally, I believe, as somebody else mentioned, that after we die it is exactly the same as before we were born. It's not blackness, it's simply nothing. A lack of consciousness. And that is much more comforting to me than the idea of an afterlife could ever be. I have a hard enough time with the idea of being forced to live out THIS life that the notion of eternity is disturbing, terrifying and immensely depressing.