When people have a religion, it does not necessarily mean that everything in it is right. For instance, how do we really know if there is a heaven, a hell, reincarnation, and many other theories about what will happen when we die, when for many years the stories of gods have been streched and twisted, becoming more like myth than truth, because it was told like stories from generation to generation. I am not putting down anyone's religion, but we really don't know what will happen when we die. We only choose to believe in a religion for comfort about dying and to have hope that there is something good that happens after death, not think that there is nothing that happens after we are dead, except that we are gone forever.

Agree, or disagree?

I'm totally convinced there is an after-life of some sort. I've heard/read enough stories about angels, ghosts, possesions and near-death experiences to not believe in an after-life of some sort.

Sure, there is little to no proof of those things actually happening. I wasn't there to witness them myself.... but I believe they are real. They can't all be fake

I think the best way to find out is go ghost hunting and try communicating with the dead.

From what I heard, ghosts sometimes stay where they die because they cannot accept the fact that they are dead, they don't know they are dead, there is something that they are waiting for / attached to a location in general and don't want to leave or they are a lost soul.

People who say ghosts don't exists don't believe in it cause they think a ghost can appear anytime and reveal itself if they did exist. The only problem with that is ghosts need a lot of energy to manifest themselves. Best chance of finding them is at night in locations other people have witnessed paranormal activity.

Whether you have a religion or not I definitely think there is a world beyond ours when we die.

The most simple and most affect way to do it is to die and wait to see if something happens.Than your answer will be revealed.

Originally posted by retro _general

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The most simple and most affect way to do it is to die and wait to see if something happens.Than your answer will be revealed.

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yeah... but how do you tell anyone else?

Sure, I wanna find out for sure... but that's a pretty bad way to go about it.

Sure it is a bad way but it is the most precise way to find if there is a after life sadly.

I don't agree with you that past-death reassurance is the only reason why people have religion, but it is the reason for the majority of followers. But I do believe that you are not necessarily safe just because of your rekigion. I am Catholic, and I honestly do believe that there is an afterlife of some sort, but I don't believe that people of other religions or people with no religion at all are excluded. Nor do I believe that everyone goes either to some version of heaven or hell. I believe in sort of a combination of the Buddhist reincarnation idea and the heaven/hell idea. I think that there are different levels of the afterlife and where you go when you make it there, depends on your life and how you lived it.
I also think that not everyone goes through, or at least not in entirety. I believe that some people, or remnants of people can remain here on earth as ghosts, or presences. Sometimes they might serve a purpose, such as a warning, sometimes it may be a punishment, like having to relive a certain moment in your life, one that you feel horrified by/ashamed of/embarrased by, over and over again, and then there is the ever popular movie and book idea that you might remain because there is something that you need to do/fix/finish before you move on.

hyper: I agree with you.... there are allusions to this in the Bible. I can't imagine that the Apostles are going to be rewarded the same as you or me in heaven. They have done so much more than I ever could.... I believe they will be rewarded in some way for what they did.

What that means for sure I don't know.... but I just can't imagine everyone who gets into heaven being rewarded the same way.

What I'm about to say doesn't concern any religions of any sort (Offense) so, I'll just say it.
Ghosts (or so I've heard) are the souls who didn't go to the afterlife properly (For example, because of being murdered, suicide or doing many evil deeds). Ghosts are in a way, like the forgotten souls. Basically, all the evil ghosts (Such as the Demon Dog ghost) are the souls who didn't pass away in a normal manner. It's very hard to explain though, for words won't make any human being understand full well. (This is what I've read, I'm religious, and say that this is not my point of view)

From your post it sounds a lot like limbo or the first circle of hell like in Dante's Divine Comedy. I do believe there is some form of after life because beings with conscious have to have some place to be judge in the final judgment.

I believe that God tells us what happens through the bible. Either we go to heaven. Or we will go to hell.

How do you know? Most of the Christian Stories passed through several generations and the stories got changed as people made newer and newer versions of the bible... How do you know that we will go to heaven or hell... how do we know whether there is reincarnation... We don't... even though our religion may say otherwise, how can we completely trust that it is correct?

The bible hasn't changed. These different translations only word the bible differently, but they put across the same message. I do not believe i religion. Christianity isn't a religion. Religion is a man made thing. I trust that Christianity is correct because it has proven it self correct.

Where are the facts? Where is the proof that Christianity is correct? Christianity is a religion, because it is what you believe in and it is man made... it started with Christ as a man...

Christ was God. Every word spoken through Christianity has been proven true or has yet to be proven true. That is the difference between Christianity and religion.

Where is the proof? How has it been proven true? How has it been proven true that evolution does not exist? Where has it been proven through that God created earth? Where has it been proven through that Christ is God, besides the his myths legends, changed throughout the centuries?

They aren't legends, they are eye witness accounts. Its been proven true because everything Jesus and the prophets said would happen is happening has happen or will happen. The bible does not have errors or contradictions.

Originally posted by Hoochman

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They aren't legends, they are eye witness accounts. Its been proven true because everything Jesus and the prophets said would happen is happening has happen or will happen. The bible does not have errors or contradictions.

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I'm glad that you are supporting what you believe in, but you really need to show evidence that what you say is true, unless you can conjure up sufficient evidence to back up your statement what you say is fallacious .

Not really. Prophesy has been answered. Would you like specifics? Could you back up your claims with evidence. Indeed you to are good at keeping to your view and not caving in.

People who ask questions like "how do you know" but already fully understand the implications of requiring proof on a religious or spiritual matter clearly don't get it.

I know there is an afterlife because I trust God. I know God because I've spoken with him and seen his work in my life and my family's lives. I know you're going to say "oh, that doesn't count because those people are hallucinating," but people have seen both Heaven and Hell and returned. People have even come back to life just to deliver a message from God. You wanted worldly evidence, there you go.

I believe in a Heaven and a Hell because that is what I have been told there is.

God doesn't decide ahead of time who's going to go where. Remember, he gave us free will. It would be a violation of that free will to simply punish us for our insolence and sins, and he can not allow sin into Heaven (see "Garden of Eden"). Thus, there is only one other place to go. He's provided us the simplest way out you can imagine (just ask, repent, and wait) and that's that. If you accept, you get into Heaven. If you refuse, you have to be shut out. It was your choice, not God's.

I do not believe that Hell is a place of physical torture, however. That's a common misconception: there's no flaming pit, no demons cracking whips (the demons are in torment as well, remember). Hell is simply a place outside of God. Remember that Heaven is a place protected by God so that we can be happy. Hell, as a place outside of this influence, is therefore the torment that people will expect when they see it. It's not physical, it's psychological and spiritual. To put it simply, Hell is a compilation of everything you find unpleasant.