Do you believe in life after death?

[gatorsmom]

Due to my mother's death 3 years ago, I've given this subject lots of thought. Recently, I had it on the backburner of my mind until I saw this article today. It looks like a very interesting study. I"m glad it's an MD doing this study-I think it will make it more credible.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080923/hl_time/whathappenswhenwedie

What do you believe happens when we die?

[vludmilla]

I haven't read the article yet. I'll try to do that later tonight but in answer to your question---I don't believe that there is a "life" after death. I think we decompose, that's it.

[trales]

Interesting article.

I have always believed there is something. I personally think that something is reincarnation.

[Ceepa]

I have conflicting ideas but it always involves life after this one. I've had my own experiences that solidify this belief.

[AngelaS]

Yes, I believe in an afterlife.

I believe that if you believe in Jesus Christ as your savior, who died to wash away your sins, you will go to Heaven. My belief is based on the Bible and these verses lay it out:
Romans 3:23- For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 6:23- For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life thru Christ Jesus our Lord.

I believe there is a hell as well.

[AuGoldie]

I do believe in life after death. I believe all souls are eternal and that we will either be in heaven or hell. I believe a loving God sent his son Jesus Christ and that all who believe in Him as Savior will not be judged based upon their deeds but will enter into God's kingdom on account that Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. Basically, I believe whole-heartedly in what it says in the Bible.
Jackie

[SnuggleBuggles]

No, I do not believe in life after death. When dh was diagnosed with a stage 3 cancer I found myself thinking about death and what happens afterwards. I grew up Catholic and believed in heaven and hell. However, when faced with the reality I found myself not being able to accept that there really is something more. The scientific side of me just doesn't see how that is possible. I had a good cry over the feeling that when it is over it is over but in the end I feel better about my belief. Maybe that is just my nature- plan for the worst, hope for the best. If there is something more then I will be happily surprised. But, as of now I just don't think there is life after death.

Beth

[egoldber]

No. Once we're gone, we're gone.

[Emmas Mom]

I absolutely believe there is life after death.

[cvanbrunt]

Nope.

This actually isn't a new research question. If you stimulate a region of the brain called the angular gyrus, you can induce an out of body experience. Here's the original reference:
Blanke, O., Ortigue, S., Landis, T. and Seeck, M. Stimulating illusory own-body perceptions. Nature, 419:269-270, 2002.
Here's a link that gives a non-technical summary :
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/obe.html

It's pretty cool stuff. To me, it (and other lines of research) just provides evidence that death is the end.

My mom died two years ago and as much as I'd like to think she's watching her grandkids, I just don't believe.

[crayonblue]

I do believe in life after death. I believe all souls are eternal and that we will either be in heaven or hell. I believe a loving God sent his son Jesus Christ and that all who believe in Him as Savior will not be judged based upon their deeds but will enter into God's kingdom on account that Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. Basically, I believe whole-heartedly in what it says in the Bible.
Jackie

I believe exactly this. And while believing in life after death isn't going to make losing my child "easy", it will have a profound impact on how I go about the rest of my days on earth. I will be very much looking forward to spending eternity with Carmen and seeing her whole and healthy.

[pinkmomagain]

I think while we are here we'd better make the most of it, because this is all there is. I'm pretty realistic about these things. It would be nice if it were otherwise (and comforting), but, alas, no.

[jk3]

I wish I did but I don't.

[JMS]

I wish I did but I don't.

I think this is probably my stance as well.

[mamicka]

I agree. Hugs, Lana. I think of you often.

[Wife_and_mommy]

I do believe in life after death. I believe all souls are eternal and that we will either be in heaven or hell. I believe a loving God sent his son Jesus Christ and that all who believe in Him as Savior will not be judged based upon their deeds but will enter into God's kingdom on account that Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. Basically, I believe whole-heartedly in what it says in the Bible.
Jackie

This is me and my household.

Hugs, Lana.

[mdb78]

I do believe.

[maestramommy]

I believe after death our spirit goes to be with God. Other than that I'm not able to say:)

[g-mama]

Absolutely I do believe.

Always have, but last year I had an awesome experience in which I 100% knew that my mother, who passed away 5 years ago, was there with me and it was so amazingly powerful and comforting to me that I could never, ever doubt it.

[ha98ed14]

I think a larger question that gets at the heart of this issue is "Do you believe in God?" As in a Creator who is pleased by the Creation? If one does not believe in God, I doubt they would believe in an afterlife. And vice versa: I cannot imagine an afterlife without God playing some role in it.

