I'm a definite maybe..

I always said it was tosh until two things happened to a very close friend of mine, and after hearing and seeing the things that happened after her mums death I'm not so quick to say it's tosh now. In fact it made me  Now I'm inclined to say I wish someone could disprove what I saw and heard, because it scared the crap out of me 

i believe in life after death, i'm not sure in what sense it happens and i'm not religious but i believe in it. i've seen stuff and heard stuff that can't be explained.

atm...i have to believe it

I'd say not - there is no empirical or scientific evidence to support such a notion. I accept some people may have had "experiences" - my mother swears she saw her brother (who had died 9 years before) standing alongside her mother's coffin in the church - but I think the brain is a very powerful thing and can conjure up much and ignore much.

I'm an aetheist but I will accept - as all scientists do - that any theory is only valid as long as the empirical evidence supports that. Something may crop up to later our current view .. we just don't know. But until it does I have no reason to alter my belief that when we die, we die.

I'm with Cariad on this....I've had a couple of experiences, one that was shared by someone else, that might point some people into the belief in life after death, however, I still think that basically when we're dead, we're dead, thats it, the end, finito. 

I'm willing to be proved wrong but I'd want concrete evidence...i won't just believe on faith, same as i don't believe in a god who i believe was invented by man to keep the masses in line....I think the life after death argument was basically invented to bring some sort of comfort to the living and the dying.

I don't necssarily link religion with believing that there is life after death. Actually the term"life" is a misnomer.
Do I believe in some sort of spiritual plane though?
Yes I do.

No, I don't.

I believe the character lives on through the people we leave behind...expressions, behaviour/mannerisms.
Would have to see anything else with my own eyes to believe otherwise.

Changing the subject slightly I have to say that even if it were proved that the universe was created by a sentient being that is still a long, long way away from believing all the religious hogwash about said being giving a flea's fart about anyone on this miserable planet. It'd be like an ant believing the human who made the ant farm the ant lived in giving a damn about that individual ant. 

I know exactly what you mean.
I used to be an ardent church goer until I realised what a load of self serving hypocrites most ( not all) Christians are.

BUT it never ever failed to amuse me how some of these morons were convinced about the power of prayer.

One woman used an example of not being able to find a parking place in a busy shopping centre as an example...

So she prayed and low and behold a parking place appeared

Being a questioning sort of a person I asked her if God was really interested in where his believers parked and if he cared.

Her response was that the Lord always provides...


So bugger famine and war, God will always help you park.

I have had too many inexplicable things happen to me not to believe there is something......

I had a similar discussion with someone years ago who insisted their prayers about a desperately needed car part had been answered when they came back from a long walk and found said part propped up against their car. 

Clearly this is the problem. Himself is so busy finding car parts and parking spots he's no time to eradicate famine and instigate world peace. 

As far as experiences are concerned that's obviously a personal matter but I remain of the opinion that the brain is a very powerful organ and can make you see/hear/feel things that are simply not there. For example, one of the most common "ghost" experiences is to wake to find oneself being pinned to the bed by a ghostly presence and unable to move or breathe. This is actually sleep paralysis or sleep apoplexy. When we fall asleep our body induces a form of paralysis to stop us moving about whilst we dream. If we did, we'd act out our dreams and thrash wildly around in bed. Many people experience “sleep paralysis” when the conscious mind wakes up before this restraining function does. The result is a feeling of immobility and suffocation and the brain seeks to "explain" this by way of the ghostly dream.

Now I'm not saying ALL experiences can be explained away but I think any experience has to be looked at vigorously and not just accepted as proof of anything without further enquiry.

Yes - poor God.

I am going to ask him if he can help me choose which house to buy.
I think he will be thrilled.

If God created the world, who created God? Oh I see 'he's always existed'. Right. 

God's dad and mum created God..
OMG

She was a virgin though, apparently. Don't you know nuffink? 

Jesus's Mum was a virgin...
God's Mum was a right goer...

I know loads see.

That's the funniest sentence I have read in ages.

I won't be going to heaven now

*makes room in handcart*  Jump in!

That would be Mary too. She was definitely a virgin. God and Jesus are one and the same you see, and she was their mum (Mother of God) even though God was Jesus's dad. It's not confusing at all really. Nope 

But seriously, what kind of person could unquestionably take as truth a divine creator that came from 'nothing'? If there is life after death it has nothing to do with religion of any kind though you could argue that believing we continue after death when everything we are ceases to be when your brain stops functioning is just as naive as being suckered in by the whole Divine Creator nonsense.

Life after death? I'll believe it when I see proof. I've never seen it, nor has anyone else in the history of mankind who can prove they've seen it and give evidence.

These celestial types don't like the truth

That is really sad,

I don't have to have concrete proof about certain things.

I just believe in them.
Call me foolish but sometimes it is all that keeps me going though the day - a belief that all will be well.

Me too.  I've had experiences that make me think there is something, but then my rational mind tells me it's a ridiculous notion.

People who die on the operating table have told of out of body experiences seeing themselves laid there from above,so who knows? none of us will until it happens.I just hope if there is life after death the other place is more peacefull than this one.

Mind games & the sub conscious plays a big part in it all imo...and more than likely alot of wishful thinking!

I think if there was proof that there was such thing as life after death or reincarnation then suicide rates would be much higher.

There is no proof but too many beliefs in some religions.

That's what I'm saying, there isnt proof, but if there was 100% proof, I think anyone who wasn't totally satisfied with how their life was panning out would top themselves and start over again.

I think you are getting mixed up with re incarnation

That only happens when the 'brain' (not the heart) hasn't fully given up the ghost (excuse the pun). All we are or all we 'think' we are outside of physicality is in the brain. OOB experiences prove nothing other than what was left of that person hadn't moved on and the medical team persuaded the heart to catch up with it.

If you'd bothered to read my original post, you'd know I wasn't mixed up with anything.

You have the right idea but the wrong analogy. Most people out there don't believe in life after death or reincarnation through looney tunes means i.e. mediums and ghosts etc. They believe it because religion tells them it is so. If there was ever conclusive proof that there was no life after death you would thusly have proof beyond any doubt that there is no God unless you believe in a Deist God who created the world then buggered off and left mankind to it which is not a popular belief.

Proof positive that there was no God would cause mass suicides.

i had a friend who had that happen to him he was 'dead' for 15 mins and saw it all happening in front of him

course he could have been talking BS but he isn't the type to tbh

What would be the first thing you'd do if you were a ghost?

By who?

For most people in my family it would make no difefrence cos thats what they think anyway.

90 per cent of the USA is good enough to be going on with.

Unsure.I was raised catholic so had the after life etc drummed into me at school etc.So I went the opposite way.We are just animals ,same as the other creatures on the planet.However we have developed higher brains(debatable)than other creaturesand are aware and are horrified by our own deaths.Animals don't have this.We are pretty arrogant to think we alone amongst the animals on the planet are worthy of life everlasting etc.We think too much...,

Delusion (i.e. religion) is the common excuse. I'd love if it was all real though, ghosts and shit, it would be cool