Death...

[Skater]

I think the fact humans are the most intelligent animals lets us think about all this stuff, and as we are such we struggle to get our heads round something this size.

 

[SaiSrini]

On topic,

Yes of course death scares me... It scares the hell outta me. I mean, you love your life so much that its just a big damn fear for you to think of losing it. Me being a very family oriented person, I started thinking of what would happen to the lives of my parents, my sister, etc if I die (I dont know abt other countries, but coming from india, I am 100% sure that my family's life will surely change the moment I die). And I end up getting emotional over it and try to get rid of that thought pretty soon (becoz I am hurting my mind psychologically thinking abt it).

 

[Leicester Fox]

Idon't care what crap you come out with I just saw god and let me tall ya something. I'd much rather die waiting to be playing alongside him when I die

Optimisim>realism.

 

[JonAd]

science does not tell me how to live good, weth the fello men.
It does not teach me morals
It does not tell me to give charity to the poor.
It does not say killing someone is wrong.

I can live a secular lifestyle and still have morality in all the things above and more.

You have a very blinkered view of life from what I can tell, open your mind to ideas and see where they lead. You don't have to take them on board hook, line and sinker but at least entertain different points of view, it will at the very least stretch your mind. Indeed, you may one day need science to help prove what you believe; faith will only lead so far and convince only so many.

@evertonfan - NDE - do some research; the topic goes far deeper than can really be surmised on a forum. You may also want to look into the universal reporting of a grim reaper like figure at the moment of death, which transcends cultural, religious and geographic background - again the brain playing tricks or something more to it? May be worth looking up the research in the god gene and the flawed study where a researcher claimed he was able to replicate NDE with the use of a headset.

@manee - the study was flawed in someway but it has been a while since I read the report from it. There were a number of other explanations but it all depends on how cynical you would like to go.

 

[lancashire666]

if its a choice between going to hell and having good music or going to heaven and having cliff f*****g richard then im going to hell if there is an afterlife like that

 

[manee]

@manee - the study was flawed in someway but it has been a while since I read the report from it. There were a number of other explanations but it all depends on how cynical you would like to go.

Indeed, it is a shame that such an interesting experiment is the only one of its kind, in unreliable conditions with too small amount of subjects. I fail to see how one comes to the conclusion that the soul has a weight though, but it does not stop the idea being fascinating to me.

Could you recommend any good literature on the topic of Life after Death and the study of such, please?

 

[usy]

why would you go to hell if you listen to good music? LOLOL

I can live a secular lifestyle and still have morality in all the things above and more.

You have a very blinkered view of life from what I can tell, open your mind to ideas and see where they lead. You don't have to take them on board hook, line and sinker but at least entertain different points of view, it will at the very least stretch your mind. Indeed, you may one day need science to help prove what you believe; faith will only lead so far and convince only so many.

Everyone some way belives or has faith in something.

eg; scientists have faith what they prove.

 

[JonAd]

Indeed, it is a shame that such an interesting experiment is the only one of its kind, in unreliable conditions with too small amount of subjects. I fail to see how one comes to the conclusion that the soul has a weight though, but it does not stop the idea being fascinating to me.

Could you recommend any good literature on the topic of Life after Death and the study of such, please?

I do believe that that they have tried to replicate the experiment but have been stopped due to ethical reasons (as you can well imagine). There is also the need for patients (or should that be subjects?) to die a relativity peaceful death, something which is hard to guarantee.

As a note, ethical concerns are one of the biggest hurdles in investigations of this nature, people just don't want to be part of it or institutions shy away from it.

As for books or material on life after death, it depends on how far you want to take it. As a somewhat light hearted (after all, death can be a heavy topic) but informative look into scientific research into life after death, check out Spook by Mary Roach - I think it's a really good beginners book on the topic (although very Americanised). For a more in depth (and thought provoking read imo) try the book by David Fontana. The chap is one of the best in the field and considers the evidence in a very thorough and rational manner.

I would say that the two books above cover both ends of the spectrum; there is a hell of a lot of material out there; and they cover the same ground in most cases.

 

[Simbazz]

Its a question on so many levels which i'm better speaking rather than typing, see PC still has threads with a great level of depth

Firstly, i'm not so much scared of death, i'm more not wanting it. I don't believe you die, and then know you're dead. The saying about life "This ain't a test run," is false, this cannot be it, a murderer cannot do a deed in this life and not be punished in some way.

I don't believe its one life, i just think you take a little bit from this life to the next, people have had memories from past lives, true or false, they've had 'em.

I think death is only scary because no one lives to tell the story, so its a gray area, the thing i take comfort in is that when people are on the verge of death they say they have been greated by God, and its something i take comfort from. BUT in the same sense Scientific proof says that when the brain is shutting down, it gives off an amazing white "sensastion," so who knows.

