asdf forums

Topic one:

So I was thinking
About religion earlier this week and I've found three points of discussion to start with.

1. Do you believe there is a higher power? If so, in what form (please no disrespect to other's beliefs)

2. What is your opinion on "the afterlife"?

3.What is your opinion on atheists as a people? for example do you feel they are offensive? (I'm trying not to put words in your mouth)

I do not feel there. Is a higher power as such, just that the universe is one entity that has always existed, but is constantly changing, with births and deaths occuring frequently. It'ts kind
Of like how a Portuguese man of war is.

I don't think t here is an afterlife... I believe that when something dies it is replaced as a cell would be but not reincarnated, because if you cannot remember anything from a past life
then it's hard to prove you are the same person.

By giving Atheism a name, you almost making it a sect, with it having a set of beliefs and large number of "followers" who preach to others. If, instead of claiming to be atheist, you quietly denied the existance of a
God, you wouldn't be thought of as one of the things to so adamantly dislike ( for want of a better word).

I think there must be a higher power, because people believe in it. if people believe in it it is true to them and it exists to them. but the whole notion of the higher power contacting us physically and such is rather far-fetched.

Afterlife...don't think about it that much. we'll see when we see.

atheists don't believe in god so to them there is no god. we all see only what we want to see whether they exist or not, and there is no sure way of confirming this so in a sense maybe we're all just living in our own world.

when i think about this kind of topic, i try to drive it out of my mind. it scares me in a way. especially afterlife.
1. it is possible that there is a higher power. it could be in the form of an organization of aliens trying to see how life would end up if they put life in a being that is far less superior to it. or life could be a gift from God.

2. when i think of afterlife, i think, after we die, do we stay in darkness? or do we go up to the heavens/hell and stay there? or are we reincarnated? or are we reincarnated after we go to the heavens/hell and have the purpose of life explained to us which we will have no memory of because we will be reincarnated? if u look at all these possibilities, it may seem that are souls are immortal.

3. it doesn't matter to me what atheists think, as long as they dont keep bothering me by saying, " GOD ISNT REAL! GOD ISNT REAL!"

I think there is a god, but I am not very religious. I never go to church and I don't really really believe the bible. But I think somthing may have created it all.

I have no idea. Seriously, I don't really know about this stuff, or if it could be dangerous. It'd be cool if we could spend the time we wished as ghosts and reincarnated when we wished (if such thing exists). I have always wondered about this, because, I think from a skeptical point of view, at death you'd be permanently unconscious, like when you faint or sleep. You don't feel the time pass, you just wake up. So, that's almost a paradox. What would happen? That's the biggest mystery of life to me. (or of death) For that, I thought: I wonder if I grow up to be a very great person, like someone who made a big discovery, when I died, in the near future, when someone found a way to bring ppl back to life, would they bring me back to life as I was such a genius? That'd be awesome, and it would end my agony of having to find out how death is. (that being, of course, very sceptic.)

As of atheists, I have nothing against them. It is their way of thinking, and no one can punish one for what they think, that is everyone's right anywhere, anytime. It'd be extremely [word that descrbes something very, very, very wrong] to do so.

Very interesting, I'm glad you brought this up...

1. No I do not, most of you know this already . I think the evidence against it has made it very unlikely that there is a higher power, especially one who interferes with humans on a daily basis.

2. I think it's about the same as Arkie says, but that you don't wake up. You never wake up. It would be like falling asleep, without any dreams or nightmares, and then you never wake up. Of course you have no concious when your dead or anything. I think it's why some people call death the eternal sleep...

3. Being an atheist myself I think highly of them . I also think that we should have right to critise others beliefs...

1. No and yes.. definitely not in a physical, material way. And not higher power as in "an entity that has the power to rule every aspect of your life", no. I don't believe in an entity like that. What i do believe is more like a "philoshopical" God, that could be a bit similar to christianity's holy spirit. It doesn't reign, it doesn't "do" any kind of action, all it does is it exists as a form of truth, light, absolute positiveness, and as a collective subconscious of humanity..
(and thus, it's not a type of thing you can actually prove or disprove, especially not scientifically.)
(i know it sounds abstract and too esoteric, well, for me it is like this.)

