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Topic: Immortality
AbbySnow Joined Mon 11/19/12 Posts: 6	Mon 11/19/12 02:55 PM
I have a belief that if there is going to be a such thing as immortality then there will no such thing as religion, and all this kinds of scares me. If on one hand we achieve immortality, that means that when we finally do perish that we just rot in the ground whereas if there is no immortality then we just hope that there is a heaven and a god and...it's all kind of scary because I feel I can't win either way, what do you think?

lilott Joined Thu 10/12/06 Posts: 2295	Mon 11/19/12 03:11 PM
I really don't believe in a god but I do believe in an after life. There has to be an after life otherwise everything that a person is would be for naught.

WithOrWithoutYou Joined Thu 10/18/12 Posts: 255	Mon 11/19/12 03:23 PM
Umm.... what were we talking about? I saw your picture Abby and my mind went in a different direction

Bravalady Joined Sun 01/01/12 Posts: 1034	Mon 11/19/12 05:05 PM
If you rot in the ground, so what? You won't be around to feel it. What possible difference can an afterlife make to how you live your life today?

motowndowntown Joined Wed 11/19/08 Posts: 21346	Mon 11/19/12 05:08 PM
The idea of an existence of an "afterlife" and what will happen there is what keeps most, though not all, people from acting like animals.

Raven1569 Joined Wed 11/14/12 Posts: 20	Mon 11/19/12 06:48 PM
Is this a trick? For some reason, I find it hard to concentrate on the question....

AbbySnow Joined Mon 11/19/12 Posts: 6	Mon 11/19/12 07:28 PM
This is a serious question, and Christianity for example plays a lot of its teachings on the bible, or at least that's my belief. If you were to take god out of the picture, you wouldn't be able to teach his beliefs and threaten people with condemnation to hell if they do horrible things.

jacktrades Joined Tue 09/11/12 Posts: 4395	Mon 11/19/12 07:51 PM
I agree. I can't speak for others but I believe In Jesus Christ and the after life of heaven. It keeps me on a straight path and comforts me on my own mortality.

TexasScoundrel Joined Wed 10/29/08 Posts: 3693	Wed 11/21/12 06:47 PM
My opinion is that there is no god and death is the end unless you've done something so great, you're remembered, like Achilles and Agamemnon. Knowing that this life is all I have gives me a feeling of urgency. There are things I want to do before it's too late. I'm motivated to do things by my belief in death being the end. I also feel it gives me a deeper appreciation for the universe and everything in it. Life is the greatest gift the universe has to offer. Immortality is reserved only for the truly great. Those that squander the gift of life are snuffed out like a candle. To me, this is just.

JeanAguiler Joined Wed 12/05/12 Posts: 59	Wed 12/05/12 09:38 PM
refer to my new post if you are interested in true scientific hypothesis "telomeres Secrets of Aging and Imortality"

soufiehere Joined Sat 10/24/09 Posts: 45325	Wed 12/05/12 09:59 PM
My opinion is that there is no god and death is the end unless you've done something so great, you're remembered, like Achilles and Agamemnon. Knowing that this life is all I have gives me a feeling of urgency. There are things I want to do before it's too late. I'm motivated to do things by my belief in death being the end. I also feel it gives me a deeper appreciation for the universe and everything in it. Life is the greatest gift the universe has to offer. Immortality is reserved only for the truly great. Those that squander the gift of life are snuffed out like a candle. To me, this is just. This

Redykeulous Joined Thu 11/09/06 Posts: 6052	Fri 12/07/12 07:33 PM Edited by Redykeulous on Fri 12/07/12 07:33 PM
refer to my new post if you are interested in true scientific hypothesis "telomeres Secrets of Aging and Imortality" Well, solving the problem of the diminishing telomere does not get us anywhere near immortality, unless of course science modifies our genetics to the point of being immune to every disease or immune disorder and every toxic substnace whether natural of man-made. But even then we would still have to worry about over population,and the human destruction of our environment that would lead to starvation. Given some sudden ability to be immortal and immune to all those things - humans would also have to, simultaneously, develop a homogenous sense of values with great regard to enviornmental healing and continued sustainablity of the enironment that support us. AND what about the birth rate? Would humans also deny their desire and instinct to breed once Earth's human capacity had been reached? These are all the reasons why immortality is a fantasy that's confined to the philisophical realm of mysticism i.e. spiritualism and religion.