To basically put my thoughts in short, i'm not scared, i'm interested. This life CAN'T be the only one we have, its too short, its too difficult and its just not comforting to think, oh, i can get run over tomorrow, die and never ever have something else, be it another life without knowing it, or a trip through the pearly gates, i'm not bothered i just don't feel comfortable about the idea of dieing into nothing.

 

[lancashire666]

why would you go to hell if you listen to good music? LOLOL

i was just doing a Bill Hicks quote

 

[Cricketdude]

why would you go to hell if you listen to good music? LOLOL

You might go to hell if you listen to stuff like "Its the highway to hell".

 

[Simbazz]

Boy, Usy is an absolute idiot.

Anyways the arguement of Religion/Science is one which has raged for years, more than Usy can remember, and more than Kev's lived And thats a lot, i'm only joking mate

Anyways, why can't one live with both the values of his/her religion knowing that science can work alongside it.

Usy you say "Did science create soul," or something along those lines. Without science there would be no study into that thing you call "soul," which means many things to differnt people.

The fact that you're trying to spam up this thread is because the questions are out of your depth of thought.

Death is a thing which will come to all of us, Science is working towards the prolonging of life, nothing wrong with that, we all should respect life for what it is, don't smoke, dont do drugs, dont go out on the drink every night, dont cut yourself - all these are a violation to the sacred thing which is life.

People who abuse it deserve to lose it, obviously not a case in everyone, and obviously that statement has loopholes everywhere, but those who hit the bottom when they where at the top aren't worth it so why should they be allowed life? This has changed from the first question, but do you guys believe that those who murder, rape and alsorts should continue life? Or should we go along with the American system of death? (And many other countries)

 

[Highlander999]

Usy you say "Did science create soul," or something along those lines. Without science there would be no study into that thing you call "soul," which means many things to differnt people.

Not exactly true mate. You have had people believeing in souls all the way back to the Ancient Egyptians who I think called it their "ankh" or something like that. People have been believing in souls for ages and I don't really think science has ever studied or proven their is a soul.

The fact that you're trying to spam up this thread is because the questions are out of your depth of thought.

Now Simon, don't pick on the un-popular people. There is no need to be rude or offensive. Everyone is entitled to their own belief no matter how poorly they present it

 

[MattW]

Well I conveniently almost answered the thread's two main questions in a post I made earlier in the Muslims Allowed Girlfriends thread:

My personal belief is that the result of death is something anyone who has been under general anaesthetic will know about, you fall asleep and then there is nothing, though with anaesthetic you wake up, with death you do not. That is the only difference. Science can't answer this, no one can die and then wake up again to tell the story, if someone is pronounced dead and then they wake up again, they were never dead. Nor can religion answer this, their answer is just one that is a glimmer of hope to provide a means of answering the complex questions such as the meaning of life and to provide acceptance of death (people who believe in reincarnation moreso, why worry about death when you become someone/thing else anyway?). The fact is that if you believe that there is an afterlife and there isn't, there is no effect on you, so you are more willing to take that risk than to believe that there isn't an afterlife and to be proven wrong.

As far as my beliefs on death go, I am convinced that mind is a state of the brain, you can live without mind, but you don't have a mind without life. The brain controls what you think and feel, it is a processing centre for senses from the body, without a body you cannot feel, therefore there is nothing to process and no new information can enter the brain/mind. The answer I give myself for the meaning of life gives me enough of a motivation for life, I don't believe that life is worthless just because there is nothing beyond the end.

(full post is here, should you be interested)

Anyway, why live in fear of death? But in saying that I disagree with the notion that you should 'live each day to its fullest' and 'make the most of now', there is no reason to live life on the edge as some would suggest, the "I'm going to die anyway so I'll run infront of a bus and hope not to be hit" attitude annoys me. But there are very few cases where I'll consciously consider death, and those times are provoked by certain events, but I don't worry about it.

I'm someone who doesn't drink, do drugs or smoke, I see no reason to make a conscious decision to do something that will shorten your life, yes everyone is going to die eventually, why rush that though?

But on the other hand, your life would be severely limited by thinking constantly about death, you would probably die sooner from the effects stress causes to your immune system. I'd encourage people to sort out things like their will so that your death doesn't result in problems for others, but get those things sorted and then ignore it.

Basically what I'm saying is find a middle between a blas? approach to death and worrying about it every day.

 

[JonAd]

I don't really think science has ever studied or proven their is a soul.

Science has tried to prove the existence (or not) of the soul since time began. It might not always be mainstream or at the forefront, but you can bet your bottom dollar that even now someone is trying to do so. Indeed, the study that produced the 21 grams result was trying to do just that. There have also been experiments on animals (dogs in particular) which is why it was common acceptance that animals have no soul, due to negative results.

Once we better understand the concepts of the world at a quantum level will we be able to delve deeper in things like souls. Though it's hard to sometimes reconcile the two, it can offer the best explanation for a lot of spooky things that happen ("spukhafte Fernwirkung") and will help us in our understanding of life and the question why, in general.