Atheist afterlife

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algebe's picture
Atheist afterlife

I think the most difficult thing about atheism for theists to understand or accept is the lack of an afterlife. I'd like to share a few thoughts about death and the afterlife from my perspective as a sixty-something atheist.
1. An afterlife in some kind of paradise would be nice, but wishing and fantasizing won't make it so.
2. The prospect of timeless nothingness with no pain, no deadlines, no obligations is actually quite comforting.
3. Given the rate of progress in medicine and computer science, my generation may be the last that has to die anyway.
4. Hell is a fantasy dreamed up by sadists to frighten children and impose their will on others.
5. A religious heaven filled with horrors like Catholic priests, ayatollahs, televangelists, etc., actually sounds worse than hell.
6. My mind and my soul are different aspects of a very complex set of physical, chemical and electrical processes inside my brain. When my brain dies, so do I.
7. Because there is no afterlife, I place a very high value on every moment that I have in this life. The devaluation of this life is the greatest sin of religion. This is not a rehearsal. It's the main event.
8. I worry about leaving my family behind when I die, but that's part of the human condition whether there's an afterlife or not.

What thoughts do others have on life, death and the perceived need for an afterlife?

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Deforres's picture
3. Is a primary point for me.
algebe's picture
@Xavier de Forres
Seenyab4's picture
I am in complete agreement
algebe's picture
@Seenyab4
Deforres's picture
Remember, there is more than
chimp3's picture
Until we learn to control our
Endri Guri's picture
@Chimp3
Jophar_Vorin's picture
Interesting!
Alembé's picture
@ Algebe
Deforres's picture
As do I. But, I do not let
Alembé's picture
Fair enough. Though you have
Deforres's picture
As much as I'd hate to admit
Dave Matson's picture
Don't forget to stop and
charvakheresy's picture
Somehow I cannot imagine a
Deforres's picture
"3. World populations would
charvakheresy's picture
@ Xavier - what I was
mykcob4's picture
Yes, it's very difficult for
algebe's picture
"It's just theist trying to
Dave Matson's picture
Theists are famous for their
Deforres's picture
Then you must take this into
mykcob4's picture
Great analogy!
Deforres's picture
And, the question must be
algebe's picture
Brain science and computer
charvakheresy's picture
@ Algebe - Even in such a
algebe's picture
>We are but mortal.
charvakheresy's picture
hahaha... true... I am sure
Alembé's picture
Remember the cautionary tale
Justin Malme's picture
If we proceed under the axiom
Deforres's picture
To me, the worst part of this
Dave Matson's picture
The wet blanket that falls on

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