(October 24, 2013 at 2:54 pm)snowtracks Wrote: would be interesting to know what the atheist think happens after death (perhaps it's not discussed for lack of proof).

Nothing at all. There is no reason to believe otherwise beyond wishful thinking.

(October 24, 2013 at 2:54 pm)snowtracks Wrote: would be interesting to know what the atheist think happens after death (perhaps it's not discussed for lack of proof).

After my death, I have no doubt that the rest of the world will continue on just fine without me. At brain death, my consciousness will cease to be, and "I" will only continue to "exist" in the memories of those that knew me, until they too die.

(October 24, 2013 at 2:54 pm)snowtracks Wrote: would be interesting to know what the atheist think happens after death (perhaps it's not discussed for lack of proof).

Do you know that you are comprised of billions of somatic cells and that thousands and sometimes millions of them die daily? When you rubbed your nose and the skin cells died screaming because they were dislodged, did they go to heaven right away? Did your skin cells "see jesus in a bright light" before they died? Or did it just die and it didn't do anything?

The full body death is just EXACTLY like that, except in greater numbers. It just dies like the skin cell on your ass or the brain cells in your head. No magic, before or after.

thanks for the replies and the honest answers (except last one ---- bad attempt at being sardonic).

(October 25, 2013 at 12:11 am)snowtracks Wrote: thanks for the replies and the honest answers (except last one ---- bad attempt at being sardonic).

I dunno, I think it's a valid enough question: if the body is just a container for the soul, what reason does the soul have to stick with the main mass and not with any disembodied pieces of it? How does it discern the difference? Or does it just have a place where it lives?

Presumably the brain, right? I mean, it's almost as if this whole afterlife thing is just an ad hoc reward formulated in such a way as to be completely unverifiable during the one useful life we have!

(October 25, 2013 at 6:54 am)Brakeman Wrote: God trieth the hearts and reins

And then settles on the salad, with a small glass of mineral water. IBS is a bitch, sayeth the LORD. - KFC 21, 6-6 7/8

(October 25, 2013 at 8:32 am)Stimbo Wrote:

(October 25, 2013 at 6:54 am)Brakeman Wrote: God trieth the hearts and reins

And then settles on the salad, with a small glass of mineral water. IBS is a bitch, sayeth the LORD. - KFC 21, 6-6 7/8

Funny you should mention "salad" as this is what a Lexicon says about it:

Outline of Biblical Usage
I.a kidney

II.kidneys, loins

A.used of the inmost thoughts, feelings, purposes, of the soul


But anyways, I still find it amusing that atheists tend to stick to a literal reading, it leads to good stuff.

(October 25, 2013 at 11:13 am)catfish Wrote: Funny you should mention "salad" as this is what a Lexicon says about it:

Outline of Biblical Usage
I.a kidney

II.kidneys, loins

A.used of the inmost thoughts, feelings, purposes, of the soul


But anyways, I still find it amusing that atheists tend to stick to a literal reading, it leads to good stuff.

How would that start to become understood metaphorically? What quality of the kidneys were chosen to embody the meaning that the writer wanted to communicate? When an author chooses to use a metaphor there is a quality that one intends to communicate. For example, the metaphor "the "rock" of ages", makes sense since the rock is hard, strong, and unmoving, which is what the writers wanted to convey with that sentence. "The sock of ages" makes no sense as there is no quality of a sock that a writer would be intending to portray. So what about a kidney was the writer or jesus trying to convey to the bible audience? If a metaphor is created it must have a origin and a basis for that origin.

The origin of our common "feelings in your heart" metaphor originates from the ancient belief that the heart was the center of feeling. In the same way, the ancients actually believed that the mind and soul resided in the kidneys. So whether or not we use it as a metaphor today is beside the point, originally it was the scientific thought of the day. It was simply ignorant and wrong, but jesus forgot to tell the ignorant gospel writers about the correct science. Dumb jesus!

Quote:Presumably the brain, right? I mean, it's almost as if this whole afterlife thing is just an ad hoc reward formulated in such a way as to be completely unverifiable during the one useful life we have!

afterlife makes sense from this angle, the universe is heading for a 'heat death' since it's expanding and getting cooler to the point where information can't be transmitted for lack of concentrated heat (energy) which would mean anything that happened in the trillion years would be lost forever. so, no afterlife, nothing ultimately matters.