AFTERLIVES ABROAD: An evaluation of major afterlife ideas

[metamary]

The New Wineskin

metamary

CuAnnan

metamary

Lucky~9~Lives

Reciprocally: performed, experienced, or felt by both sides.
- emotion_hug

So?

Oh for ******** sake.
If samsara is correct, there is no heaven. By definition.
The only way they can "all be true" is if you, you personally, tell everyone on the planet "sorry, your religions are all wrong, but if I rape the ******** out of all of them and smush them together into a culturally incorrect but easier for me to access homogenous grey mush that has no nutritional or spiritual value, then they're all wrong in the same way, because only I know the truth".
Sound about right?

Is it really that hard to believe that they're all right and wrong at the same time?

Yes, in the same way that it is hard to believe that truth and falsehoods are synonyms.

Then the system is doing its job and you're right where you should be. For now, of course. smile

[The New Wineskin]

Admiral Dardanos

The New Wineskin

Admiral Dardanos

The New Wineskin

Admiral Dardanos

No specifics. I make no claims to knowledge on the matter. For some reason, reincarnation just makes sense to me.

Once we die, we are born into a new life. I don't know, I just like the thought.

Fair enough. Does the soul die, or is it transmigrated into the new body?

I have no position on the existence of souls, nor any idea about of how the process would work.

For all intents and purposes, we would be an entirely different person. Or animal, or even plant, who knows.

In what way would that be a rebirth? A rebirth implies that there is some semblence of you in there. Otherwise, you aren't actually you, and no rebirth has actually gone on.

That's actually reincarnation you're describing. It is quite different from reincarnation. I realize now I actually should have been using rebirth.

http://www.angelfire.com/yt/fairtibet/rebirth.html

What I was talking about is basically the Buddhist idea of rebirth minus the karmic imprint stuff.

Let me correct my original post.

I keep forgetting that reincarnation and rebirth aren't synonymous.

[fschmidt]

You missed this one:

Exodus 20:5-6

I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.

This means that afterlife is the success of one's genes, and that good behavior is rewarded with evolutionary success and bad behavior is punished with evolutionary failure. The Old Testament is far more consistent with the ideas of evolution than modern culture is.

[Salmenella]

Admiral Dardanos

That's actually reincarnation you're describing. It is quite different from reincarnation. I realize now I actually should have been using rebirth.

http://www.angelfire.com/yt/fairtibet/rebirth.html

What I was talking about is basically the Buddhist idea of rebirth minus the karmic imprint stuff.

Let me correct my original post.

Oh this actually has helped me out a lot. I had always assumed I believed in reincarnation...although I'm still not entirely sure but it sounds more like my views fit with rebirth.
Maybe you can help me?
What about the belief that after you die you go into the underworld and sit there until you are "reborn" into a new body, but you forget your past life/lives as you are "reborn"? Your past lives are still there deep down into the subconscious, but it's hard if not impossible to get to the point of remembering again. So in a sense your original self is still there, but you forget with each new life.
Rebirth or reincarnation?

[Admiral Dardanos]

Salmenella

Admiral Dardanos

That's actually reincarnation you're describing. It is quite different from reincarnation. I realize now I actually should have been using rebirth.

http://www.angelfire.com/yt/fairtibet/rebirth.html

What I was talking about is basically the Buddhist idea of rebirth minus the karmic imprint stuff.

Let me correct my original post.

Oh this actually has helped me out a lot. I had always assumed I believed in reincarnation...although I'm still not entirely sure but it sounds more like my views fit with rebirth.
Maybe you can help me?
What about the belief that after you die you go into the underworld and sit there until you are "reborn" into a new body, but you forget your past life/lives as you are "reborn"? Your past lives are still there deep down into the subconscious, but it's hard if not impossible to get to the point of remembering again. So in a sense your original self is still there, but you forget with each new life.
Rebirth or reincarnation?

I was honestly in the same boat as you until about five minutes before I made that post.

That sounds more like a variation of reincarnation though, if you are still you deep down, but you just forget everything.
So far as I understand, rebirth is more or less a complete blank slate.

[Fermionic]

Afterlives are too obviously a product of human desire for me to put much stock in the notion.

[CuAnnan]

metamary

Then the system is doing its job and you're right where you should be. For now, of course. smile

You're not enlightened.
You're not even more enlightened than we are.
Judging by the trite, not-thought-out bullshit you're posting, you're far less enlightened than we are.
So how about saving the bullshit for someone who's still reading Llewellyn books as though they contained the key to real magicks.