Personally I do believe in God and in an afterlife. But as for the whole Heaven as a place with white puffy clouds and Hell with flames and brimstone, I don't really think it is like that. My personal belief is that all our souls go to be with God. If you are someone who has loved the good and rejected evil, then being with God will be probably be paradise for you because God is good. But if the you loved evil, then being in the presence of God, who is all good, will probably feel like hell. These ideas are not original to me, but this is the only explanation that makes any sense to me that jibes with my fundamental belief that God exists and is good.

[JBaxter]

I believe in life after death. Those who believe in God and who have accepted him as their savior will be reawarded with eternal life.

[elektra]

I believe that souls are eternal as well. I also think that reincarnation is a strong possibility.

[Happy 2B mommy]

My faith in such things keeps evoling. I don't (and never have) believed in hell. Lately I've been reading a lot of Thich Nhat Hanh (Zen master) and am currently reading "no death, no fear". The type of 'afterlife' he describes I could possibly believe in. But the western/Christain view of heaven and afterlife, while it's a pretty idea, I just can't believe.

[mommylamb]

While I think it would be comforting to believe in an afterlife, I just don't. I must say, I always feel like I'm really in a small minority on this, and it's interesting to see how many people feel the way I do on this board. As for those who believe in life after death, I think it's a personal decision that everyone has the right to make for themselves and I would whole heartedly support their right. It does kind of bother me though when people say they think everyone else will go to hell if they don't accept Jesus as their savior. I understand that this is what their teachings say, but I think it's hurtful to other people.

[almostmom]

No, I don't believe in an afterlife. But at times in the past, when I have sat by my brother's grave, I have spoken to him. Not sure if that means I believe he is out there somewhere, or just speaking to the idea of him. I haven't done this in a long time though.

Lately, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I may not believe in a God. This is a bit strange, as I have always thought I did, but I think it is my truth. We do say thanks (a sort of grace) at every dinner, and feel very connected to the earth and its cycles, but it is not connected to an being, or God.

[mommylamb]

For those of you who do not believe in an afterlife, what have you told your kids so far about death? I'm an agnostic Jew-by-culture maried to an athiest with a 15 month old, so I've been thinking about this for a while and I'm really curious to know how others in a similar situation have handled it. One of our cats has a heart condition and may not live more than another two or three years, so that will (baring anything terrible happening) probably be the first time we have to deal with this.

[almostmom]

I'm like you - Jewish, but as I described above, not much of a believer in God, and married to a man who didn't grow up with much religion (Catholic mom, Jewish dad, neither of whom are strong believers in religion) and he probably believes less than I do. We are spiritual, and seekers of meaning.

We drive by a cemetary on our way home from preschool most days. Once my son asked about it, and though I was caught off guard for such an important moment, I think I handled it pretty well. He asked what it was, I said it was a cemetary and when people die, they are put in the ground at a cemetary, so people can read when they were born, when they died, and remember them. He asked what happens to you when you die, and I said that you become part of the earth, just like when a leaf falls off of a tree, or a whole tree gets old and can't live anymore, it falls down and goes back into the earth. He bought it :-)! This is what I believe, so I sighed. He did ask how old you are when you die, and I said a person can live until 100. He told me he didn't want to die, and he didn't want me to die, and I told him I wasn't even close to 100 and I wasn't going anywhere. He and DD really want to go to the cemetary to check it out and see the words on the words on the stones, and I always say we can, but it is a very old historic one, so I'm not even sure we're allowed to!

Hope that helps...

[MelissaTC]

I believe there is a God and that there is an afterlife with Him. I believe that He is a good, forgiving God that has shown Himself to many people, in many forms hence the number of religions in the world. I am a big believer in those that are good people will be rewarded in the next life, even if they don't believe in Jesus or God. I know way too many good people and can't imagine that they will be burning away somewhere but then again, I don't believe in the devil or hell in the way my religion details. I am a very un-Catholic Catholic I guess.

[pinkmomagain]

We are an interfaith family....we celebrate all the major jewish and catholic holidays with family, but do nothing more (no religious instruction, no attending services, etc.). I am an atheist, my husband has his own personal relationship with a higher "being."

When my grandfather died three years ago, I explained to the girls that his body stopped working and we are sad he is no longer with us, but we have such wonderful memories of him and he touched our lives in so many special and significant ways. And that is the way he "lives" on...through us.