2. I don't care much about afterlife.. i think we just cease to exist. We do have a soul (at least most of us, heh), but if our body dies, our brain dies, our memories and thoughts fade, then the soul is just not a complete being.. At least that's how i see it, we are complete beings with body, mind and soul. These don't function on their own.
Having said that, it could be possible that after death, our soul rejoins "God" and/or gets into another new body, but it won't matter much.

edit:

Shai'tan wrote:I think it's why some people call death the eternal sleep...

the brain is quite active during sleeping..

3.

bookgeek98 wrote:it doesn't matter to me what atheists think, as long as they dont keep bothering me by saying, " GOD ISNT REAL! GOD ISNT REAL!"

Same here. Also, i hate it when they say things like humanity would be better off without believers, it's just like racism.

Atom wrote:

Shai'tan wrote:I think it's why some people call death the eternal sleep...

the brain is quite active during sleeping..

I believe he meant the fact that we are unconscious.

this is sort of related to religion, but not really...
I read this book about these guys who keep seeking for a higher power. they gave numbers to each level of power they found and the book goes really in depth but here's the numbers.
0 - egg
1 - mineral
2 - plant
3 - animal
4 - human
5 - sage or enlightened human
6 - angel
7 - god
8 - god of gods
9 - galaxy
10 - universe
then 111 which is the reader. (the ones represent pages) the book ends with the characters discovering that they are a part of a book. so here's what I've been thinking. what if everything in our world is part of a book? then the reader would have created us for his own enjoyment in his/her mind, but not have direct control over what we do. it's a totally absurd idea, but I just thought it was interesting and it also goes the other way ie the books we read actually creates worlds so we are the gods to the "fictional" world.

Can I post here pls?!... Kay...

1. As most of you know, I do not believe in higher power, there has been no proof of a higher power influencing... Stuff...

2. In detention I've read a lot about near death experiences, I don't think completely understand what happens after death... And I think there is no actual way of finding out without die-ing... When people die, they hover above their dead body, they have the ability to read thoughts, see every tiniest detail, look through roofs and stuff, they can be from a small distance above their body to great distances, it is believed that in the past, before there were spaceships who could confirm the earth was a sphere, a guy, who zoomed way out when having one such experience saw the entire earth with continents and stuff, he described it very accurately... Then all of the sudden some people get into a tunnel, sometimes fast sometimes slow, and go towards the light at the end. At the end is everything you like, people have described a huge bed of flowers with beautiful colours and a great smell, lovely music was playing and they had the feeling that they completely understand the world, know everything... In this environment is a person, which you feel like it's your goal to go towards him, once there you arrive at heavens gate, this is as far as is know about near death experiences, probably after the gate you'll be dead... People who are in coma, who arrive at heavens gate, sometimes see someone who recently died during their coma and couldn't not know about... It is a mystery... Other people (even the most religious people), get pitch black darkness, a rotten feeling and keep falling and falling, the most unpleasant feeling...

3.If there are atheists who try to convince others into atheism, then I don't like it, some need to accept others beliefs, tough this counts both-ways... But I haven't got any trouble with it particularly...

EDIT: Thinger, that is one idea, tough I'm a Darwinist (I think) and don't associate animals on a lower level then humans...
EDIT2: Also about this thread, it is to share thoughts, not to discuss and come to one final outcome where we all should be happy with, so the title is -I think- misleading...
EDIT3: Well then thinger, you've discovered it? So this is the end of the world?

I'm glad Atom, bookgeek and I (and maybe CX) are on the same page with the last subject... I also very much dislike the way they complain about others beliefs being completely wrong, especially when they act offended when their beliefs are questioned.