FearandLoathing Joined Fri 12/28/07 Posts: 30121	Tue 12/18/12 05:21 PM
I always liked Andy Weir's philosophy of what God is...In a way it is a door to immortality, given we just meet God in the outskirts of the universe and he or she sends us to another time/life. Although I don't put a lot of confidence into it, so I write...My door to immortality.

sweetestgirl11 Joined Fri 09/12/08 Posts: 30087	Tue 12/18/12 06:49 PM
ummmm....if we are immortal we do not perish so the question is moot - cheers

Bushidobillyclub Joined Fri 05/11/07 Posts: 5689	Thu 12/20/12 10:51 AM
refer to my new post if you are interested in true scientific hypothesis "telomeres Secrets of Aging and Imortality" Well, solving the problem of the diminishing telomere does not get us anywhere near immortality, unless of course science modifies our genetics to the point of being immune to every disease or immune disorder and every toxic substnace whether natural of man-made. But even then we would still have to worry about over population,and the human destruction of our environment that would lead to starvation. Given some sudden ability to be immortal and immune to all those things - humans would also have to, simultaneously, develop a homogenous sense of values with great regard to enviornmental healing and continued sustainablity of the enironment that support us. AND what about the birth rate? Would humans also deny their desire and instinct to breed once Earth's human capacity had been reached? These are all the reasons why immortality is a fantasy that's confined to the philisophical realm of mysticism i.e. spiritualism and religion. I think all of the reasons you pointed out show that your own conclusion must be wrong. Each of the hurdles you presented are possible to overcome. That means given enough time it would be guaranteed to occur somewhere, somehow. I read a lot of sci fi, maybe I am just biased, but I think its just a matter of time. Also, why make this exclusive to humanity . . . I just say, some intelligent species somewhere will eventually figure this stuff out and fit it into their culture without destroying themselves in the process. Just my .02

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Sat 12/22/12 04:51 PM Edited by Jeanniebean on Sat 12/22/12 04:51 PM
In this reality, The human body will die. Consciousness is infinite and forever. We are immortal.

TexasScoundrel Joined Wed 10/29/08 Posts: 3693	Tue 12/25/12 02:36 PM
You know, I could buy into the idea of reincarnation because energy cannot be destroyed, but only transformed. However, the idea of our consciousness (meaning any memory of what we were) going on forever I find ridiculous.

MzMariah Joined Wed 09/21/11 Posts: 90	Tue 12/25/12 02:50 PM
In this reality, The human body will die. Consciousness is infinite and forever. We are immortal. ^^^^ Agree, also I believe we are all God ^^^^ I don't know what happens when our bodies die but it seems less scary to me than when I'm in the same room as an angry, out of control man. It's the pain that gets me. I know I'm not assured that I won't feel pain in my continued consciousness after the body dies, but I try to focus on the here and now. I also think the hell is the guilt and shame one deals with after they did the horrible things more so than a physical place of fire and brimstone. Also, "horrible things" vary from person to person, regardless of religion.

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Tue 12/25/12 05:35 PM
You know, I could buy into the idea of reincarnation because energy cannot be destroyed, but only transformed. However, the idea of our consciousness (meaning any memory of what we were) going on forever I find ridiculous. So you believe that memory means consciousness? How much of your life do you actually remember? Details? I doubt it. Do you remember your dreams? Do you remember where you were in 1972 on January 3?

TexasScoundrel Joined Wed 10/29/08 Posts: 3693	Wed 12/26/12 04:48 AM
You know, I could buy into the idea of reincarnation because energy cannot be destroyed, but only transformed. However, the idea of our consciousness (meaning any memory of what we were) going on forever I find ridiculous. So you believe that memory means consciousness? How much of your life do you actually remember? Details? I doubt it. Do you remember your dreams? Do you remember where you were in 1972 on January 3? That's not what I said at all. Do you even bother to read posts? I said a MEMORY OF WHAT WE WERE. That means any memory of the being that inhabited the vessel (body) is dead when the body dies. I can agree that once were dead we're eaten by worms and therefor become part of that worm. Then the worm may be eaten by something else and we become part of that. But, any form of consciousness beyond the grave is pure speculation and should be regarded as such.