General Chat

I wish I did believe in life after. My Mother does and it gave her great comfort when her Dad died. I would love a bit of that comfort when my own parents start to fail...but unfortunately it's all a bit far fetched for me. Sue xx

A man gave a young lady a lift and on a lonely part of the road he pulled in to the side of the road. 'Do you believe in the hereafter' he said. 'I don't know, why' she said. 'well' he said, 'if you're not here after what I'm here after, you'll be here after I've gone' :-) Keith

I believe that we die and decay like all living things. The brain dies and in the process of dying the lack of oxygen causes the light at the end of the tunnel effect. Louise

We all have different ideas of what happens to us when we depart. I like to think that we go on that way we can meet up with our loved ones. I know not everyone shares that belief but these are just my thoughts... Lindax

I believe that our souls go on to a more spiritual place. Im a firm believer. I have had 'my' proof! Pat

I would love to think we all go to a nicer place with our loved ones - just hope I don't bump into my first husband if we do! Debby

That light at the end of the tunnel thingy...if that is just the effect of the lack of oxygen on the brain, then what an amazing thing that it should be so comforting and take away all fear of death. I almost died when having one of my children and had an Out of Body Experience. While I was looking down on myself, I saw a brilliant light and it was so wonderful and welcoming that I was completely unafraid and tried to move towards it. Obviously I didnt die(!) but I dont now have any fear of dying, just a feeling of sadness that I will leave behind those I love. I'm not sure what happens AFTER death, but I do believe that we live on, in our genes if nothing else - why else are we all doing our family history, if we dont feel we have some connection to the past and some to the future? OC

The only immortality we have is through our genetic material. We pass on our genes to our children as they do to theirs. I do not believe in a God or an afterlife. I'm happy with that. Dee x

Somewhere in scripture St. Paul tells us that the troubles of this life are as nothing as compared to the joys of heaven. This is good news to me and it's what I believe. - Wish I could quote chapter and verse, but I know that others will be able to. Joy.

I'm with Jayvee and Joy - a blessed assurance that this life cannot merely be the 3 score and ten but because Christ died on that cross at Calvary, those who truly believe in Him will one day have their place in heaven. Praise the Lord Dorothy

Do those of you who believe, think that if they are right and there is another life, after this one, that non believers go there too? Lynda

Its not for me to be judgemental Lynda. I'm as much a sinner as the next person in the street. However, for those who read the Bible, they will know that it gives the answer to your question as a very very sad no. Sad because our Saviour wants everyone to go to heaven but it must be His way not the way we would like it to be. Dorothy

This is a very complex subject and one needs to be able to understand the laws of physics to comprehend it. I believe we all instinctively know that consciousness is separate from the physical body and can exist independently. Humans invented 'religion' to come to terms with it. However, 'religion' has been misused by man (and I do mean man, as distinct from woman) for purposes of power and manipulation and subsequently it is no longer trusted or believed in to any great degree. len

Lynda, Of course non believers go there too. They just get a 'surprise'! Pat

Where exactly, in the cosmos, would you say heaven is located? len

Hi Dorothy Where do the non believers go then, and if he wants us all to go, why not just let everyone in, and why aren't we just all born to believe, sorry with all the questions Dorothy I am just inquisitive:)) Pat :)))

Louise, it may not go anywhere, just dies?

Most people can say what consciousness feels like. It’s being awake, aware; it’s knowing what is going on and the difference between you and me. It is thoughts and sounds, self-image and a sense of history. It’s about what it feels like to be you. Consciousness is a really tough nut for science, though, as it cannot (as distinct from electrical brain activity) be weighed, measured or detected with instruments. That is why a definition and assessment of it has, until now, been left to philosophy and religion. However, scientists, mostly biologists and neurologists and some physicists, largely as a result of break-throughs in the fields of brain-imaging and electrical monitoring, are gaining an insight and adding their weight to the debate. Researchers are steadily making progress but are still in the dark about what aspect of brain activity makes for consciousness. There is certainly no particular brain area that is active when we are conscious and inactive when we are unconscious. From studies made in Holland and others parts of the world, conducted by eminent doctors, there is evidence of consciousness (in the form of memories being laid down) when subjects are clinically brain-dead, albeit temporarily. And there seems to be no threshold of neural activity above which we are conscious, or a type of neurochemistry that accompanies consciousness. The greatest field of exploration remaining to science is that of the mind. Most scientists still claim the mind to be a brain function and purely physical but emerging scientific evidence shows it is quite clearly non-physical. It is not so fanciful to suppose, therefore, that once we fully understand the enormous power of the mind and how to harness its product, thought, we will be on the threshold of a development far more revolutionary for humanity than the industrial revolution. Some scientists claim that the problem will never be solved because our brains are not equipped to understand our own consciousness. There are others, and I like to tag along in their wake, who believes that there is a cosmic intelligence of which our consciousness may be part or from which it devolved. Could it be that Einstein ended the latter years of his career in some confusion as he too began to see this and was unable to reconcile the fact with his hoped for “theory of everything” based on mathematics? Len

How do you know that Louise, how does anyone know? I expect if you have had some sort of 'experience' then you may believe, but obviously not everyone has had one. It is amazing how varied everyones answers have been, those who have deep faith, and those who think afterlife is a load of twaddle, really interesting.

Lynda, I have to agree that if you have had some sort of personal experience you are more likely to believe in an afterlife. I am a firm believer but hubby is 'on the fence'. He doesnt have the faith that I do, but he has seen the 'proof' that I have been given and cannot ignore that either. Pat