What? That there is a sadistic creator that has no problem with the vast majority of humans burning in hell for eternity.....hmmmmm, let me think. Or are you creating some alternative where there is an afterlife of bliss for all, not rooted in any of the current religions?
I do understand the longing for some sort of afterlife. A dear friend of mine took her own life last week; the grief was almost overwhelming at first. One reason why it was so hard to handle the news was because I never got to say "Goodbye" and I am left wondering if she knew how much I truly cared about her. It WOULD be a comfort to think that she's 'up there' and that she can see/hear me; to believe that she somehow knows how terribly I miss her. So...in that limited regard...yeah, it would be nice. But that's not the "afterlife" I'd been taught about. The sitting-at-the-right-hand-of-God/going to the "bad" place if you don't believe the "right" things--I'm VERY happy not to believe any of that crap. No thanks.
I'm an atheist because I believe the facts I have been exposed to here on earth do not translate to there being a god. That said, at times, I have wished that there was some sort of "psychologist in the sky" that would "debrief" me after my life was complete. We'd talk about the good and the bad. What I could have done better to avoid the things I don't like about myself, etc. It's a neat thing to want, but there's no reason I can think of to believe that, or any, god figure exists. Or, for that matter reincarnation, which would provide us,maybe, with a way to have a second chance at life, and at the decisions that need to me made in life. I accept there is likely no afterlife. As a result, I try hard to make this life acceptable, for me and those that need to deal with me.
Screw that, I want to know the really important stuff. Like what's the deal with Bigfoot/Loch Ness Monster/D.B. Cooper, is there or has there been alien involvement on planet earth, what exactly happened with the Kennedy assasination....I'd much rather get a download of life's ridiculous mysteries than hash over my own personal drama.
As echoed above, I can't imagine many atheists wouldn't think it'd be nice if people went to heaven when they died, and were happy and lived with their loved ones for enternity etc. I can imagine a fair few on their death bed hoping they are wrong and they won't just cease to be any moment now. Beyond that, not really.
Sorry, but you have to explain what heaven is and how it works before I can answer whether I hope that it exists.
i am an athiest and i masturbate nightly to the idea of valhalla, and being taken from behind by thor, odin, loki, loge and all manner of oiled up scandanavians. furthermore , heaven does exist, and its based in farringdon. http://www.heavennightclub-london.com/
No. The only regret I have is that it is very, very, very, very...infinitely unlikely that I'll know the true nature of the universe and our existence. Where it came from, how it got there, what it will become, how can it be either forever and always or finite in duration? These are the only questions I'd really like to be answered before I die. Oh well.
According to a poll cited in Robert Putnam's book "American Grace", more Americans belief in heaven than believe in an afterlife. I'm not sure how that's possible, but maybe the difference is made up of atheists who wants to believe in heaven.
Or maybe there are a lot of really stupid people who think "the afterlife" sounds just a little too non-denominational for their taste so skipped it in favor or the unambiguous (for them) "heaven". Or, more generously, maybe the difference is people who believe heaven is a place on earth. Kumbaya.
I think its more likely the difference is made up by illiterate believers. Anyway, I guess I do hope I'm wrong. Because even if I'm wrong, everybody else will still be wrong so I have no reason to fear what many religions predict my after-death experience will be like.
Such an alternative would make more sense. I think if indeed there is some sort of afterlife, it is much more likely that it would be something we all end up being a part of based on our nature, rather than something that some people will inherit exclusively and others will not based on some human sense of justice or grace or belief.
Or maybe some who believe Christ is coming during their lifetime so they will continue living without an afterlife.
I would love to find out that our consciousness continues after death, especially if it means being reunited with loved ones who've passed, and/or increasing our understanding of the universe, and/or a state of bliss. At the same time, I have no interest in "heaven" in any way it has ever been presented to me. First and foremost, as others have said, I'd be disappointed to find out that indeed there's a system of eternal reward & punishment based on earthly faith or even earthly choices & behavior. That would suck. But even if heaven is a place everyone gets to, I do not find the concept of eternal bliss appealing. In fact, it's an oxymoron, a nonsensical idea. You can't have pleasure without lack of pleasure to define it. Perfect, eternal bliss is as meaningless as not existing. So I would not be particularly pleased to find out that after we die we experience an eternity of sameness.
I understand what you mean, but surely by it's very definition you would neither have feelings of meaninglessness or displeasure....once experiencing such bliss.
Eternal bliss is an oxymoron, but you have to put yourself in the shoes of the people that fueled the wide-spread belief of heaven. I mean just knowing you'll have a bed to sleep on every night in a climate controlled environment for the rest of your life instead of sleeping next to a flowing stream of raw sewage under a tarp is probably good enough to qualify as "eternal bliss" by some. In general, a developed nation on Earth in 2012 AD probably looks like heaven compared to Earth in the year when the idea of a heaven was constructed.
i mixed k and shrooms once and i think i pretty much severed any connection from mind to body for a good few hours. it wasnt a pleasant experience by any means but it has left me ever so slightly more open to the idea of a different place where our conciousness resides, though i am still convinced there is no such thing beyond the physical.