Humbuggery

Ah, the erstwhile slogan of everyone’s favorite software megagiant, but what does it have to do with skepticism, atheism, and religion?

As always, dear readers, I bring to you the most complicated controversys ever contrived by humankind, today we talk about death, and what happens after it.

Death, the absence of brain activity, life, and in general, a none-to-wished thing which will inevitably get every last one of us in it’s grubby paws. Many people fear death, they don’t know what to expect, they don’t know what happens. This, I think, comes out of peoples inability to grasp a fundamental truth, that the world is more than the sum of our experience. Further, I think people fail to realize that they fail to grasp this truth. When you are not reading this post, reader, it still exists. When we are not speaking to one another, we both still continue. Life does not stop simply because one of us has left the room. Nor does it stop for the rest of us after you have died.

No sir, it only stops for you.

This of course is the well known standard-atheist belief. Since atheism is defined as the opposite of religion, and the complement of the beliefs of religion is a wide — indeed infinite — field, it is near certain this is not universal belief amongst atheists, and thats okay.

Let me, before continuing, state for the record, if you are of any religion, or nonreligion, or whathaveyou, do not assume I immediately hate you. Nor should you assume that my indictments of yours, or others religion is intended as an attack on you personally. This, and these statements are exclusively directed at those members of any religion or nonreligion, from Atheists and Animists to Zoroastrians and Zeus-worshippers, who are so dogmatic about their views that they will not even address the views of others as valid beliefs. You are entitled to believe what you will, with the sole caveat that you allow me the same right. I should not have to deal with Jehovah’s Witness’ coming to my door at 8:30 in the morning as I’m sitting to my morning coffee, reading the news headlines and trying desparately to wake myself from the 3 and 1/2 hours of sleep I got last night. Nor should they have to deal with me doing the same.

Dogmaticism is stupid, so if you aren’t dogmatic about your beliefs, then enjoy the gloriously wordy fun I’ll be creating at the expense of the dogmaticists.

I’ve digressed quite off point, let’s reset. Where do you want to go today? What do religions believe about life after death? Are we reincarnated? Rejuvinated? Resurrected? Reborn? Reused? Recycled? Are we greeted at the great gates of god, or perhaps gods and goddesses? Are we incinerated in a hellish fire for all forevers and more? This is an open thread. I’d like to know what you believe.

Personally, I don’t think anything will happen, to quote Betrand Russell, “I believe that when I die, I shall rot, and nothing of my ego shall survive…” Though I should think that– if I could pick my own post-mortem adventure, I might like to try reincarnation. I rather like the concept of Karma, a cosmic tally system would do us some good- I think, I don’t know what I’d return as, I hope something nice, ideally a person. I’d like to try learning another science — maybe biology.

In any my curiosity was sparked today, and I began to wonder, so tell me, Where do you want to go today?

[1] Including such “naughty” things as satanism or wicca, which are religions of their own merit, that are similarly rejected by the mainstream religions as things atheists might do. I state for the record that, I at least, don’t think those religions are any more or less ridiculous than Catholocism, Protestantism, or any other religious idea. It’s all dogma, it’s all equally silly. Though I will state that at least the non-mainstream religions aren’t composed of idiots and Pat Robertson. Actually, to be honest, I should recuse myself from judgements of the aforementioned “naughty” things, as I have only sparsely studied them. Though I am fairly sure my conclusion would not be fair off from “silly”.