J
jaimelopez
Guest
is God necessary for life after death? In other words, there is life after death if and only if God exists?
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P
Paleocon
Guest
The natural argument for life after and death does not require reference to God.
Of course, it is not possible that God could have not existed.
S
seagal
Guest
Without God no life at all is possible, either before or after death. God didn’t just call us into being, he sustains us through this life and the next.
I
ialsop
Guest
ANYTHING existing requires a God to sustain us.
C
ClearWater
Guest
Yes. That’s correct. We depend on God for everything like a child depends on a parent, only even more.
N
Nixbits
Guest
I think it depends on your definition of life after death.
In our world currently, there is no way for a person to live on after the true complete death of their brain. But shortly after brain-death, a creature with sufficiently advanced technology might be able to teleport a brain into another body or receptacle that would sustain it and might be able to repair the cell damage caused by death. The person would then be able to live again. They would still be the same person with all the memories and personality they had before.
No involvement from a god would be needed in this scenario. This would seem to be life after death to us humans. But it could be argued that this just uses technology to extend the limit of brain injury from which a person can be saved. Just as our medical technology has advanced enough that people can be restored to life after severe brain injuries that years ago would certainly have killed them.
If you mean life after death with no physical restoration, transplanting or copying of the brain, then the answer is probably that, as far as we know, it could only be done by supernatural means, i.e. by the intervention of a god-like entity. Because this is supernatural it is beyond the physical world and so it is beyond our ability to detect. Therefore we don’t know if it can or does happen and perhaps we can never know.
Of course, sufficiently advanced technology would seem supernatural to us. This theme is explored in Philip Jose Farmer’s ‘Riverworld’ series of science fiction novels, in which everyone who has ever lived is resurrected along the banks of a huge river on an enormous planet.
In our world currently, there is no way for a person to live on after the true complete death of their brain. But shortly after brain-death, a creature with sufficiently advanced technology might be able to teleport a brain into another body or receptacle that would sustain it and might be able to repair the cell damage caused by death. The person would then be able to live again. They would still be the same person with all the memories and personality they had before.
No involvement from a god would be needed in this scenario. This would seem to be life after death to us humans. But it could be argued that this just uses technology to extend the limit of brain injury from which a person can be saved. Just as our medical technology has advanced enough that people can be restored to life after severe brain injuries that years ago would certainly have killed them.
If you mean life after death with no physical restoration, transplanting or copying of the brain, then the answer is probably that, as far as we know, it could only be done by supernatural means, i.e. by the intervention of a god-like entity. Because this is supernatural it is beyond the physical world and so it is beyond our ability to detect. Therefore we don’t know if it can or does happen and perhaps we can never know.
Of course, sufficiently advanced technology would seem supernatural to us. This theme is explored in Philip Jose Farmer’s ‘Riverworld’ series of science fiction novels, in which everyone who has ever lived is resurrected along the banks of a huge river on an enormous planet.
I
ialsop
Guest
I would generally agree. BUT you said we cannot detect afterlife. we could not detect afterlife with TECHNOLOGY. But perhaps that is not the only way of detecting things?
N
Nixbits
Guest
Actually I didn’t qualify our ability to detect an afterlife by mentioning technology. I don’t believe that we can detect evidence of an afterlife by any means, technological or otherwise.
If you don’t agree, perhaps you can suggest how it can or could be detected.
If you don’t agree, perhaps you can suggest how it can or could be detected.
I
ialsop
Guest
Well, perhaps visits from dead relatives. I have had no experiences myself, but others have.
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