What do you think happens when you die?

Well, although a pretty depressing topic, I just want to hear other opinions about what others think will happen when you die.

Although, I do believe in God, and I have my reasons, and of beliefs. Its just that our Universe makes such little sence at all... its stupid, why the hell are we even here, and .. !

Okay... this topic screams "controversy", but my faith is firm enough that I feel that I can contribute to it without being bowled over...

First off, let me just say that I know that my beliefs are contrary to those of a lot of people. I will not try to force anyone to believe the same way that I do. I will merely share what I know to be true in my life. Others can take it as it is, or they can turn it upside down and inside out trying to pick it apart and ridicule it. That is your right. It won't change where my faith is.

Here's what I believe:

I believe that when we die, we will be judged according to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who truly have accepted Him as Savior, will be pardoned of their evil-doings and accepted into Heaven and dwell there with God for all eternity. Those who will have rejected Him will be turned away and will spend all eternity in Hell, experiencing pain and suffering like nothing experienced on earth.

Some say "I'll only believe in what I can see, and I've never seen God!"

Well, I ask those people, "have you ever seen an atom? Can you see Air? Can you see electricity?"

We can't see these things, but we know Atoms exist because we're made up by them. We know that Air exists because we breate it all the time. And we know electricity exists because we're sitting in front of a device that requires it in order to work.

Also, the universe is not as crazy as it may seem. It didn't spring into being with the Big Bang. It didn't form from just a chance collision of particles... and even if it did, what created the particles?

Look around the next time you walk outside. Look at the sky, the trees, the grass, the plants, the animals and the insects you share the world with. Look at the precice detail to their place in the world. The order they represent. Each one serves a purpose in the grand scheme. What that purpose is, we cannot say because from our point of view, we can only see what's around us.

Let's think about the atom. so small that technology has only just begun to be able to allow us to see them. We know that there's a nucleus of protons and neutrons orbited by electrons. Now let's zoom out. We see thousands upon thousands of them coming together orbiting and intertwining themselves to form moleculs. Zomm out again. we see molecules intertwining to make up cells. Cells make up organisms. Keep zooming out until you look at a person which all these tiny unseen things to the naked eye makes up.

Zoom out again, and we see ecosystems which people exist inalong with other forms of life.

Out again and we view the earth from high above, orbited by its moon.

Zoom out to see the solar system: the sun that gives us warmth and light orbited by planets, orbited by their moons. Not unlike the atoms and molecules we see at the smallest end of the scale.

Now keep going. We look at our Milky Way galaxy, made up of an uncounted number of stars, many of which surely must have a system of planets orbiting them.

We're still not at the end yet. Zoom out further and you see the galaxies that make up the universe. All existing in a unique but exactly perfect order, positioned in such a way that it's all held together.

This happened due to the Big Bang? I think not. The odds of it happening like that are about like the odds that a 100% accurate coppy Webster's Dictionary can form from an explosion in a printshop.

No. this universe was created. There's too much organization and design to everything for it to be otherwise, except among the one lifeform that refuses to conform to the laws of nature which are a part of that design. I'm talking about Man who tries to rationalize and explain away anything above him based only on tangibles.

Did Doom program itself? Did its sprites and textures draw themselves? Did its music write itself? And did all of these elements come together to form the game we've come to love by themselves?

No.

And if a game cannot develop itself, then the universe could not have created itself either.

The universe, when considered as a whole, even with our small understanding of that whole, clearly was designed according to a plan.

If there is a design, there is a designer

If there is a plan, there is a planner.

If there is a creation then there is a creator.

There is a God.

That is what I beleive.

i hate religions. 'nuff said

So do I...

Organized religion has hurt more than it has helped in history. Look at the crusades, for example. Murdering innocent men, women and children in the name of Christ and righteousness? In my bible, Jesus never told his disciples to kill people if they refuse to believe. In fact, he specifically said for us not to judge others. That's His role.

Christianity is not about religion. It's about a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. The problem is that it has become religionized by all those denominations: Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, etc...

I attend a baptist church, because that was how I was raised. But I consider myself to be a non-denominationalist Christian. I don't need a lot of man-made religious do's and don't and rules, when God's word is enough.

Man has always had a tendency to overcomplicate simple solutions to things. It's clear that expression of faith is no exception.

