(September 1, 2015 at 8:54 pm)Thena323 Wrote: I attended a loved one's memorial service this weekend and a recurring thought was in my mind as I listened to comforting words on being free from pain and suffering, and God's loving eternal embrace in the hereafter:
"I wish this was true."
So often on this forum, many theists seem to consider atheism to be a bitter refusal or willful act of spite. This is far from true, . If there were any good reason to believe that loved ones move on to a peaceful afterlife after they die, I wouldn't reject it. I don't think most atheists would.
During the service, in the midst of tears and grief, I found myself wondering if I had missed something...anything that might demonstrate that I could be wrong. That an afterlife in Heaven might be possible someway, somehow.
I couldn't think of any plausible reason to believe that life continuing after death is possible. My only reason for entertaining the idea was because I wanted it to be a possibility. I still do.... but that doesn't make it so.
The problem is that you're looking for the answers to supernatural questions in natural sources. I think there's something inherent in humans that causes most of us continue to believe in God and an afterlife, even after we've stopped believing in Santa Claus and the Easter bunny. You'll know for sure after you die if it does exist.
