What do you think happens after death?

Hotblack Desiato

I don't recall the GAA or Bruce Springsteen laying out a dogma for how I should live my life, or threatening me with eternal hellfire if I displease them.

You didn't answer my question, how do you define religion?

homer911

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120818031#Comment_120818031

https://biblehub.com/revelation/3-20.htm 😁

monara

T

The question raised was "What do you think happens after death?". I think it was a mistake to view this in a religious context. Most religions seem to promote the idea of life after death if only to support a belief in religion, If there is no life after death, there seems little point in any religion.

The answer to the question must ultimately be a personal one. I always wince when our priest prays for us to be kept safe for eternal life. Who would want to live eternally as an arthritic oldie suffering all the indignities of age as well as having the memories of mistakes made and dreams shattered? Oblivion and descent into nothingness may indeed be paradise for many.

EthelMercaptan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122598988#Comment_122598988

Viewing the question in a religious context would seem entirely appropriate if posted in a Christianity forum 😀. Both Old and New Testaments indicate post-death consciousness with awareness of identity, personal history and in a permanent state of being either saved or unsaved. The promise of resurrection for the saved is in regenerated physical bodies just as Jesus appeared after the crucifixion, no diseases, no ageing but a restoration of the pre-Fall state, albeit older and wiser. From a Christian perspective, the answer to the question can't be anything other than Jesus taught - it's the final destination which is a personal choice.

We rot.

Jinglejangle69

The fact there is anything at all and no one can claim where it came from makes me think there is a whole lot we just don’t know for sure.

Anything is possible.

Hamsterchops

This being a Christian thread in a Christian forum means there can only be one correct answer.

Heaven.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122607205#Comment_122607205

No possiblity of Hell, then?

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122607372#Comment_122607372

Or even Limbo, though I understand it isn't part of modern doctrine.

EthelMercaptan

The OP raises a fair question because at least in my experience, there is very little detail in teaching on the subject in traditional churches and outside of those, most people's interaction with the Christian perspective will be vague "reunited in Heaven" platitudes at funerals. Jesus certainly didn't shrink from discussing the here-now reality of Heaven and Hell as well as the urgency of making the right choice ahead of time.

Get to beat up all the pedophile priests and nuns from the baby care homes in Heaven.

Also ask God why he gave my child cancer.

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122608495#Comment_122608495

Warning for breach of points 1 and 3 of the charter. Please read it before posting here again.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122607419#Comment_122607419

Purgatory still is in the RCC, the various reformed churches appear to have differing opinions

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120811075#Comment_120811075

Apologies, only seen this reply today. that isn't the alternative in my view. The alternative to me is ceasing to exist personally. Yes I will exist in the memories of others for a short while but in reality, I will be gone, there won't be a soul or spirit trapped or conscious of its state, I simply will no longer be. it is an unpleasant thought but that is it.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122609215#Comment_122609215

And really we as a person will only exist as long as other living people remember us. Once all those people die off too, we are only a name in history. Admittedly with so many videos and photos of us now online, images of us will be more easily accessible, you'd think? At least moreso than say my great great grandfather etc. He lived a life, had a wife, kids etc, yet now it's like he was just a speck in history. I don't even know his name. I will be like him some day.

Sobering.

54and56

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122609215#Comment_122609215

I don't think it's an unpleasant thought at all. I take a lot of comfort from the idea that we have an opportunity to make the most of the one lap round the track we get and that when we're gone we're gone. That motivates me to keep moving forward and doing things, learning new things and trying new things etc as long as I have a pulse. I always look forward, never back and absolutely hate endless "remember when" type social chit chat.

Yes we'll be remembered by those who loved us and who we had a positive impact on but those memories will inevitably be diluted by newer memories made by those same loved ones after we die and diminish all together as they too die away.

Most of us love or loved our parents dearly but how many of us have strong memories of our grandparents and how many of us even know the forenames of our 8 great grandparents or much about them at all?

