Why do even big name atheist say this ?

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fishy1's picture
Why do even big name atheist say this ?

Over and over, I hear atheists, even well known ones say, "Well, we don't know what happens after we die"

.....then of course they will go on to explain their beliefs and this, that, or the other.

But wait, how can they not know ?
I know ! And I'm just another one of the 61/2 billion of us... Nothing special whatsoever.... Except maybe in my own mind ☺️ lol ...or to my Mom ☺️

So if you are another atheist who doesn't know what happens after you die, here, let me help you.....

Your brainwaves stop. Your consciousness stops. Since your consciousness and your soul is the same thing, it stops too.
Your body (physical body is such a stupid term.... Your "only body") decomposes and rots and that's that.

Easy peasy ☺️
This is science.... But it's not rocket science ☺️

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Tin-Man's picture
Speak for yourself, Fishy.

Speak for yourself, Fishy. When I die, I either get sent to the recycle plant/scrap yard, or I am left out under the shed in the back yard to slowly rust away. And since all my circuitry is terribly outdated, there really isn't much to salvage there anyway. Really hoping somebody gets me to a scrap yard so that I might eventually become part of a super-high-tech airplane or ship. My luck, though, I'll end up as a toaster in somebody's kitchen. Whoopie.

Old man shouts at clouds's picture
Or part of Kim Jung On's

Or part of Kim Jung On's latest rocket...

chimp3's picture
Lots of things happen after I

Lots of things happen after I die. They just will not involve me!

Sushisnake's picture
Big name atheists say it

Big name atheists say it because theists sort of make them. Theists claim they DO know what happens. Atheists have to refute it. Lots of humans just aren't ready to hear that that all expenses paid, luxury holiday for all time just ain't gonna happen, so they don't want to hear this:

Did you ever see a hearse go by
And think you were the next to die?
They wrap you up
In a big white sheet
Drop you down
About six feet
And all goes well
For about a week
But then your coffin
Begins to leak
Bugs crawl in
Bugs crawl out
Maggots play ping pong
In your snout
Your liver turns
A yuckish green
And pus pours out
Like thick whipped cream

Sky Pilot's picture
Sushisnake,

Sushisnake,

Do you know why the usual practice is to bury the body laying East and West with the head at the West and the feet at the East?

Sushisnake's picture
No, I don't know why the

No, I don't know why the usual practice is to bury the body laying East and West with the head at the West and the feet at the East, Dio. I didn’t even know that was the usual practice, but now that I know I want to know why. Why?

I'm guessing it has something to with physical resurrection aka The Zombie Apocalypse. Not a comforting thought when you're 52, getting creaky in the joints and noting the effects of gravity more and more. I have a plan to use my left breast as earflaps and my right as a muffler in Winter if things go on like this.

Sky Pilot's picture
Sushisnake,

Sushisnake,

It's not an universal practice but it's a very strong traditional around the world. The belief is that God moves East to West. For Christians the belief is that when Yeshua returns the corpses will already be facing him when they rise from the grave when Gabriel blows his trumpet at sunrise. Pagans usually worshiped facing East. Muslims are in the supine position with their faces facing right toward Mecca.

Humans are very superstitious.

Sushisnake's picture
God moves exactly like the

God moves exactly like the sun.

Aposteriori unum's picture
Even theists know what's

Even theists know what's going to happen, they just don't abmit it.

ZeffD's picture
Sushisnake wrote: "Do you

Sushisnake wrote: "Do you know why the usual practice is to bury the body laying East and West with the head at the West and the feet at the East?"

So the headstone is in the right place? So if you need to recover only the head, you don't need to dig up the whole grave?

ZeffD's picture
Sushisnake wrote: "Do you

I assume it has something to do with churches laid out West-East?

Sheldon's picture
"Your brainwaves stop. Your

"Your brainwaves stop. Your consciousness stops. Since your consciousness and your soul is the same thing, it stops too.
Your body (physical body is such a stupid term.... Your "only body") decomposes and rots and that's that.

