What is the best proof there is an afterlife?

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I am generally religious (I believe in God), but not quite certain about the afterlife.

What is the best proof or arguments you’ve seen, heard, or read, proving that there is an afterlife?

And I mean actual empirical or logical evidence, not bible verses.
 
SolemnSister said:
I am generally religious (I believe in God), but not quite certain about the afterlife.

What is the best proof or arguments you’ve seen, heard, or read, proving that there is an afterlife?

And I mean actual empirical or logical evidence, not bible verses.
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My guess is that for Christians it is the Resurrection?
 
I guess for me it would be ghosts. If there wasn’t something after death- if we didn’t have souls- could ghosts exist? To me, the answer is no.

And I had an encounter, I guess you could say, when I was 8 years old and had a near-drowning experience. And someone pulled me out of the pool- but there was no one there. My parents never saw me go under. They were the only people on the pool deck. But someone else pulled me out. And then disappeared. I remember seeing the arm come down into the water and grab my hand. I used to think it was Jesus himself, but now I lean more on it having been an Angel, because it seems like God would probably be a little busy.
 
I would think “empirical” evidence would include
  • the Resurrection
  • the Marian apparitions
  • the incorruptible bodies of the saints
  • stories of levitating saints like St. Joseph of Cupertino and other mystical stuff
    Just the sort of things that would convince a doubting Thomas.
 
Mathew 5:29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Mark 9:42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. [44]b 45And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. [46]c 47And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

Isn’t Jesus referring to life after death?
 
Besides the incredible events of the first century, here is more recent evidence of the afterlife:
  1. People who visited the afterlife (there are many saints who received tours of heaven or purgatory. There are also many regular people who make credible claims of visiting heaven. This link lists a few of those people. Some are convincing because they changed their life so profoundly upon returning. Others are convincing because they saw and learned things they could not have known about. For example, the little boy in “Heaven is for Real” met his little sister in heaven. He had no idea she existed because his parents never mentioned the miscarriage. Also, he met his great grandfather in heaven and was able to pick out his photograph out immediately (many people were in the photo) despite having never met him.
  2. Apparitions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary (some apparitions were only witnessed by one or two people, but others were witnessed by huge crowds – like the ones in Betania, Venezuela. Mary specifically stated she had “come from heaven” during several apparitions. Also, if you read the book “Our Lady of Kibeho,” you will see that one of the visionaries reported that Mary said the girl could watch Mary return to “heaven.” Then Mary rose up in the air towards the clouds. If Mary believes in heaven, then so do I…!
  3. Loved ones appearing to relatives. When loved ones appear, they often state they are in heaven or purgatory. Author Peter Kreeft, who conducted many interviews for his investigation, states that between “10 and 40 percent of the living have had some experience of the real presence of the dead, usually a family member.”
  4. Miracles in general. For example, 80,000 people saw the Miracle of the Sun in 1917. People on Earth cannot make the sun do that, so the people in the afterlife must be doing it! Or God, of course. Maybe you could visit the Divine Mercy site in the Philippines on Divine Mercy Sunday next year. During the last few years, the crowds reported that the sun did amazing things on this feast day. There is even a video.
 
Speaking of incredible events and the like, the stories about St. Padre Pio just seems so off the charts.
 
Scientific Hard Proof None.

People want and need to believe in an afterlife because its soothing.
 
AKDee said:
I guess for me it would be ghosts. If there wasn’t something after death- if we didn’t have souls- could ghosts exist? To me, the answer is no.

And I had an encounter, I guess you could say, when I was 8 years old and had a near-drowning experience. And someone pulled me out of the pool- but there was no one there. My parents never saw me go under. They were the only people on the pool deck. But someone else pulled me out. And then disappeared. I remember seeing the arm come down into the water and grab my hand. I used to think it was Jesus himself, but now I lean more on it having been an Angel, because it seems like God would probably be a little busy.
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Nah, God’s never too busy to help us out. He did die for us remember?🙂
 
Birdpreacher. You said (concerning the afterlife):

QUOTE:
Scientific Hard Proof None.

But science doesn’t purport to teach about the immaterial spiritual sphere. So “scientific proof” or lack of it, is irrelevant.

To attempt to “prove” the immaterial with “science” would be . . . “unscientific”.
 
SolemnSister said:
I am generally religious (I believe in God), but not quite certain about the afterlife.

What is the best proof or arguments you’ve seen, heard, or read, proving that there is an afterlife?

And I mean actual empirical or logical evidence, not bible verses.
Click to expand...
Best empirical would be the resurrection and Marian apparitions. Seen by enough people who are not mentally disturbed.

Logical evidence? If you logically believe that God exist, then you would logically trust the words that came from him. That you have an immortal soul. If you have an immortal soul, then logically you have an after life after the body has corrupted away.

For logical evidence of God, Christian philosophers have written much about it. The Kalam Argument, Ontological argument, moral argument, conscience argument, design argument etc. For me, the universe exist, therefore God is enough for me.
 
Do you remember anything about existing the million of years before your conception??

I have a feeling death will be a similar blankness. I would love to believe in an afterlife where I get to see my loved ones again, but I would also love to believe that I am gonna win the lotto sometime in my lifetime, both are just wishful claims with no evidence.
 
oceansenora said:
Besides the incredible events of the first century, here is more recent evidence of the afterlife:
  1. People who visited the afterlife (there are many saints who received tours of heaven or purgatory. There are also many regular people who make credible claims of visiting heaven. This link lists a few of those people. Some are convincing because they changed their life so profoundly upon returning. Others are convincing because they saw and learned things they could not have known about. For example, the little boy in “Heaven is for Real” met his little sister in heaven. He had no idea she existed because his parents never mentioned the miscarriage. Also, he met his great grandfather in heaven and was able to pick out his photograph out immediately (many people were in the photo) despite having never met him.
  2. Apparitions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary (some apparitions were only witnessed by one or two people, but others were witnessed by huge crowds – like the ones in Betania, Venezuela. Mary specifically stated she had “come from heaven” during several apparitions. Also, if you read the book “Our Lady of Kibeho,” you will see that one of the visionaries reported that Mary said the girl could watch Mary return to “heaven.” Then Mary rose up in the air towards the clouds. If Mary believes in heaven, then so do I…!
  3. Loved ones appearing to relatives. When loved ones appear, they often state they are in heaven or purgatory. Author Peter Kreeft, who conducted many interviews for his investigation, states that between “10 and 40 percent of the living have had some experience of the real presence of the dead, usually a family member.”
  4. Miracles in general. For example, 80,000 people saw the Miracle of the Sun in 1917. People on Earth cannot make the sun do that, so the people in the afterlife must be doing it! Or God, of course. Maybe you could visit the Divine Mercy site in the Philippines on Divine Mercy Sunday next year. During the last few years, the crowds reported that the sun did amazing things on this feast day. There is even a video.
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting this.

I’ve had a few experiences of my own…and I definitely believe!
 
Birdpreacher said:
Do you remember anything about existing the millions of years before your conception??

I have a feeling death will be a similar blankness. I would love to believe in an afterlife where I get to see my loved ones again, but I would also love to believe that I am gonna win the lotto sometime in my lifetime, both are just wishful claims with no evidence.
Click to expand...
 
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