Belief that life continues after death more beneficial?

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Varies based on the individual. That said, I've never understood people who say that they believe something because they prefer to believe that, because I don't see how they could sustain what, to me, seems like voluntary willful ignorance without serious cognitive dissonance.

Once again some one on WP confuses me gosh I hate it when that happens

On the subject of food, I believe the opposite: it was beneficial. Controling what could be eaten or under what condition makes sure that the food won't be toxic or dangerous. Obviously people don't go to hell for eating the wrong type of food at the wrong time, since hell doesn't actually exist, but that fear, false though it is, can be a good substitute for the true one: the food is dangerous, but people are too stupid to recognise it if it isn't spelled out as the will of God.

Evidently, the non-absolute quality of the principles defended by religion make them obsolete at times, like they are today. It may take some time before religions notices is food quality is scrutinised carefully enough that there is no need to make God come into the picture.

The point is, there is no objective benefit to always behaving virtuously, even though that behaviour might need to be encouraged because of its beneficial effects on other people. Saying that this or that is worth ten thousand years of purgatory can be effective. I, for myself, prefer to follow the best possible course from a (or my) consequentialist point of view. That does, however, take a lot of reflexion and a certain amount of self-denial. Some follow rules for the benefit of "the community", for their peers, their family, their colleagues, etc. In the end, even though it can be exploited by who makes the rules, as it often is, fear of punishment in the afterlife is just another such incentive, which has the benefit of being very easy to use for the common people. I don't see it as better or worse than the other, at least as long as people believe in it.

Me too.

I can't see how it is beneficial. Why waste what time you have here? The way I live would not change, regardless if the concept of "god" or whatever, turned out to be true or not.

As far as science can tell us now. we already know that energy is never destroyed or created, it just changes forms. Hence where we came from is more or less what we return to.

I highly doubt that in the process of energy changing forms, you somehow retain your consciousness, float up to heaven, only to be greeted next to the big pearly gates by saint peter. That just seems highly improbable to me.

No, the infamous snapcap lack of comprehension is at play once again

Thus Joker continues jacking off through postwhore cheerleading

Because that's what makes them happy. Why would you read a book? Why would I watch a movie? Because that's satisfying to the individual.

I have never understood it, either. I think it would be disruptive to my creativity if you want to know the honest truth. Latching onto a belief makes me feel like I'm shutting down a lot of ongoing projects, and I get the thought, "my house is going to burn down!" Skepticism is more comfortable because it feels to me like a ready and prepared state, like I know I'm running on all four cylinders.

I know people seem to do that, but I tend to assume it's something deeper than that. My own belief in an afterlife has grown out of several things. Reading about near death experiences when I was young, my experience of being with someone when they died, another experience that happened when someone related to me died clear across the country, reading about some fairly well verified cases of mediumship, and so on and so forth. It's an accumulation of things. Still, as I wrote earlier, it's not a strong belief. It's more that the accumulation of reasons makes me think that wow, this is all pointing in a certain direction and that is that there is a part of us that survives physical death.

But again I don't live my life for that. I live my life for what it is now. Certainly my spiritual beliefs, feelings, and questions about death affect how I live my life, but it's not as if I put more importance on what happens after I die than on what happens while I'm alive. I believe in living for today. To me death is a great mystery. Perhaps we have hints, perhaps it's a complete ending. No one knows. I don't fear death as much as I fear some means of death - or leaving something undone that I consider important, such as telling my loved ones that I love them, things like that. As cluttered as my life seems at times, I actually worry about leaving a mess behind for someone else. But I don't fear death. I see it as being like walking through a doorway. Behind that door is either nothing or something....

Is spirit energy? That's the question, isn't it? Is consciousness energy? We really don't know.

I will tell you why not believing in a life hereafter is useful. If you realize that you only go around once and at best for a limited number of years (if you live to be 100 you will have only 36,525 days), THEN you will learn to use what little time you have as wisely as you know how. Counting the day is a sure cure for procrastination and laziness.

People who think they will be with Jesus forever in heaven are not only kidding themselves, but promoting their own bad character traits.

Eternal Life is Eternal Boredom. It is worse than any Dantean conception of Hell.

ruveyn

Your just mad cause Snapcap owned you lol

I could see it being willful ignorance if there was actual proof to settle the matter, but there isn't, so I can't see how it is.

Yes.

I don't think Vigilans is up to expanding on his point better, maybe someone else could for him?

For some folk, it could be the opposite. They might not feel like their work is in vain if they just cease to exist. Also, if a group of people were being oppressed, and the group was divided by people that believed and didn't believe in an afterlife, which people would be more likely to fight their oppressors? The people who think this is it and enjoy it while it lasts, or the people that believe that there is a life beyond this, and their physical death here is just one of many. The people that believe in another life might be more spirited to make a move and try to over throw the people that control their lives in an undesirable way.



This is just opinion. Not all Christians are bad.



How do you know? If life after death is a reality, it's likely that you've been alive before. Are you bored now?

What else can be said about it? It is not hard to understand. One can imagine any situation they want and accept it over reality but it always amounts to self-delusion



I'm not mad at anything, especially not snapcap's misunderstanding of an analogy. I find your posting pointless, semi-literate exercises in dilettantism, cheer-leading like a yappy little dog barking at the heels of its big buddy "YEAH YOU TELL THEM BOSS!! !"

Yeah your mad don't like it when people gain up on ya ha