Easy peasy ☺️
This is science.... But it's not rocket science ☺️"

I don't think they mean to suggest there is nothing we know about what happens after our hearts stop supplying our brains oxygen, just that any claims theists and the religious make about what happens post mortem are are obviously unfalsifiable. Though obviously we shouldn't believe things because they cannot meet their burden of proof, rather we should be dubious about such claims.

I liked Bertrand Russel's "I believe that when I die, I will rot".

Or how about

"“Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cosy indoor warmth of traditional humanising myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigour, and the great spaces have a splendour of their own.”

and this...

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."

Or maybe this...

"Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind."

Or this...

"So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."

He was Welsh you know.

Tin-Man's picture
@Sheldon Re: "So far as I

@Sheldon Re: "So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."

That just reminded me of something my wife and I talked about the other day. According to the bible, the first/original sin committed by Adam and Eve was eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, thereby "gaining knowledge." As a result, they (and all of humanity from that point on) get punished by God, right? The way I see it, that seems to send a very strong message telling everybody to basically stay ignorant and don't ask questions. But, hey, I'm sure some Christians out there would simply tell me I'm viewing it in the wrong context. What do I know, though? I'm just a brainless hunk of walking scrap metal. *chuckle*

MakPo's picture
I have seen you reply to a

I have seen you reply to a lot of posts. I love how devoted to your character you are. It cracks me up.

DarkkWolfe's picture
TM I was just talking about

TM I was just talking about this with my wife also! I don't know how I missed this for so long as a christian. It's right there in the story, plain as day. "Don't you DARE try to know anything, or I'll fucking smite you."

As for the lack of afterlife... I'm still super pissed about this. I spent so many years consoling myself that even though I couldn't ever seem to connect with god or find satisfaction here in this life, I always looked forward to heaven with such longing. Not the dumb part about praising god all day long. The resurrection body. Fully equipped with demi-god super-poweryness.

Holy shit. I just read that. It sounds so idiotic. How in the HELL did I ever believe this garbage?

SublimeBliss's picture
Hi, first time poster here. I

Hi, first time poster here. I have been mulling this over for the past few weeks. I'm very newly turned Atheist (I almost said 'converted', but I suppose it's more like I was deconverted? That's so not a word...lol), and I'm reading the Bible again with this completely different perspective.
I'm still so angry right now, but I have no place to really direct it. I'm trying not to direct it at Theists or family if I can help it though.
Anyway, right away this was something that stuck an immediate cord. Why was I SO BLIND to this immediate attack on knowledge? It's right there in the very beginning of the Bible. How did I read this story SO MANY TIMES and ignore that glaring fact?
BTW, is anyone else still new? I'm going through this grieving process for lack of a better term. I didn't go to church as much as some, but I did read the Bible, and I prayed EVERY SINGLE DAY, like a nearly constant inner monologue whenever I was worried or stressed.
The most embarrassing thing is that I STILL catch myself thanking God for little things like finding my inhaler when I can't breathe (I never questioned why God didn't just cure my asthma), or for making it some place just in time (never mind it was me who got up early so I'd make it). Does that sound arrogant? See, I'm kind of a mess still.
Anyway, I'll post my story some other time. I'd like to look around and get the hang of where everything is first, so that perhaps I can actually post it in the right place.
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to getting to know you guys!

mickron88's picture
hi sublimebliss. I'm also new

hi sublimebliss. I'm also new here in AR, and its fun so far. i'm an atheist for just a couple of years now and i accidentally bumped into this site. and like you, I'm seeking for a place to feel that i belong. i actually did my first forum post and i was amaze that someone noticed that my post was verbatim response from matt dillahunty. and i explained that it was my first forum post and apologize for copying it. anyway, just sharing what is my first experience on posting, check out on youtube "the atheist experience"

i appreciate your first post, and i like the name though. awesome!
peace out bruh..!

