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Post by shep on Feb 2, 2007 6:36:01 GMT -5
do you believe that theres an afterlife?
just thinking about it yesterday. what are your views?
i know that i believe in heaven - and im hoping to have done enough good in my life so that i can become a guardian angel.
i believe that this world is a form of 'hell' as its a testing place - you have to prove your worthy of entering a serene, calm, relaxed, no hatred place like heaven. you are presented with many challenges/obstacles in life and you have try your best to overcome them. if you dont prove worth in your life you go to a nastier place - something similar to what i envision 'hell' to be like.
not sure i believe in reincarnation
what are your views?
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Post by Girl Power on Feb 2, 2007 13:04:48 GMT -5
Great question, Shep!
I hope this doesn't descend into any gay bashing or preaching. But if it does, we'll take care of it.
I want to warn everyone to be respectful of other's views. We can disagree with each other and still be respectful and non-attacking.
Anyway, I've said it before, but I am most fascinated by the stories of people who have died and been resuscitated. I have known several people who have had these experiences, including my own, very fundamentalist Christian grandfather.
About 25% of people who clinically die remember an experience of somehow leaving their bodies and feeling a great sense of peace than they've ever felt in their lives.
In addition, many people have been able to report going into another room or another place where their loved ones were far from their body and accurately describing what others were doing, saying, and wearing, when they were unconscious in another place. They could have had no real conscious knowledge of such remote events.
Many of these near death experiences also describe meeting beings of light or symbolic people from their own religion. Then they see their whole life shown to them from the perspective and feelings of the people they interacted with in their lives.
I'm not totally convinced their is an afterlife. I mean, there's always doubt, right, if you're realistic. But I think that if there is anything after life, then the reports of people who have actually been there have more credibility than various religions that have been created and changed by the leaders to increase their own power over others.
That's my take on the whole thing. But who knows for sure?
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gerry
Private Eye
Posts: 453
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Post by gerry on Feb 3, 2007 12:49:29 GMT -5
I've thought about this way too much through the years, and no matter what I always come back to the same conclusion:
I won't know for sure until I'm dead, and there is no way around that.
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Post by scullow on Feb 3, 2007 13:12:34 GMT -5
If there is I think I might be getting a burnt ass when I am dead.
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Post by Girl Power on Feb 3, 2007 15:31:34 GMT -5
I've thought about this way too much through the years, and no matter what I always come back to the same conclusion: I won't know for sure until I'm dead, and there is no way around that. Well, there's the rub. None of us will.
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Post by monkeycop on Feb 3, 2007 17:29:45 GMT -5
I am confident there is an afterlife (heaven and hell) because of my Christian faith.
Once I had a dream, back when I was in high school, that I spoke with my long dead grandfather. I'm not sure if it was real or a dream, but it sure seemed real, and I awoke the next morning feeling like I had really had said goodbye to him in this life, like I never really had the chance to do before.
You are all quite correct, there is no way for sure to prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there is an afterlife. I personally don't feel that I need a belief system to act as a "symbolic safety blanket" for me to feel better about dying. Honestly, if we just winked out into nothingness at the end of our lives, there really wouldn't be anything to fear since we would cease to be aware of anything at all. However, I don't believe we go into nothingness. After studying the bible, and observing the way life tends to work, and by taking into account the experiences of myself, and those around me, I believe I'm beginning to see a method to the madness, believe it or not. I'm not going to preach to anybody(even though as Christians we are encouraged to spread the word of Christ). However, I would like to respectfully say, it's worth your time to explore the bible again, if not for the first time.
I believe faith in the afterlife, or anything else for that matter must be built, and maintained over the course of your life. As skeptical as my nature is, I can tell you honestly that I didn't just arrive at my level of faith overnight.
I hope this hasn't come across as "preachy" or having something you don't want imposed on you. I admit it is hard for me to talk about the afterlife, and not associate it with my religious beliefs, but please try and understand, for a Christian to say that they want to see you ALL in heaven is about the highest honor he or she can bestow on a person. Even if that person chooses to reject the notion.
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Post by shondrasu on Feb 10, 2007 9:54:02 GMT -5
Shep, I agree at lot with your views of afterlife/Heaven and the world. I think if people really look at the world and not just the things on the surface of it. Getting a Great Job, Falling in love, Having the Best Car, Making the most money, etc. If they really looked at the spirtual side of life, they would understand how life really works. A lot of things in life are distractions from helping each other, loving each other, growing spiritually and discovering God. Sometimes It really bugs me that people complain about things that are meaningless/superficial and yet ignore so much true suffering in life. lol, but then I have to let that go too because that will distract me. back to the topic, I 100% believe in an afterlife. It is part of my christian faith but even before I became a christian which was really in my late 20s. When I was very young, I use to have dreams about Heaven/God. I remembered the feeling of being in heaven and I still do. I agree that no one really knows till they die, unless they have a profound experience that connects them to the truth.
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Post by Girl Power on Feb 10, 2007 12:11:01 GMT -5
Shep, I agree at lot with your views of afterlife/Heaven and the world. I think if people really look at the world and not just the things on the surface of it. Getting a Great Job, Falling in love, Having the Best Car, Making the most money, etc. If they really looked at the spirtual side of life, they would understand how life really works. A lot of things in life are distractions from helping each other, loving each other, growing spiritually and discovering God. Sometimes It really bugs me that people get so distracted by things that are meaningless/superficial and yet ignore so much true suffering in life. lol, but then I have to let that go too because that will distract me. I agree with you 100%, Shondra. I think that people let really superficial things that don't matter distract them from the the suffering of others and making a difference with the things that really matter.
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Ms.Hilton
Private Eye
High Society Bitch
Love my Minime
Posts: 92
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Post by Ms.Hilton on Feb 12, 2007 4:55:06 GMT -5
There are so many theorys about it, to be honest I have no Idea what to think
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