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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 23, 2015 at 6:07 pm
(This post was last modified: January 23, 2015 at 6:37 pm by Darkstar.)
(January 23, 2015 at 3:45 pm)Davka Wrote: Or reincarnation, where you get to experience all sorts of different kinds of lives.
Reincarnation could be interesting, bit the concept leaves a lot of unanswered questions. How long does it take to reincarnate? How can you reincarnate if humanity goes extinct? Do you always reincarnate as the same sex? If not, does it feel normal even when you don't? When do you get your memories back? What if you had adult intelligence as a baby, that would be strange!
EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot that you don't necessarily come back as a human...
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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 23, 2015 at 6:31 pm
(January 23, 2015 at 10:55 am)Strider Wrote: Where all religions have a concept of an afterlife in one way or another (reincarnation, heaven, nirvana, etc.), atheists are about the only ones who face up to the oblivion that death promises without having to resort to fairy tales for false comfort.
In Hinduism and Buddhism, reincarnation is a curse, not a blessing, and nirvana is the end of rebirth. Before you generalize about other religions maybe you should know what you're talking about first.
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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 23, 2015 at 6:46 pm
(This post was last modified: January 23, 2015 at 6:47 pm by Strider.)
(January 23, 2015 at 6:31 pm)rasetsu Wrote: In Hinduism and Buddhism, reincarnation is a curse, not a blessing, and nirvana is the end of rebirth. Before you generalize about other religions maybe you should know what you're talking about first. I am not familiar with Hinduism, but in Buddhism the ultimate goal is nirvana, which is not non-existence. I'm aware that reincarnation is viewed as undesirable in Buddhism, but it still supports the notion of life after death regardless of whether they desire it or not; hence, why I mentioned it.
It sounds like you ought to study up yourself.
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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 23, 2015 at 6:59 pm
(This post was last modified: January 23, 2015 at 7:44 pm by Angrboda.)
(January 23, 2015 at 6:46 pm)Strider Wrote: (January 23, 2015 at 6:31 pm)rasetsu Wrote: In Hinduism and Buddhism, reincarnation is a curse, not a blessing, and nirvana is the end of rebirth. Before you generalize about other religions maybe you should know what you're talking about first. I am not familiar with Hinduism, but in Buddhism the ultimate goal is nirvana, which is not non-existence. I'm aware that reincarnation is viewed as undesirable in Buddhism, but it still supports the notion of life after death regardless of whether they desire it or not; hence, why I mentioned it.
It sounds like you ought to study up yourself.
You mentioned reincarnation as if it was some preferable reward to simple death. In that you were wrong. Nothing of what you said here differs from what I said.
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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 23, 2015 at 8:19 pm
(January 23, 2015 at 3:00 pm)LastPoet Wrote: I don't think about it because I live a day at the time. I only want to enjoy the ride while it lasts and try to not be a cunt while at it.
I hear as you get deeper into senility it becomes easier and easier to stay in the moment. You just forget which moment that is.
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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 23, 2015 at 9:05 pm
(This post was last modified: January 23, 2015 at 9:05 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
(January 23, 2015 at 6:59 pm)rasetsu Wrote: You mentioned reincarnation as if it was some preferable reward to simple death. In that you were wrong. Nothing of what you said here differs from what I said. For many, it probably is, regardless of what religious dogma may tell them to think.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 23, 2015 at 9:12 pm
(This post was last modified: January 23, 2015 at 9:15 pm by Strider.)
(January 23, 2015 at 6:59 pm)rasetsu Wrote: You mentioned reincarnation as if it was some preferable reward to simple death. In that you were wrong. Nothing of what you said here differs from what I said. Yes, I did. Though Buddhists espouse that life is an endless cycle of suffering because of reincarnation, I am quite certain that not all of them see it as a bad thing. I wouldn't if that's what I believed.
Anyway, let's not make this more than what it is. I just included reincarnation in that list of concepts of a kind of existence after death without much thought. I didn't take into full account that Buddhism teaches that this is not preferable. I don't really care because whether it's reincarnation, nirvana, or some other mysticism about life or even a kind of pseudo-existence after this one it's all malarkey anyway.
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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 24, 2015 at 7:12 am
Reincarnation is a load of donkey doo-doos.
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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 24, 2015 at 9:10 am
(January 23, 2015 at 11:51 am)robvalue Wrote: I have never believed in an afterlife, and I would not find the thought comforting at all. The idea of having to exist forever, no matter what I will be doing, is horrific to me. Can you kill yourself in the afterlife when you've had enough?
Imagine retaining the slightest bit of memory that's even more horrific.
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RE: Atheists: Facing the unfaceable
January 24, 2015 at 10:18 am
The prospect of eternal life would be torture if it was mandatory. But I could deal with living in the equivalent of a healthy 25-year-old body for as long as I wanted, with the option to check out whenever I chose.
It's funny - we like to think that, given infinite opportunity, we would take the time to do all the things we've ever dreamed of doing. But real life experience tells me I'd spend most of eternity sitting on my ass in front of a screen of some sort, getting peacefully blitzed.
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