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"Life after Death"

Do you believe in life after death?. Following being diagnosed with cancer my life was put on stop, my world changed instantly. I and my family were in shock but I was not mad or asked why me?. I was however mad at the system that allowed me to get in this situation because there was history in my case that appeared not to mean a thing. I then had experiences that only convinced me that there are stranger things in heaven than on earth. Not a stranger to mystical events in the past I started a mission to work with cancer

I don't know the mechanics of evolution all that well (although reading a book atm about it all). All I'll say is, even if some things are inexplicable, that's in itself the very reason one cannot and should not pass it off as a faith based matter alone. It's not adequate. So yeah, science doesn't have all the answers. That doesn't mean faith, by default, does.

This argument is sooooo old!

Those who believe in the theories of evolution (who normally admit that they are theories) versus the closed minded people who think they know all the answers by only providing flaws in the first group's arguments...not by providing any reasonable explanation as to why their argument can be the only one (as, to be fair, there are so many possibilities).

It's normally the latter who decide to catagorise people into 'evolutionists', etc.

Just deviating slightly off topic, did anyone see that programme on the weekend about those fanatics who believe God is responsible for 911 and that everyone except themselves are 'fags' who are all going to hell? They decided that one of their religion's top authorities, Desmond Tutu (sorry if the spelling is wrong there...) is going to hell...

I just thought I'd mention it as it was a rather amusing example of closed mindedness when it comes to Christianity versus an open mind which I'm sure has something to do with the evolution argument here...

My thoughts on life after death (the original subject)...I'd like to think that I'm being watched over by loved ones I have lost...however my conclusion is that life is like machine. We have parts that make us work and if they don't work and/or can not be repaired or replaced, we cease to exist. A person is defined by their experiences, and that is stored in their brain. The brain deteriorates after death to a point where it can no longer function. As there is no way to transfer the brain's memory to another brain, that person can no longer exist.

Therefore, there is no 'sleep', there is no 'darkness', there is nothing.

I don't choose faith by default. I believe that God made the world and everything in it. That may or may not have been by evolution, I just think its a poor theory so don't believe it. The message of the bible isn't about how God made the world, its about how God saves the world through Jesus so I think if evolution is the biggest thing standing in somebody's way of believing in God then it really shouldn't. That's not the important part of the message.

I didn't see that programme that you mentioned, but I assume it was the organisation "God hates fags". They blame all of the worlds problems on gay people. This is, quite frankly, wrong. The bible doesn't teach this at all. The fact that they call themselves Christians as well is annoying because it provides ammunition for those with an anti-Christian agenda.

merlinthewizard wrote:
> "Geffdof" you assumed right. It is now emerging from
> the scientific establishment challenging new evidence.
> Complexity of life forms is providing empirical evidence for
> Intelligent Design, as well as further indications that
> evolution is impossible. This has come about with the revolution
> in microbiology. We now know things that Darwin could never have
> imagined in his wildest dreams. The significance of this is
> found in Darwin's own words: "If it could be demonstrated
> that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have
> been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my
> theory would absolutely break down" (Behe ).

Quoting Behe, any credibility you might ever of had just disappeared. :-)

Who/what is Behe?

True Geffdof, I think a lot of the issues people have with Christianity stem from the Old Testament rather than the New, the Old being the one which causes more consternation among people.

The New Testament is about us being saved through Jesus etc, which I still don't believe in, mainly because of bla bla bla here we go again. But yah.

Cycloon wrote:
> Who/what is Behe?

Michael Behe is one of the main proponents of intelligent design. He is actually a biochemist, but dont let that fool you into thinking any of his work is scientific. :)

If you pick a random passage from the old testament it would probably sound really weird and confuse people (not ALL of the OT, but a lot of it anyway). Some of the stuff does seem quite strange if you read it by itself, but if you read the whole of the old testament (as if I'll be doing that any time soon) you can sum it all up quite nicely because there are recurring themes running through it.
The OT says that God made the world and told us how best to live our lives. People continually turned away from him. They always messed up. Nothing they did could fix it. No amount of work made up for their wrongdoings and they needed a way of being saved. It essentially points to the coming of the Messiah.

Its basically an example to show that everyone always messes up and no amount of work can fix it so we need someone else, someone perfect, to save us.

Behe's theory is actually thousands of years old and is in the bible, only its a lot more simple and relevant in the bible.

Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

The problem with quoting the bible in an argument against a non-believer is that you're quoting something they do not believe in.

Therefore, you don't actually effect their beliefs and actually make a weak argument.

Obviously if you were preaching to someone who was open-mindedly looking for answers via faith, then quotes from the bible would seem valid.

Please take this as just an observation and not a criticism.

I have actually realised that myself before today. It sounds like an odd thing to do. I believe, however, that the bible is objectively true and its, therefore, true for everyone even if they don't believe it. In that case I would discuss with someone as to why I believe it to be true and why it can be trusted.

edit:- I love the madness of our "politically correct" world in which you have to specify that you are not criticising me so that I don't feel offended.