I really don't know. What scares me is going to hell. I am at a point in my life that I'm really conflicted as to wether there is a god or not.
Understandable, letting go of long held deep beliefs can be quite a process. What are some of the things your currently questioning? As for hell there is as much proof of it's existence as there is for God, both are also coming from the same unreliable source. So why be afraid of something that doesn't likely exist? There are over 10,000 different religions in the world. Many of them can have 10s of thousands of variations. Even then if there is a God and hell non of the worlds religions may have gotten it right, it could be something no one has thought of. So you can't really believe just to be on the safe side. Believing just in case is like playing a lottery when you don't know what or if there are any winning numbers or even a jackpot in the first place.
If you don't want to get into it here you could create a new thread with your questions posed to get many view points or just ask people on their profiles. I'm fine with getting questions.
Anyways I think that our consciousness just blinks out, we simply no longer have a sense of awareness for our existence.
Honestly, I have been contemplating what death really "feels like" for a very long time and in different time periods, and this quote is the best hypothesis I can think of.
The instant you die is the instant you forget you lived--that's as basic a hypothesis I can give you. An eternity passes you when you die, yet you can sense nothing and can be aware of nothing. Your cognitive processes shut down, and as such, you cannot think, comprehend, have emotions, or feelings while dead. Your memory shuts down--you cannot remember any moments of living.
In a shell nut: you cannot sense, you cannot think, you cannot remember, and you cannot realize.
The instant you die is the instant you forget you lived--that's as basic a hypothesis I can give you. An eternity passes you when you die, yet you can sense nothing and can be aware of nothing. Your cognitive processes shut down, and as such, you cannot think, comprehend, have emotions, or feelings while dead. Your memory shuts down--you cannot remember any moments of living.
I liked the comparison to what it was like for you before you were born.
And if you are pure of heart indeed, you'll all go to a beautiful place called Heaven. Hahah, i'm yankin ya, you just rot in the ground.- Peter Griffin
I'm really very glad I've never, at any point in my life, been religious. That would have really stunted my intelligence and questioning of the world around me - especially, I think, my desire to read. And with that desire in mind - I've read all sorts of books from all sorts of viewpoints and managed to keep to one belief about the afterlife - there isn't one. With that belief, held throughout my life, I can honestly say that I've never had that 'fear' of nothingness - just an acceptance.
There are three spam posts only on this page.. how sad is that?
And if you are pure of heart indeed, you'll all go to a beautiful place called Heaven. Hahah, i'm yankin ya, you just rot in the ground.- Peter Griffin
Good one, gonna say this next time anyone asks me^^
-sigh- No, no it doesn't. It's a rather nice idea but it's not true. Let's face it - if there is an afterlife (which there most probably isn't) then you're not getting into the good places unless you adhere to a certain religion and set of rules - that's what almost all holy books teach.
