Does an afterlife suggest that this life is pointless?

[Pieman333272]

Does the idea of an afterlife suggest that this life is pointless, since everybody is going to move on to the afterlife, and there’s no reason to live this to the fullest, as there will be more?

 

[j1akey]

Does the idea of an afterlife suggest that this life is pointless, since everybody is going to move on to the afterlife, and there’s no reason to live this to the fullest, as there will be more?

Personally the promise of an afterlife has always been snakeoil salesman ship in my eyes regardless of the religion. It usually goes something like “You can spend eternity in the afterlife with your lord and savior” or something like that. All you need to do is believe what I tell you to beleive and you can live forever. I mean come on. It’s not as if anyone has ever died to interview people in the afterlife to see what it’s all about and then come back to tell the story about it. Also to be quite honest I don’t know if I’d want to spend eternity. I mean, that’s a really really long time, basically your existance would never end and go on for infinity. That sounds like it would be pretty boring after the frist couple billion years or so.

Either way, if something is too good to be true then it probably is. The fact is no one realy knows if there’s an afterlife but we all figure it out after we die. Or maybe not. All there is is the hope of an afterlife for some.

 

[roveau]

As this life determines what our afterlife will be, I would say that this life is anything but pointless.

 

[tonyrey]

If there were no afterlife this life would certainly be pointless! There is so much injustice and “unfinished business” that life would be senseless if we happened to be here for a few brief years and then disappeared into dust for all eternity. It would be “a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing”…

 

[Loml]

In the afterlife there is no day and night, there is no growing up, finding your way in the world… it is nothing like this life. The afterlife is the real life that we were made for, but it is in this life that we must choose to accept Jesus’ invitation.

 

[tonyrey]

Does the idea of an afterlife suggest that this life is pointless, since everybody is going to move on to the afterlife, and there’s no reason to live this to the fullest, as there will be more?

According to that argument not only should we have instant coffee and instant photos but also an instant afterlife!

There is something lacking in a destination without a journey… In fact it isn’t even a destination!

 

[4Horsemen]

How we live in the present determines our life beyond this one. As mentioned above, the thought of an afterlife gives meaning to this one. Those who have had “life-after-death” experiences say that when they “came back”, they decided to live their lives more profitably in gratitude and enjoyment. Life after death is the fulfillment of what our earthly lives have been and what we will be judged upon. Those who are purified for heavenly glory have “washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.” (from Rev.)

One can think of heaven as an everlasting perfect moment of love, except that spiritual love is on a much higher plane than earthly love.

 

[JackQ]

Does the idea of an afterlife suggest that this life is pointless, since everybody is going to move on to the afterlife, and there’s no reason to live this to the fullest, as there will be more?

Does how the seed is cultivated have a bearing on the kind of plant it will turn out to be?

 

[Pieman333272]

Personally the promise of an afterlife has always been snakeoil salesman ship in my eyes regardless of the religion. It usually goes something like “You can spend eternity in the afterlife with your lord and savior” or something like that. All you need to do is believe what I tell you to beleive and you can live forever. I mean come on. It’s not as if anyone has ever died to interview people in the afterlife to see what it’s all about and then come back to tell the story about it. Also to be quite honest I don’t know if I’d want to spend eternity. I mean, that’s a really really long time, basically your existance would never end and go on for infinity. That sounds like it would be pretty boring after the frist couple billion years or so.

Heaven and God are infinite. We are finite. There will always be something more for us to do, enjoy, or discover there. Also, we have the resurrection of the dead to refresh us after a few thousand years.

Either way, if something is too good to be true then it probably is. The fact is no one realy knows if there’s an afterlife but we all figure it out after we die. Or maybe not. All there is is the hope of an afterlife for some.

I agree we have to take an afterlife - or to be fully honest, lack of thereof - on faith, but I don’t think “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is” applies to the given scenario.