Can Eternal Life Have Meaning?
27 posts in this topic.
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I never understood the appeal of eternal life to xtians. ^
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Me either! And I am one... O.o
It's supposed to be to do with being with God all the time, which does kind of sound cool.
Can't really get my head around the concept though... -
I guess some people are afraid of just not existing (from my POV and beliefs), I know that sometimes I get a little scared about not existing any-more.
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No. What's the point? You have nothing to strive for.
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Honestly, I think it's a comfort thing for them. I admit, the only way I know how to deal with death is to think that they're not really gone, simply somewhere else. To feel that lose completely might destroy me. I am sensitive this way. However, the idea of me existing forever and ever is slightly unappealing, even if it is in some glorious perfect place. Wouldn't it get boring? Meh, I am not too eager to find out what happens after death, I think I'd like to wait on that one.
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Spoiler Alert: Nothing happens.
Sure, Jaetwee, I fear for the possibly painful process of death, or for people that I may leave behind. But the idea of being nonexistent itself doesn't bother me, it can't bother me then anyway. -
Meh, I will believe nothing happens when I die and nothing happens. Then again, if nothing happens then I wont be there to believe anything
still, I don't think anything right now. I have never died, so I have no idea what it's like. -
"The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns..."
...And all that. -
Nice reference. "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,"?
Let me be clear. I'm not advocating suicide. :p -
Yep
"The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of.
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all..."
And yes, also not advocating suicide. The answer to the question is 'to be'. :p
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@Pigeon: I'm failing to muster relevance.
"I have never died, so I have no idea what it's like." Imagine what it was like before you we're born. -
Yeah, it was getting irrelevant...I just like Hamlet.
The 'imagine what it was like before you were born' thing is a good illustration, but I doubt it would convince many people. We obviously don't know what it was like before we were born, so people work their theories of an afterlife in around this by saying:
(a) We only start existing at birth, then continue afterwards.
(b) We get reincarnated or similar and have no memory of previous lives.
I think that the meaning that Eternal Life has for most people is that this life can kind of suck, and they get to hope for a life without pain and sadness and all that. I think that is the meaning which the concept offers. -
It still wouldn't be a meaningful life. Just an infinite state of euphoria. The fact that our time is limited is what gives it value.
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When I think of eternal life, I think of this:
When I was a little girl, I was in my mom's arms and she was resting her chin on my head and wrapping her own arms around me. And she sighed and said, "Soon you'll be too old for me to do this." And I don't remember how old I was, but that kind of feeling kind of shocked me. As if suddenly I realized that there would be a time when we couldn't be like this. And I said, "No, no, no, it's okay" because she was tearing up and I was tearing up and we were a mess.
And I know it sounds so Baby of Mine and everything, but it's true. It's like we have this entire life that we live, but even if we spend our time usefully and productively... we still don't have enough time to tell each other that we love each other so much. I don't know about you, but when someone I love dies, I keep thinking, "Why didn't I tell so-and-so how much I loved him/her?" Even if we spent a lot of time together and had such a wonderful relationship, it feels cut short. And if we didn't have the greatest relationship, it's even worse because you think, "I let this get in the way of our time together?" Because then you realize that you will never see that person again... at least not here on Earth.
And I am not afraid of eternal life. I mean, if you spent eternal life trying to build empires or whatever, like Inception and whatnot, well... I can see why eternal life would be so hideous. If that were eternal life, I would reject it too! And who knows? Maybe that's what hell truly looks like. I don't know. C.S. Lewis seemed to think that (read: "The Great Divorce") but who really knows?
But, the idea where you can spend time with the people who have passed on? The fact that you can be forever in your family's arms, and you won't grow too old to love each other? I don't think that's bad. I don't think that's bad at all.
Whether it's meaningful or not... who knows? I guess it all depends in what you find meaning in. But I find meaning first and foremost in love, and I know were I to have eternal life, I would spend it loving others, just as I strive to do so now. Except, hopefully I'll be better at it. And, if not... well... I'll have the time to improve, lol.
Whether this eternal life would be of value or not? Who knows? I don't even know if my life has been of value at all. If I die tonight, then what great thing have I done? And yet, it's a possibility. One asthma attack and who knows what can happen? And, even if I live a long life, what value does my life have beyond my life? A couple of generations and I'll be forgotten. It happens. Maybe there will be an obituary that summarize my life. Maybe people will read it. But, will they know me? Or will that be forgotten too. I have heard stories about my ancestors, but those stories have passed into legends and I am not sure of what is true anymore. Maybe nothing is true.
And so, I don't really care whether it gives value or whether its meaningful or not. I just want to be able to love, no matter what. -
Well don't sell yourself short, Snoink! That touching story of you an your mother was probably the tip of the iceberg of value that you've brought through relationships. You don't have to find the cure for cancer...
But let me step back here. The impetus for this train of thought and intrigue for me was reading a book called The Empathic Civilization. I'm not going to tell you to read the book, but rather I want to direct you to a wonderful lecture by the author on youtube that mentions what's relevant. The whole video is brilliant (a cartoonist accompanies it) but if you want to cut to the chase just watch from 3:00-5:00. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g
He argues that empathy can't exist when mortality doesn't. That got me thinking/investigating. How can meaning exist without mortality?
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