question to the people who dont believe in afterlife...

need help answering this...

if you dont believe in afterlife then why do you keep on living?
wouldnt it be pointless since you wont be anything once you die anyways?

and if you think there is no afterlife, then what do you believe is the purpose of living on this earth?

Im not sure I am qualified to answer this. I think you die you die.. dead all over. We live on only in the memories of those who know us.

What is the purpose of life then? I think that the answer itself changes for each person. I live because I want to be happy. I believe in suicide (I think it's stupid and a waste).

We affect everyone we meet. So I try to be a person to be remembered fondly. Why would I care if im dead? Call it vanity. There's no harm in trying to live a good life and trying to be good to others.

That's an awkward way to answer this but I hope I got my point across.

interesting questions...


I'll tackle the latter first...
and if you think there is no afterlife, then what do you believe is the purpose of living on this earth?

I don't really think there is a purpose...I'm pretty Darwinian in my thinking that when any animal dies...their body goes back into the earth to replenish it for the next generation.

I also think that life on this planet (or any others) was an accident...that the right amount of the right chemicals came together...

if you dont believe in afterlife then why do you keep on living?
wouldnt it be pointless since you wont be anything once you die anyways?

pure pleasure and insinct...80 years is a long time...and I plan to enjoy it...this life is my 'heaven'

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Posted by butterfly20

need help answering this...

if you dont believe in afterlife then why do you keep on living?
wouldnt it be pointless since you wont be anything once you die anyways?

and if you think there is no afterlife, then what do you believe is the purpose of living on this earth?

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The purpose of living on this earth, is to live. Death is something different and I don't think it's relative to my life. We all die - some believe we go to heaven or some other afterlife...others, like myself, believe you just die. The end.

I don't understand what each has to do with the other. Why my non-belief in an afterlife means that my *actual* life on earth is pointless and without meaning.

Could you explain that line of thinking for me?

Why do I keep on living? Because I love the here and now. I make the most of my time alive. To me, it's what happens during LIFE that counts.

Why is the point of (my) life? To feel things, experience things, and to touch the lives of others.

I believe everything has a purpose, even if (as yabbobay said) it's to die and replenish the earth for the next generation. We all help to maintain a delicate ecosystem.

I DO believe in some kind of existance after death, but to me that is totally seperate from how I view my life, I dont see why people who do not believe in a 'heaven' should be seen as having 'no purpose' in their life. Each day is a gift, and there are so many wonderful expericnces to be had-they are (to me) not steps along a path to a 'heaven' but wonderful little gifts to take as they are.
When I was in Hawaii on my HM we went to see the sunrise over the mountain. It was one of the most breathtaking moments of my life. Even if there was nothing after that day, it would still have been something to treasure and hold dear. Life is about savoring each moment, happy or sad-none of us knows what comes next, but that doesnt make any moment any less sweet. JMHO.

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Posted by Jordan

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Posted by butterfly20

need help answering this...

if you dont believe in afterlife then why do you keep on living?
wouldnt it be pointless since you wont be anything once you die anyways?

and if you think there is no afterlife, then what do you believe is the purpose of living on this earth?

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The purpose of living on this earth, is to live. Death is something different and I don't think it's relative to my life. We all die - some believe we go to heaven or some other afterlife...others, like myself, believe you just die. The end.

I don't understand what each has to do with the other. Why my non-belief in an afterlife means that my *actual* life on earth is pointless and without meaning.

Could you explain that line of thinking for me?

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100% with you Jordan on all points.

Because I don't believe in an afterlife, I should jump off a bridge?

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Posted by wc0143

100% with you Jordan on all points.

Because I don't believe in an afterlife, I should jump off a bridge?

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I think Emily was just asking for clarification.

I know I was confused when I first started to drift from my beliefs that the church taught me - to believe we live to do good for a better afterlife.

It is a bit confusing to think.. well if we don't have an afterlife why do we bother?

From the point of view that all you ever lived for was an afterlife it seems strange to think what those people who do not believe in an afterlife live for.

I actually consider the concept of afterlife part of the 'brainwashing' I got as a child. I was weird at first to say to myself 'It's ok to just live life because it's there and not because some 'being from above' wants us to be good for some sort of reward.'

Butterly20, if I got it wrong.. sorry for stepping on your toes.

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Posted by Xelindrya

I think Emily was just asking for clarification.

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Oh, definitely. I just don't understand her posing of the question. It came across as if all those who don't believe in afterlife, should end it now b/c there is no purpose to our lives. :shrug:

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Posted by Jordan
Oh, definitely. I just don't understand her posing of the question. It came across as if all those who don't believe in afterlife, should end it now b/c there is no purpose to our lives. :shrug:

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Yeah, I can see how it could come off like that.

I read it differently I guess. More like someone just asking 'What do you live for then' cause obviously we're all still here right!! heck most of us are getting MARRIED!! So obviously we live for SOMETHING, but she may have been curious 'what' that something was. Which is how I answered.

But I can see the same question from your view point.

It doesn't make sense to say why live if there's no afterlife! Perhaps people who don't believe in afterlife believe the point of living is what we do here.

The point of living is something none of us will know while here, perhaps we will find out after death and perhaps we won't. We can believe what we want, but a belief is not fact. So, I think the point of living is to somehow make the world a better place before we leave, since when we die we may not have anything further ahead.

I think that to live for an afterlife is to live in foolishness. Whether there's an afterlife or not, which none of us know, shouldn't matter-it should be what we do right here and now that counts.

I live because I was born and I really don't want to kill myself.
I enjoy life. Just because I don't believe in 'heaven' does that make my life less worthy?
I live because I am part of the chain of life. I live. I bare a child. I die. Now, I try to have fun while doing it but, ultimately this is what I believe is the purpose of life. JMO

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Not foolish just her belief ! I abelieve in afterlife and I so believe what i do here and now does effect my after life and I don't think I am foolish, just doing my own thing

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I wasn't saying that to believe in an afterlife is foolish but to 'live for the afterlife', which means not living for today.

No matter what our future holds, here on Earth or after, we should always remember to look around us and be thankful for the here and now and to appreciate today. Didn't mean it the way it sounded

I am confused, my life is pointless, and I should jsut kill myself, because i think this is it???

I think if there is an afterlife and it is so much better, why doesn't eveyone elses just kill themselves to get to it.

Ah...I believe in ENERGY after death but I definitely don't believe that we're all going to be sitting somewhere having drinks after we die (although it would be fun).
The point of living-IMO- is just like why broccoli lives, trees live, etc. We're here to carry on existence and the state of being. I don't really think there's another point but we're here to reproduce and carry on life on Earth.
Of course, life is what you make of it. Some people get more out of it, some don't.

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Posted by peeweesgirl

If I killed myself i couldn't get there according to my beliefs what is stopping you !

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right.

So you are asking what's the point of living if you don't believe in afterlife? And you are asking someone who lives happily on this earth without the belief there is an afterlife...what is stopping you from killing yourself?



Oy vey.

Why, if you believe there is nothing after life, would you want to stop living? Commit suicide now because there's no 'heaven' or 'hell' or 'purgatory' or whatever?

Many people enjoy life right here on Earth, and get something out of the present. They have loved ones, pets, causes, love of humanity and the Earth, whatever. Maybe they just like the taste of grilled cheese and seeing pretty sunsets - reason enough for them to want to live, no?

Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, if you enjoy your life you wouldn't want to end it prematurely.