http://abcnews.go.com/2020/
The full show will be on the site soon, but meanwhile, enjoy some clips. She traveled the world interviewing people about heaven and hell, and let atheists and skeptics have about two minutes out of a two-hour special.
I DVR'd it so I could review it here, but there isn't much to say about it. The various religions all have a different afterlife belief. duh Why she doesn't draw the obvious conclusion from there that heaven is man-made is beyond me. Well, the ratings would tank but still... what an insipid show about an insipid concept.
Sure, we want to live forever, but forever is a long time and even Heaven would get really really boring. And all those people who have near-death experiences never see Hell or their uncle who molested him. Surely at least one person would have a hellish time of it considering how many of us are going there. The explanation offered about the dying brain was immediately countered by the NDE experiencers with "I know what I saw."
*sigh*
9 comments:
As an agnostic, myself, my best guess is that nothing happens after we die but I've gotten a lot more comfortable saying, "I just don't know."
Now, the traditional concepts of Heaven and Hell seem silly to me but it seems that, as long as there's been recorded human history, there's been ghost stories. That's what, 5,000 - 6,000 years of ghostly tales? Let's say 99.9% of those can be explained away rationally. That still leaves a lot of things with no explanation. I'm not saying I believe in ghosts but....
The universe is vast. We're learning news stuff all the time. Before the 20th century we didn't know for sure that atoms existed and what they were composed of, yet, they've been around since the Big Bang. Before the late 19th century we didn't know what bacteria and viruses were but they've been around forever too.
Who knows what happens after death? If I had to put money on it, I'd say nothing. But....
Just because something hasn't been explained doesn't mean it's supernatural. (That's called the 'argument from ignorance')
What happens to "us" after death depends on what constitutes "us." We have no problem attributing brain chemistry to the temperaments of dogs or chimpanzees, but our 'souls' are separate from our bodies.
Functional magnetic imaging is proving more and more that the "personality" is due to perfectly natural functions of the brain. The "soul" is a figment of our imaginations.
"... but our 'souls' are separate from our bodies"
Wrong.
See here.
Man does not POSSESS a soul, he IS a soul... by Bible reckoning.
So, if your definition of soul is flawed, how about your conclusion of it's existence?
That depends on the religion; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul
You were making your assumptions from a Christian's point of view, as do most detractors. Doing that, you need to source the Bible as an authority... which it is.
And, there are many offshoots... which is why you need to read my post on the issue.
And, thanks for not deleting me!
I don't delete substantive posts :-D
Barbara Walters' show actually reviewed afterlife beliefs of many religions. The idea that there is something to us that is separate from the body is common to most religions (if not all) and the word for that other part is generally "soul." I suppose "spirit" would do too.
"I don't delete substantive posts"
Well good, because no ostensibly rational person can deny that evidence falsifying one of your claims qualifies as a "substantive" post...
"And all those people who have near-death experiences never see Hell... Surely at least one person would have a hellish time of it considering how many of us are going there."
The second sentence is correct, and a quick Google search disproves the first.
Dr. Maurice Rawlings wrote some books on near death experiences in which he shares the reports of people having a Hell experience.
I am not quite sure who exactly this is directed to, but I feel the overwhelming need to say that God does exist. He may not be a statue made of gold or an idol built to bow down to. If that were so what kind of God would that be? How can you look at the stars in the sky, the moon, the sun, or all the wonders of this world and not believe there is a greater being? God is Faith, He is not going to make you love Him or make you believe in Him. You have free will and it looks to me that you all have used your free will to do nothing more than bash those that have experienced the Truth. God and The Word of God have been around since the beginning of time. It's how funny how something that is supposedly based on lie after lie never dies out. You can spend your life denying God and His existence or you can actually ask God to reveal Himself to you. I know one thing if you ask Him to show His self be prepared to see what you never before believed existed. God is real, He loves you just as much as He loves me. He lets you chooses your own destiny, so when people say how can God send people to hell, He doesn't. He lets us all choose what we are going to do. Just because you have made the decision in your own mind God does not exist doesn't make it true. You may never ever decide to learn more about Him, but I wish before you make a choice to deny Him you would ask Him to show you His love and His Word as being Truth. What do you have to lose? That all.
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