(August 31, 2017 at 9:09 am)Neo-Scholastic Wrote: To the OP, I'm glad you were able to put your child's mind to rest.
As for the general issue, I like an approach that goes something like this: "Well, some people think it's the end, but some people think it's like a really long sleep and you wake up latter, some people think you have a soul that goes to heaven and stays there happy forever, and some people think you change bodies and could even come back as a horse or a dolphin. The truth is nobody really knows for sure."
No one really knows if fairies exist, either, or if there is a race of talking donkeys living on a planet in orbit about Alpha Centauri who recite Shakespeare to each other (which, they captured from our radio transmissions.)
Putting little children's minds at rest is, IMO, a good thing. Like Santa Claus, they will outgrow it; it's different than indoctrinating them into religion, which is something that my spouse and I have not done. Even the Jesuits used to say, "Give me the child and I'll show you the man..."
As for survival of consciousness after death, I am quite generous as compared to some, and would give a probability of 25%, with a 75% chance of annihilation. Life-after-death does not, however, necessarily entail eternal life, and for that, I would give a 20% chance.