I like the closure of being dead. You ran your race. It's now over. End of.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122609235#Comment_122609235

Very much so, I do struggle to deal with it when it occasionally crosses my mind but to the best of my knowledge those are the facts as I see them. Once my friends are gone, followed by my immediate family, I would be remiss to think I will be ever mentioned out loud again. On the same note, it is unlikely to bother me at that stage (joke) but it is sobering and I can see why many turn to the comfort of thinking of alternatives.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122609281#Comment_122609281

I do live my life like that, I do try to do the best I can while I can but it doesn't make me feel better about death, it is just who I was raised to be. I suspect my fear will alleviate with age, it is certainly less than in my youth. I already have grandkids and I am lucky enough to be young enough to be a fun grandparent. I will quite likely see my great grandkids and still be in OK shape. My own were all gone bar one, and while I loved her, I never seen her in any place but her seat in the kitchen. Never occurred to me about age, that was who she was to me. More recently, a neighbour talked about my grandmother galloping across the field, chasing cattle like an Olympic sprinter, full of youth and vigour, but I never knew her like that. She would always be in that seat, but with a razor wit.

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122609281#Comment_122609281

Very much my philosophy as well. I see life as being composed more of a series of events, past and future, rather than just a dwindling sequence of days and years. I strive to enjoy life and try my best not to worry or pay much heed to things I can't control. Death is inevitable so falls squarely into that category. Growing old is too, but that doesn't mean plenty of fun stuff isn't available all the way to the end if we look for it. Planning for this fun stuff to happen in between the day to day drudge is essential in my opinion.

Going through some health issues myself at the moment which may entail some hefty surgery worst case (hopefully not!). Had a great natter with friend about it yesterday which was both dark and humorous. We agreed to meet for a coffee next week to discuss it further, at which point he asked that if I died beforehand, I'd ring to cancel. Sure I said, making a mental not to call the solicitor and add a line to my will saying 'In the event of my untimely demise, please call PN to say coffee's off' ;)

beachhead

Light switch comes on at 0.00 hours and 0 years.Light switch goes off at: - whenever.Thank your mammy and daddy for it all.

beachhead

We should be respectful to all animals.We share the planets with them.

Rigsby

I believe that there is of course life after death…BUT…not in the way most people think of the phrase. I believe that when we die, as with the trees and other living things, that we decay (or ..rot… as someone previously posted) into the soil/earth, thus nourishing it and providing the fundamentals required for more life to continue and thrive.

Juza1973

Jesus will clarify us what happens after we are dead. The soul is immortal and it belongs to him.

Fishdoodle

“What do you think happens to us after death?”

According to Christianity our soul is eternal. So most likely, we might pass on, though perhaps, not fully, until aspects of our psyche are purged of impurity (basically anything not in alignment with love). Depending on the life we lived and how much time we devoted to purification (esp via prayer/meditation), which is not easy, within a frantic society, we might pass fully on to heaven. Or it might take time. Impure aspects which are yet to be cleared may disperse among others (such as loved ones esp. the family line) whereby they help to clear them and experience grief. Eventually the soul is free and is aided by powerful angelic beings to return to a specific level of heaven and away from duality.

Ideally, you return to the source & become one with the source.

Then there is also the possibility as indicated at by the Bible (& various world religions), that humanity will enter a new age of consciousness akin to a metamorphosis which may happen suddenly. In such an event, you might not actually die a physical death at all.

54and56

“What do you think happens to us after death?”

According to the available evidence nothing happens after death. You're dead, end of.

Occam's Razor.

amandstu

Can we hear from some Christians about this question?

What ,according to their religion happened to Hitler? What happened to JFK? Do the two ever meet?

Are there just two options(Heaven or Hell) for every person?

What happened to Savita's child or an infant that dies at birth?

I also have a question related sideways q to the OP

What happens just before we die?

Do we all share a similar experience as we lose connection with the life we have lived up till then?

Has anyone written a book or documented in any way how they imagine the final moments of a living person or creature?

Peregrinus

Well, the last paragraph of Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light give us Thomas Cromwell's perception of his own death, as it happens. And I'm sure there are many other examples in literature.

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122984304#Comment_122984304

Spoilers! Just finished Wolf Hall (great read).

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122682532#Comment_122682532

Doesn't he clarify this before you are dead though? Isn't that the whole point of religion?

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122986008#Comment_122986008

The whole point of religion? No, not really, given that there are many religions which teach little or nothing about any afterlife. Most religions are much more focussed on the meaning and signficance of this life, and on how to live in this life.

Christianity does deal with the afterlife, but is actually pretty vague on the details. The promise is that you will not be destroyed by death; that there is a reality after death. But beyond that? Paul essentially says "You can't imagine what this is going to be like (so don't bother trying). But, trust in God, it's going to be good. It's what you were made for."

This leaves a gap which we fill with the imagination. Hence angels, harps, pearly gates, gardens, being reunited with those we love, gathering on the opposite shore, etc, etc.