Faith is what God wants from us.

Instead we give Him religious ritual.

John the Baptist didn't have a church to preach in. The wilderness was enough for him. And if simple faith was enough for him, then it's enough for me as well.

In Christ,
G. B. Jackson

GBJacksonCGDC said:

That is the most persuasive article I have ever seen on religion. Almost makes me believe. Personally, I'm agnostic. I truly haven't decided on what to believe, but you have just swayed the scales quite a bit.

One more thing: I've SEEN atoms. The most powerful electron microscopes can view them.

Well, I was going to say something funny here, but it would be out of place and inappropriate with all the other comments, in my opinion. First of all, for people who are against religion, I would like to say that religion itself does not have any problems. The problems in religion are caused when people get involved. Invariably, people will always try to bend religion to their own self-serving needs, and this ruins it for everyone else. It really is a deep question to think about though, the subject of death, and it's one all of us will eventually have to face. I personally believe that when a person dies, that person goes to heaven to join God, but I have no proof of that. Of course, people who claim God does not exist and nothing happens when you die have no proof of that, either. Death is one of the few questions we will probably never be able to answer, possibly even more so than the question of God existing, but I think I've come up with the perfect solution. No matter what your beliefs, have an optimistic view on death. Because there is no way to know, my opinion is that all things being equal, it really doesn't matter what you believe when you die, unless God sends you to Hell for not believing, so it's better to be safe than sorry, and if you're wrong, it really won't matter, since you won't be around to realize you're wrong. One of the main reasons I believe in life after death, though, is that it is extremely hard to imagine that we are here with no purpose, and that our lives were completely pointless, because if that were the case, why would we even be here at all? I'm not saying that humans shouldn't exist, but why are conscience of our existance, why don't we go on existing without us being self-aware? It's really hard to describe what I'm thinking, but I hope you get the message.

Paragraphs, bub. They may help you be understood a little better.

Nothing. And you don't know it.
Consciousness ends, and you don't know a thing about it. Don't worry about it, it's inevitable. I just try not to get bored while I'm waiting.

GBJacksonCGDC said:

GB: You stole that from Carl Sagan.

geekmarine said:

Someone once told me about something that happened at a college lecture once in a philosophy class. The professor was an atheist and always pulled the same speach on the final day of class. He always challenged people who believed in God and the afterlife to say so, so he could ridicule them. One girl stood up and challenged his atheistic standpoint, and the professor launched into what he believed was a tried-and-true faith breaker:

He held up a fresh piece of chalk and said that there was no God, and to prove it, he said, he would drop the chalk and it would break on the tile floor, for nothing could go beyond the laws of physics.

He dropped the chalk, and it grazed his leg, bounced off his shoe and landed lightly on the floor and rolled a short distance. Red-faced and speachless, he stared at the chalk and then walked out of the lecture hall.

Cooincidence? Possibly.

Divine intervention? Possibly.

But either way, the professor's point was shattered just like he expected to shatter someone's faith like the chalk that he intended to break.

I do not believe that when we die, we just cease to exist. If we do, then what we believe has no bearing on anything at all. But if there IS a Heaven and a Hell, and what we believe and how we live according to that believe and the faith that goes with it determines where we'll go, then to live like there is no fate beyond death or that ther is no God or judgment to come is just plain foolish.

True, it cannot be scientifically proven that there is an afterlife.

But then again, science cannot prove that there is not, either.

Therefore, common sense dictates to me that I should play it save and live like there IS a judgment to come. And if you'll read my post in this thread about the complexity and apparent design to the universe, you cannot help but wonder, just what does man know, really. And what quilifies him to give a definitive answer to the question of origin and what lies after death?

Where was man at the moment of creation?

What man is truly capable of looking beyond the mortal veil to see what exists, or does not exist, beyond.

The The Bible tells me that "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgment"

So then the question I ask myself is "Do I want to be judged for refusing Jesus Christ and spend eternity in Hell apart from God and those whom I loved who have gone before me? Or do I want to be judged for my Faith in Jesus and receive the heavenly rewards for my faith that the Bible promises.?"

If a person has a soul, which I believe we all do, then why would that person want to risk an eternity in Hell? Life may be a gamble, but death is a certainty. I refuse to take chances with my immortal soul, and my advice to each of you is to avoid doing so as well.