[metamary]

CuAnnan

metamary

Then the system is doing its job and you're right where you should be. For now, of course. smile

You're not enlightened.
You're not even more enlightened than we are.
Judging by the trite, not-thought-out bullshit you're posting, you're far less enlightened than we are.
So how about saving the bullshit for someone who's still reading Llewellyn books as though they contained the key to real magicks.

Have I offended you?

[Lucky~9~Lives]

metamary

CuAnnan

metamary

Then the system is doing its job and you're right where you should be. For now, of course. smile

You're not enlightened.
You're not even more enlightened than we are.
Judging by the trite, not-thought-out bullshit you're posting, you're far less enlightened than we are.
So how about saving the bullshit for someone who's still reading Llewellyn books as though they contained the key to real magicks.

Have I offended you?

Is it really that hard to believe that you have and you haven't at the same time?
- razz

[metamary]

Lucky~9~Lives

metamary

CuAnnan

metamary

Then the system is doing its job and you're right where you should be. For now, of course. smile

You're not enlightened.
You're not even more enlightened than we are.
Judging by the trite, not-thought-out bullshit you're posting, you're far less enlightened than we are.
So how about saving the bullshit for someone who's still reading Llewellyn books as though they contained the key to real magicks.

Have I offended you?

Is it really that hard to believe that you have and you haven't at the same time?
- razz

wink

[The New Wineskin]

Fermionic

Afterlives are too obviously a product of human desire for me to put much stock in the notion.

This wasn't about how much "stock" you personally put in one versus another. This was about comparing different ideas about the afterlife.

[Fermionic]

The New Wineskin

Fermionic

Afterlives are too obviously a product of human desire for me to put much stock in the notion.

This wasn't about how much "stock" you personally put in one versus another. This was about comparing different ideas about the afterlife.

Oh, how silly of me, the OP was so very clear on that point.

[CuAnnan]

metamary

Have I offended you?

Madam, you offend reason.

[Salmenella]

Admiral Dardanos

Salmenella

Admiral Dardanos

That's actually reincarnation you're describing. It is quite different from reincarnation. I realize now I actually should have been using rebirth.

http://www.angelfire.com/yt/fairtibet/rebirth.html

What I was talking about is basically the Buddhist idea of rebirth minus the karmic imprint stuff.

Let me correct my original post.

Oh this actually has helped me out a lot. I had always assumed I believed in reincarnation...although I'm still not entirely sure but it sounds more like my views fit with rebirth.
Maybe you can help me?
What about the belief that after you die you go into the underworld and sit there until you are "reborn" into a new body, but you forget your past life/lives as you are "reborn"? Your past lives are still there deep down into the subconscious, but it's hard if not impossible to get to the point of remembering again. So in a sense your original self is still there, but you forget with each new life.
Rebirth or reincarnation?

I was honestly in the same boat as you until about five minutes before I made that post.

That sounds more like a variation of reincarnation though, if you are still you deep down, but you just forget everything.
So far as I understand, rebirth is more or less a complete blank slate.

Oh ok. Thanks.

Not that it matters or anything because my beliefs are my beliefs regardless of what name it has, but it is nice to have the correct name for it so when others ask me I know what I'm talking about!

[Admiral Dardanos]

Salmenella

Admiral Dardanos

Salmenella

Admiral Dardanos

That's actually reincarnation you're describing. It is quite different from reincarnation. I realize now I actually should have been using rebirth.

http://www.angelfire.com/yt/fairtibet/rebirth.html

What I was talking about is basically the Buddhist idea of rebirth minus the karmic imprint stuff.

Let me correct my original post.

Oh this actually has helped me out a lot. I had always assumed I believed in reincarnation...although I'm still not entirely sure but it sounds more like my views fit with rebirth.
Maybe you can help me?
What about the belief that after you die you go into the underworld and sit there until you are "reborn" into a new body, but you forget your past life/lives as you are "reborn"? Your past lives are still there deep down into the subconscious, but it's hard if not impossible to get to the point of remembering again. So in a sense your original self is still there, but you forget with each new life.
Rebirth or reincarnation?

I was honestly in the same boat as you until about five minutes before I made that post.

That sounds more like a variation of reincarnation though, if you are still you deep down, but you just forget everything.
So far as I understand, rebirth is more or less a complete blank slate.

Oh ok. Thanks.

Not that it matters or anything because my beliefs are my beliefs regardless of what name it has, but it is nice to have the correct name for it so when others ask me I know what I'm talking about!

Understandable. I spent years jumping between definitions. Now I'm an agnostic atheist with Buddhist inclinations it seems. There's a whole host of other latin words I could use to describe myself if I wanted to get really detailed.

What do you consider yourself, if you don't mind my asking?