We can move on to another subject if everyone is ready... I have a few Ideas but I would prefer suggestions from others.

Perhaps I put it wrong, but I also believe that people are free to believe what they want. I just think that you should be able to critize religion as a whole. Also, religion shouldn't have anything to do with politics, but unfortunately it does many places, like in the US...

Arkannine wrote:

Atom wrote:

Shai'tan wrote:I think it's why some people call death the eternal sleep...

the brain is quite active during sleeping..

I believe he meant the fact that we are unconscious.

It's as Arkie says. Like when you fall asleep, but you don't dream, you just wake up like no time has passed, only that you don't wake up if you're dead...

CX gamer wrote: 3.If there are atheists who try to convince others into atheism, then I don't like it, some need to accept others beliefs, tough this counts both-ways... But I haven't got any trouble with it particularly...

Well, religious people tries to convert non-religious people all the time, I think that aethists should be able to spread their way of thinking too...

Sorry, you can move on to the next topic now

CX gamer wrote: EDIT: Thinger, that is one idea, tough I'm a Darwinist (I think) and don't associate animals on a lower level then humans...
EDIT3: Well then thinger, you've discovered it? So this is the end of the world?

those were just ideas in a book...and I thought it was interesting enough to share

It was... CX was just being CX...

... Yes...

*Opens pandora's box*
What -do you think- is the meaning of life?!...

1. Do you believe there is a higher power? If so, in what form (please no disrespect to other's beliefs)
I believe there is a God, silly as that may sound to some, but I really do. I believe that, down the lines of translating the Bible, some things were mistranslated, or maybe not even written in there after a period of time, which is why it contradicts itself in some readings.


2. What is your opinion on "the afterlife"?
I believe it's there, only I don't believe there is a hell. Just heaven. It doesn't make sense to me, that God would say, "I forgive all sins," but then turn around and place sinners in hell.


3.What is your opinion on atheists as a people? for example do you feel they are offensive? (I'm trying not to put words in your mouth)
No, I don't feel they are offending anyone or anything. It's their own belief.



And, CX I believe the meaning of life is for the individual to decide for themselves.

DomTar275 wrote:And, CX I believe the meaning of life is for the individual to decide for themselves.

Hmmm... Yes... I'd give this answer an 7/10...

Personally I think the meaning of life is a wrong question to ask in the first place...

The afterlife makes no sense whatsoever to me, neither does the reincarnation

In the afterlife do you still have the same body, with the same age, for the eternity? I'd rather die at 20 than at 85. Do all species have an afterlife? Because some animals did extinct so we could rise up as a specie, wouldn't it be the chaos up there. Walk by the great doors of heaven and get attacked by a velociraptor? How rude.

About reincarnation, what would be the point exactly if you don't remember. If there is absolutely nothing after life, then you don't remember either. Your soul is not more instructed or anything because you learn from your experiences, and those memories are gone

Your personality is influenced by your body, (genes, ADN, etc.), therefore, no body, no personality, no afterlife (or we're all just vegetables in heaven)

I'm gonna tell you exactly what will happen when you die ... same thing as before you were born

Unexisting...

For religion, I do believe in God, and that He has the power to help those in need. I also believe that somehow we make our own fate in the end, but the Lord is always there to help guide us. If we accept Him and His help, then our lives can be richer and more fullfilling.

As for the Afterlife, I refuse to believe that when we die, there is just nothing. There has to be something. There is always a before, during, and after. And we are currently in the "during" stage. So what do I think is in the afterlife? Heaven? Paradise? In a way, yeah. God is forgiving and loving and caring, and so long as we accept him, I believe we can live with our passed-on relatives and those who we love.

And the meaning of life? Well, doesn't it seem to be quite often we hear that question? In fact, it almost seems that it is the meaning of life to search for the meaning of life. But other than that, I think that the true meaning to life is to live. Live it loud and proud and to the fullest, make every moment count, and do what you love.

^^these are my opinions. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Anthrax in chain letters?

Excellent response!...