What is the point to life?

[Fyron]

Originally posted by Puke:
no, no, no.. you have to hold on loosely, and not let go. because if you cling to tight...

ah, nevermind.

Leave it to you to make one puke...

[Kamog]

I don't think there's life after death. People have tried to tell me otherwise, but I am not convinced since there is no evidence, and their arguments are based only on faith. Some people seem to choose to believe in life after death because they hope that it exists, but I can't bring myself to believe something just because it would be nice if it were true.

So I'll just assume that death is the end, and if I happen to be wrong, I would be pleasantly surprised.

Somebody once said, "Why worry about life after death if you're not even living this one?"

[dogscoff]

because they worked long hours, made huge personal sacrifices and took big risks along the way.

People justifying their wealth with 'personal sacrifices' means nothing to me. See someone else's post earlier about how a sacrifice isn't a sacrifice if you plan to get something back from it. They very deliberately chose to make the 'sacrifices', so they shouldn't whinge about them.

rich people f*cking over the lives of the poor. I do agree that some people get rich by cutting legal corners
sometimes,

I think the point is that many people f&ck over the poor without having to cut legal corners. There must be a zillion websites cataloguing corporate evils so I won't bother going into details here but try googling up a few sites against pharmaceutical companies or the tobacco industry. Mostly they shaft people within the law. (Although admittedly they'll often have to buy a politician first to get the laws re-written in their favour.)

but I also see that it comes back to haunt them

It's a nice thought, but I hardly ever see this. Mostly they just keep on getting away with it.

[General Woundwort]

Originally posted by Kamog:
I don't think there's life after death. People have tried to tell me otherwise, but I am not convinced since there is no evidence, and their arguments are based only on faith.

Technically, so is yours.

Some people seem to choose to believe in life after death because they hope that it exists, but I can't bring myself to believe something just because it would be nice if it were true. So I'll just assume that death is the end, and if I happen to be wrong, I would be pleasantly surprised.

One problem with this is that several religions, Christianity included, teach that sometimes life after death is not that pleasant for some. And after the fact is a poor time to find out...

[Ran-Taro]

Originally posted by General Woundwort:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kamog:
I don't think there's life after death. People have tried to tell me otherwise, but I am not convinced since there is no evidence, and their arguments are based only on faith.

Technically, so is yours.

---

That does not follow. Refusing to accept an assertion without some sort of valid evidence for it does not require faith.

In the absence of any evidence of something existing, it is a logical presumption that it probably doesn't exist.

Some people seem to choose to believe in life after death because they hope that it exists, but I can't bring myself to believe something just because it would be nice if it were true. So I'll just assume that death is the end, and if I happen to be wrong, I would be pleasantly surprised.

One problem with this is that several religions, Christianity included, teach that sometimes life after death is not that pleasant for some. And after the fact is a poor time to find out...

However, according to the dogma, believing in Christianity simply as an 'each way bet' will not save you. Hypocrites go to hell.

Hence this is not a good argument to follow Christianity, at least.

[ October 07, 2003, 12:46: Message edited by: Ran-Taro ]

[Loser]

Originally posted by Ran-Taro:
In the absence of any evidence of something existing, it is a logical presumption that it probably doesn't exist.

Whatever my thoughts on the afterlife might be, that isn't actually logic. Absence of any evidence means nothing, logically.

To believe something you do not have any evidence to support is not reason, it is faith. That is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic.

[Ran-Taro]

Originally posted by Loser:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ran-Taro:
In the absence of any evidence of something existing, it is a logical presumption that it probably doesn't exist.

Whatever my thoughts on the afterlife might be, that isn't actually logic. Absence of any evidence means nothing, logically.

To believe something you do not have any evidence to support is not reason, it is faith. That is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic.

---

I disagree. It is true that with no evidence either way it cannot be said that something is either true or not true. Hence the word 'probably'.

However, all things being equal, the simplest explanation is, logically, the most likley to be true.

This is why I can validly say that George W Bush is probably not J Edgar Hoover, risen from the dead, in a really good disguise.

I currently have no evidence to support that he isn't. However given the fact that I have no evidence to indicate that he is J Edgar Hoover in disguise, logically, he is probably not.

The only difference in likleyhood between these two positions (without any physical evidence) is that one requires a more complex explanation. It is therefore less likley to be true.

It would be difficult to function in a world where this rule was not true.

By the same logic - when we die, in the absence of any other evidence to the contrary, we are probably dead.

In fact, the argument goes further than that, because when we die, we leave behind physical evidence (a dead body) that contradicts everything we know produces life in sentient creatures (ie, a functioning body). Hence, based on our knowledge of physical reality, it can be fairly said that there is no life after death.

Whether, the Bible, the resurrection, the existence of faith itself etc., constitute evidence of an afterlife is a different matter.

[ October 07, 2003, 13:33: Message edited by: Ran-Taro ]