Do you hope you're wrong?

[Munch]

I gather from personal study that heaven is something like an eternal sea of bliss, wherein we dwell in the mind of god forever happy and beyond pain. Sounds fucking boring to me.

Thats the impression I've always gotten of heaven or any other life paradise, if in life we need to uproot and change ourselves so we aren't confined to that rigid routine, why would anyone want to be in a place that will only allow you limited reach, and never anything beyond it? It sounds like a prison.

I'd sooner opt for eternal rest. 

[Blackleaf]

This is a complicated question. If I'm wrong, then a number of possibilities could be true. I could be wrong, and Islam could be true. I could be wrong, and pantheism is true. To assume that there are only two possibilities is a false dilemma. But let's assume that I am wrong, and Christianity is right. Do I hope that this is the case?

Well, let's see. If Christianity is true, then I will spend eternity in Hell for not believing. So I definitely do not want to die and find out that Christianity is right. However, if I were to learn that Christianity was true before I died, I think I would be filled with a multitude of emotions. My happiest days were when I was a Christian. Unlike some people, I had good experiences in church. If I could go back to that, I would.

[Deidre32]

Whether I'm wrong or not, what would it matter? Having said that, no one knows for certain who or what if anything, is a deity. I think there is beauty in just wondering, and believing as we wish. It's good to use our imaginations, but religions aren't about pondering on one's own...they are more about getting groups of people to agree with whateve the religion teaches, in order to control the groups. I find it hard to believe that if a deity should exist, he cares about that type of thing.

[TomFoolery]

I find it hard to believe that if a deity should exist, he cares about that type of thing.

Agreed. If I started an ant farm in my house and discovered the ants were sentient beings, I would be kind of afraid if they started worshipping me as "she who send the light" every time I open the blinds or "the giver of soil" every time I dumped another clot of dirt in.

[Solitary]

I only hope I'm wrong if I can see my loved again in a rapturous whole, one with the universe again. 

[Baruch]

Blackleaf ... pantheism minus karma ... doesn't spank you for guessing wrong.

[doorknob]

It'd be nice if there was an after life. Not the one christians paint but one more as pagans paint. One where we explore the different dimensions. But I digress

No I don't hope I'm wrong rather I only concern my self with the one life I am guaranteed and that's this one. There is no promise for tomorrow so enjoy today and live every day you are alive to the fullest! That is my philosophy in life.

[Mike Cl]

Actually I do hope I am wrong since I am what could be considered a dystheist.

A dystheist?  Does that mean dysfunctioning theist?

[Mike Cl]

Personally, death holds no fear--I don't know why, it just doesn't.  We die and that's that.  No more wondering, no more .............................period.  Yeah, I can live with that. :)


And I do.  I just fear pain.  So give me something so I can die in peace.  I know I'm not wrong, so I don't wonder if I'm wrong.  But I do like to play those imaginary games of what if--so I like to read about concepts of afterlife.  Nothing moves me, so my personal final conclusion is death is dead and my atoms become unbundled as me and float around for awhile and go wherever free atoms go.

[josephpalazzo]

I don't want an afterlife. But it would be nice if we could live to 200 or even better 500 years, in this world.

[Sal1981]

Given enough time, any type of eternal life would be living hell, eventually.

[Blackleaf]

Blackleaf ... pantheism minus karma ... doesn't spank you for guessing wrong.

Well, it's still one out of an infinite number of possibilities.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Heaven wouldn't be boring. You would get to spend eternity watching people you loved burn endlessly in a lake of fire. That's got to be more entertaining than watching "American Idol."

[peacewithoutgod]

My own parents are now past the age of 70, and in failing health. My father will likely be gone within the next year, so I have been giving it much thought whether it would be good to live forever in an eternally blissful state.

I have no children of my own, and my life on most fronts has been particularly complicated and difficult. If I become increasingly miserable and alone as I fear may happen, would I want them to be seeing this through some sort of cosmic lense through another dimension? I still miss my departed wife after 14 years, and I know I will never meet another who makes me feel the way she did when she was with me - no, I definitely would not have her knowing how bad it's been for me without her, unable to do anything for me. Who really wants to live forever anyway, watching all who you knew and loved wither? Who wants to see that happen to their children, before they join you for eternity? Then again, what if they cannot, because they did not believe - how will eternity be for you then? How blissful can an eternity of bliss really be, even if you are oblivious to all the suffering and change back on earth, or even those who are absent, after the first thousand years? LOL, even a few months would become miserably boring! Happiness is a mental state which cannot exist without knowing its opposite state, which is why the greed of those born to wealth is insatiable. As Queen astutely voiced it, nobody who really thinks about this fantasy really wants to live forever!

For the above reasons, I won't entertain the fantasy of seeing those who I loved in any sort of an "afterlife" because it would be much too selfish of me to wish eternity on them.

[SGOS]

I don't want an afterlife. But it would be nice if we could live to 200 or even better 500 years, in this world.

I've got to admit that I have a curiosity about the future.  What will the next world superpower be?  When do humans go extinct?  What will be the reason?  When will the Earth be destroyed as our sun expands?  But alas, I'm not going to ever know.