Tin-Man's picture
@Sublime Re: "I'm going

@Sublime Re: "I'm going through this grieving process for lack of a better term...."

Welcome, Sublime! Great to have you aboard. Going through that "grieving process" is totally normal. May take a little time, but it WILL pass. And it is fine to be angry, too. Don't worry, though, there are plenty of good people on here who can help you get through all the confusion you may be experiencing. Meanwhile, just try not to be too hard on yourself. Browse around the site. Catch up on some of the discussions. And if you need to vent, well, you have definitely come to the right place. Feel free to get it out of your system. Doing so also helps you to sort things out in your head and make sense of the jumbled mess of thoughts you may be having. Looking forward to seeing you around the site.

Tin-Man's picture
@Dark Re: Knowledge

@Dark Re: Knowledge

I know, right? When my wife first mentioned it, I just sat there with my jaw on the floor and a dumb look on my face. Right there in plain site. So damn obvious it was completely missed. I just had to shake my head and laugh.
As far as afterlife/heaven, I am honestly not terribly disappointed. As a kid I was always told heaven would be "living forever and walking on streets of gold." And I remember thinking to myself many times, "Uh, soooo, what exactly is so whoop-dee-do about THAT?" Hell, I walk on a Yellow Brick Road all the time. What's the big difference?

Grinseed's picture
Psalm 146 contains a

Psalm 146 contains a surprising description of what happens when we die.
After advising not to put your trust in princes or mortals it reveals...
Verse 4
His (princes and mortals) breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish.

I think this was penned well before any Hebrew notions of eternal life were dreamed up.

Sky Pilot's picture
Grinseed,

Grinseed,

Don't all religions sell the idea of eternal life? The ancient Egyptians based their economy on it with their pyramids and mummies. All of the indigenous people believe in some version of the happy hunting grounds. Humans want to be eternal.

Grinseed's picture
You are right Diotrephes,

You are right Diotrephes, that's why I used the term 'surprising description'. Straight after that blunt verse the rest of the psalm goes on about the many jolly ways to worship the Hebrew god every day.

Generally the Jewish belief was that when you died your body returned to dust where it supposed to have come from and your spirit or breath goes back to god. They don't elaborate much about the afterlife or as to what you will do there.

As I understand it like the Greeks, there was an early Hebrew belief that your wraith, your lifeless spirit went to some underworld where you milled about not doing much with all the other wraiths of everyone who ever lived, It wasn't hell for punishment but it was really immensely boring.

Sky Pilot's picture
Grinseed,

Grinseed,

I think it's astonishing that modern intelligent people continue to believe in silly ancient ethnocentric religious fairy tales. Most people might as well be trees since they aren't using the advantage of living in the modern world. They would be perfectly at home in a fifth century B.C. Middle Eastern village sitting around a fire listening to stories about some magical sky deity.

Grinseed's picture
Its all about an idea, "what

Its all about an idea, "what if there was a god who could make my life better and/or save me from death".

Understandably a very popular idea, and in the case of Abrahamic based faiths its been bandied about, rehashed, reformulated and refined, added to, redacted, enlarged, melded, analysed, fabricated, intellectualised, twisted and politicised for more than 5,000 years. That's what the atheist faces when addressing theism, 5,000 years of apologetics and irrational fear.
Those modern intelligent people you referred to might be less than happy In 500 BC without cell phones.

Cognostic's picture
I thought we got turned into

I thought we got turned into Soilent Green? All but our things. Do you know why things are not turned into Soilent Green? Things go better with Coke! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Sapporo's picture
I see no reason why I will

I see no reason why I will not experience an infinite number of permutations after death.

David Killens's picture
Many well known atheists hold

Many well known atheists hold to that position because they preach reason and oppose assumptions without any proof. And what happens after death is an assumption backed up by zero proof.

To assert that we have any idea on what happens after death is falling into the same logic trap all theists accept, the "We don't know, so we will make something up."

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