Anybody here ever read the book of Revelation? There are many prophecied events in that final book in the bible that appear to have come true that ten years ago we couldn't even hope to understand.

The Bible says that when Christ returns to establish His kingdom on Earth, every eye will see him come. Ten years ago, this was inconceivable, and even debated among theologeans. Now, we have the Internet and satelite TV broadcasts. One cameraman can hook up to a global satelite network so that everyone around the world can watch a press conference or other similar broadcast.

That explains how every eye shall see Christ return in Glory.

The Bible also prophecies that there will be earthquakes in diverse places. In just the last few years alone, there have been record numbers of earthquakes even in places known to have no prior history of geological instability.

The bible tells us that things like this will happen as signs that Christ's return is coming soon.

If this is the case, according to God's word, there will soon come a time when all of the Christians will be removed from this world. And though the word "Rapture" appears nowhere in the bible, it is the word many theologeans have assigned to this event. So if the bible is right about the earthquakes and about a possible prediction of satelite TV broadcasts, then why shouldn't it be right about the Rapture?

I offer you a warning. One that many will ridicule me for, but I don't care. If you are among those who bear witness to the disappearance of millions of people from around the world, you can start a seven year countdown. And if you think that things are bad now, the bible tells us that in those seven years, things will happen that will make the worst experience man has seen thus far look like a walk in the park. This is the time referred to as the Great Tribulation, when God pours out his wrath upon an unrepentent and wicked world.

The bible tells us that only those who are faithful to Him will be spared this wrath.

I suggest that you read revelation and then look at world events to see just how many that the bible has predicted have actually come to pass, and are occuring even now. You may find yourself shocked.

Incidentally, the Bible prophecied that the his people (the Jews) would become a single nation. That has happened. The bible also indicates that the generation that saw this event occur will not die out before the rapture occurs... If this is true, then we're down to just a matter of years.

I'm not trying to force religion on anyone. I'm just sharing what I've read and learned. What people do with this information is up to them.

But I can honestly say that if a person doesn't believe in Hell, he could find himself going there.

Someone on here mentioned something about God sending people to Hell? That is not the case. God does not sentence people to Hell. People sentence themselves there by their refusal to obey God.

This is what I believe. You can take it or leave it as you will.

I do know that any time someone like me mentions judgment from god, others get defensive. But I've always wondered if the defensiveness comes from steadfast belief in something, or just from them trying to avoid considering that there is a higher power than they themselves... So if one find this post angering them, they should ask themselves which of these two it is.

In Christ,
G. B. Jackson

Vorpal said:

GB: You stole that from Carl Sagan.

What did I steal?

Well if you are a bad boy you go to hell, a.k.a. a fusion between newdoom's rants and raves board and doomworld's doom3 board.

Vorpal said:

GB: You stole that from Carl Sagan.

Well even if he did, he obviously thinks the same way so the words come from him as much as that other dude.

::Cuts+Pastes above article for future reference::

Sir Fragsalot said:

That is the most persuasive article I have ever seen on religion. Almost makes me believe. Personally, I'm agnostic. I truly haven't decided on what to believe, but you have just swayed the scales quite a bit.

One more thing: I've SEEN atoms. The most powerful electron microscopes can view them.

BWT do you believe in a soul at least (you cant see it but if you feel its presence in you its there)

GBJacksonCGDC said:

i agree with you, what the bible says is whats true, the differetn parts of christianity are only there because people couldnt follow what it said and get along, so they started their own "mini religion" thats all crap, what god says goes.

SaGa said:

BWT do you believe in a soul at least (you cant see it but if you feel its presence in you its there)

That's one thing I do believe in. I think that everyone has a soul and a sense of morals. It's hard to prove in today's screwed up wprld, but I think that everyone is essentially good inside. I honestly think that I wouldn't be able to live if I believed otherwise.

You breathe out, you don't breathe in.

I may upset a couple of people her, having just all the the extremely good replies and comments (especially from GB)

Anyway, my belief -

You die, you rot.

GBJacksonCGDC said:

The one thing I don't like about Christianity's idea that the universe was created by God was that they say God was always there. But where did God come from? Who created God? God can't just happen, just like the universe can't just happen. I'm not sure exactly what happens when you die, but chances are it's alot of nothingness (those are my beliefs anyway).