[egoldber]

For those of you who do not believe in an afterlife, what have you told your kids so far about death? I'm an agnostic Jew-by-culture maried to an athiest with a 15 month old

:ROTFLMAO: I'm an atheist married to an atheist Jew-by-culture.

Our second child died 9 days after she was born. Sarah was 3.5 at the time, so we have talked a lot about death and dying in this house. When Leah died we told Sarah that she was born very sick, too sick for her body to work well, and that when it stopped working, she died. That was pretty much all we told her at the time.

As Sarah has gotten older, we have shared more details with her as she has had questions. She knows the basic circumstances of her cause of death. She knows that Leah was cremated and the basic details of that. She knows that Mommy and Daddy do not believe in heaven or God but that we miss Leah every day and that she is in our hearts. We talk about her all the time, not in a morbid kind of way, but in a "we miss her and wish she were here" kind of way.

Interestingly, Leah often figures prominently in her writing and drawings at school, so we have shared Leah's story (at a very high level) with her teachers.

I believe in being totally honest about death and dying with children. But in doing it in an age appropriate way and not necessarily sharing more than they are ready for. I think it's good to answer their questions honestly, but simply, and only adding more details as they need them and ask for them.

[luna7997]

Life after death is not an easy thing to define, that's for sure! I don't believe in LIFE after death, but I believe in consciousness after death. I believe in God and Jesus, but I don't think our bodies play a role at all. The body is gone. Our spirits go on.

I believe that if you believe in something then you will go on as you are taught by whatever belief you have. Although the bible states that you can only get to God through Jesus, I have never believed that if you follow another religion you will go to hell. Mainly because there is no hell in other teachings/religions. Hell is a part of Christianity. So, if you don't believe in Christ, you don't believe in hell, so how can you go there? And if you don't believe in God, then why do you need Jesus to get to him anyway? Does that make any sense?

That's just my belief, but I strongly believe that everyone has the right to their own beliefs or lack thereof. It's a very personal choice, and as for my child I will teach them what I believe, but if they decide to chose something else I will support them in that.

BTW, I didn't count, but I know I said the word belief and believe WAY too much LOL!!

[mama2g03]

I do believe in life after death. I believe all souls are eternal and that we will either be in heaven or hell. I believe a loving God sent his son Jesus Christ and that all who believe in Him as Savior will not be judged based upon their deeds but will enter into God's kingdom on account that Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. Basically, I believe whole-heartedly in what it says in the Bible.
Jackie
This is what I believe, too.

[MontrealMum]

Yes.

apparently that's not long enough for the system to accept...

[Moneypenny]

I believe souls are eternal. I do not believe in God or any deity.

[KBecks]

I believe there is something after death, but I don't know if I would call it life. I don't know what it is, but I believe that there is a spiritual existence after death.

[cdlamis]

I believe there is a God and that there is an afterlife with Him. I believe that He is a good, forgiving God that has shown Himself to many people, in many forms hence the number of religions in the world. I am a big believer in those that are good people will be rewarded in the next life, even if they don't believe in Jesus or God. I know way too many good people and can't imagine that they will be burning away somewhere but then again, I don't believe in the devil or hell in the way my religion details. I am a very un-Catholic Catholic I guess.
I agree with you word for word. Especially being a un-Catholic sort of Catholic at times! :)

[mommylamb]

Life after death is not an easy thing to define, that's for sure! I don't believe in LIFE after death, but I believe in consciousness after death. I believe in God and Jesus, but I don't think our bodies play a role at all. The body is gone. Our spirits go on.

I believe that if you believe in something then you will go on as you are taught by whatever belief you have. Although the bible states that you can only get to God through Jesus, I have never believed that if you follow another religion you will go to hell. Mainly because there is no hell in other teachings/religions. Hell is a part of Christianity. So, if you don't believe in Christ, you don't believe in hell, so how can you go there? And if you don't believe in God, then why do you need Jesus to get to him anyway? Does that make any sense?

That's just my belief, but I strongly believe that everyone has the right to their own beliefs or lack thereof. It's a very personal choice, and as for my child I will teach them what I believe, but if they decide to chose something else I will support them in that.

BTW, I didn't count, but I know I said the word belief and believe WAY too much LOL!!

As a non-believer, I really appreciate believers like you who are not judgmental. (I also don't agree with non-believers who look down on believers). So thanks!

[CAM7]

Yep I believe there is some sort of 'beyond' for all of us.