Life after death?

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a nice idea.... we'll find out soon enough

And pity for those who don't.

assuming the evangelical position is true (for the sake of argument) how can a person be happy in heaven knowing that people they loved in life are being tortured for eternity?

It won`t be a person any longer. It will be a soul, devoid of all earthly feelings, desires, anxieties etc.

@pawian
Sounds sad...and boring

that sounds more Buddhist than Christian...

Yes, exactly, it does. People generally have wrong ideas about eternal life. They suppose they will live their eartly lives and possess the same personalities in Heaven. Of course not.


Maybe, but I am afraid we need to get back on topic. :):)

to a faithless person that only has and knows worldly desires

Not necessarily....to feel no longer hunger or thirst for example, not needing to sleep etc. makes it much easier....to be freed of a body with it's many needs, dependencies and of course frailties and failings should rather bring an exponential rise of possibilities.


Hmmm....I hope that I will keep my "self"....my personality....I would miss me! :)

PS: Whereas I support the idea of an eternal soul (which existed since long bevor it started it's journey in this body and will keep on existing after it left this body) I'm not sold on the religious, human explanations like heaven or hell...

Easier but not necessarily better. All that is a part of life and I love it. Plus it also means no love, happiness or even orgasm ;P

Let`s be honest. Where is our personality located right now? In the brain. Are we going to keep it after death? No. That is why we can`t talk about being ourselves on the other side. In result of that transformation, your soul will certainly not miss anything.

That's the only part you know (remember)....

I could imagine being used to the freedoms of an ethereal existence the strict confinements of a bodily existence might seem quite "boring"! ;)


Why are you so sure?

When it's possible to exist "out of body" then that means you need no brain...you don't need the body for your ego at all.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-of-body_experience#OBE_training_and_research_facilities

Not to mention the masses of documented Near-Death-Experiences.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-death_experience

They all tell of an existence of your self without/outside the body...

Really I remember reading years ago that a number of odd things about the way human memory works suggest that memories are stored somewhere else and the brain is more a tuner than a receptacle...

When we die we face our ancestors if we are worthy. If we aren`t worthy we face some Pope of Rome or Patriarch of Constantinople who then provides us meetings with higher authorities.

Will souls find eternal sex?
----------------
- (Pope) Cardinals, I have good news for you. There is no sex after death!
- (Cardinals) What !? No sex after death? No... no... no... (and they all run away from the Pope)
- (Pope) Come back! Come back ... I'll renegotiate ...

Souls have no gender.


Exactly, worldly people have no Faith and walk by sight because that is all they know is what they see.
Spiritual people walk by Faith and trust in the Lord for their eternal salvation because they have surrendered their soul to God Almighty.
Worldly desires and goods bring short lived happiness and turn to dust where spiritual desires bring ever lasting happiness.
And God gave us the freedom to choose which road to take.

...hmm...I'm not sold on the concept of an allmighty god either....it's all to much human interpretation if you ask me...to put the (till now) unexplainable onto a pedestal and to worship it.

But being able to choose, our free will, is definitely a gift and a blessing which sets us apart.

and Who do you think gave us that gift and blessing to choose ?

No one. Why the assumption that there had to be someone? And bo, faith is not an argument

Getting back to my question.... assuming that the traditional Christian vision of heaven and hell is correct (for the sake of argument) how can a person be happy in heaven knowing that people they loved in life are being tortured for eternity?

Feeling of superiority ;) ?
I never actually thought about it from that angle. The same as try telling kids their beloved pets won't be there either...

Again all "worldly things" that turn to dust that are important to mortal man here on earth.
All of that 'stuff' is just stuff to our spiritual soul.
Putting the love for a dog ahead of the love for God should answer your own question.
Again, you are walking by sight instead of walking by Faith.

Why ahead? Maybe simply people don't consider such place very heavenly. But yeah, generally if I'm expected to forget my loved ones then screw such god

And all that 'walking by' is meaningless mantra that doesn't answer anything and is just a feel good phrase for you when you don't have a riposte

After your dog is dead that love soon dissipates and after a year or so you forget all about the mutt.
God's love however is for eternity.....
Do you know how long eternity is ?

not an appealing idea when you think about it....

Maybe you do.

Plus it's not even about the dog specifically. It's also our friends and family. The question is would I like to spend eternity next to such god... I don't think so.


When you attend religion classes it's always from the perspective that it's something you really want and god is great and all that. Nothing is being said about whether you'd actually like the god or heaven.

Yes, very good remark, near death. It is when the brain is still alive though the heart has stopped beating.

So, the out of body experiences are still the ones controlled by the brain. :)

Good question....I think I will only know for sure when my time has come to leave this body!


Even when the brain function flatlines?

In time your love for them diminishes too.


Oh I do, as He is a very loving God that wants to share His heaven with your soul for eternity.
You never did answer my question of how long eternity is.
Lenka, your dog, your family and your friends are all mortal to the world.
The world will soon be gone and then what ?
It's all about your personal relationship with God then and that is forever.
How long is forever ?


Guess you have attended the wrong religious classes.
The ones I attend are all about your personal relationship with God and how to make Him your best friend.
Lenka, no disrespect but you remind me of the Pharisees trying to trip up Jesus with their loaded questions,
Do you really want to learn or do you just want to argue ?

But who will torture you for eternity if you guess wrong in that brief time while you're alive...