(1): By a 50/50 chance, what I really meant was that they don't pick a side. (2) My point was that there is a point where something becomes so improbable that we say it cannot happen, even if it is possible. If we had to take account of tiny possibilities we could never deal in absolutes for anything. So instead, we subconciously forget about those other possibilities, which is a valid action since they never happen. My example of seeing the wrong color is one. I'll try to explain it better this time: You see a person wearing a green shirt. I ask "What color shirt is he wearing?" and your respond "green." It is possible that you are somehow seeing the wrong color, but very unlikely. If we did take into account that very small chance, you would have to say "He is probably wearing green." But you don't, because it's so unlikely there's no point in assuming it can happen The same goes for god. I ask "Is there a god?" and somebody says "no." It is still possible that there is a god, but the chance is so small that we just forget about it.
You cannot calculate the probability of something without statistics. There are no quantifiable values that could be used to ascertain a deity's existence. Therefore no probability can be calculated.
There is a tiny, invisible teapot orbiting Pluto. We can't sense it, see it, or detect it's presence in any way, but we can still assume that it doesn't exist since it is a very ridiculous idea. Same goes for god.
There you go! See you didn't mention probability, which is mainly why I was disagreeing with you. This statement is a little contradicting though because you first claim there to be a teapot but then say there isn't a teapot because it's existence is ridiculous.
I actually worry about this. I reckon that if our brains kept working after death (which they don't) we would be constantly dreaming about the thing we love (Gaming for me). Do you agree?
Many people believe Hell is a physical place where you burn and are tortured while Heaven is a beautiful paradise; they are metaphors that describe your afterlife based on your life. I, personally, believe that every human has a spirit (I'm not certain about animals but only because animals are not fully sentient like humans are - most animals would not recognize themselves in the mirror - but this is a debate entirely on it's own). A human body is made up of material, matter. The brain controls it's functions but what controls the brain? There are countless stories of phenomenon like ghosts. I practice mind control (but not quite hypnosis) and the more I look into the topic the more I believe we have a spirit. The universe has always existed, so why can't we?
I'm not one to be so spiritual but I think we go to another body. I don't think minds just cease to exist, what would happen wwould we just be gone and can't think it's just such an overwhelming subject to theorize about.
Firstly, you simply do not know, and yes, everyone thinks about this at one point or another in their lives. You speak with an authoritative tone but the fact of the matter is that no one can have an answer to this question. The fact that it was asked is somewhat superfluous in and of itself. One might venture into the realm of such timeless inquiries as "What is God?", "What is Happiness", and "Is there a meaning to life?" I hardly know where to start with what you are saying as you claim to be a Catholic but obviously hold a strong connection to many older religious values, notably those of Hinduism. Furthermore, life and death are most certainly not in balance and, truly never have been. Overpopulation is actually the cause of the world's current geoclimatic ailments and malaise. Lastly, we will not have an answer to these questions, whether it be too late or too early. I don't truly expect you to grasp this concept entirely, but if something exists in a state in which it cannot be perceived by anything, it does not actually exist. Like the tree falling in the forest with no one to hear it, no sound actually exists because no ear is there to receive it. In the same sense, life after death may exist, and it may not, but it doesn't bear any significance on our lives as we cannot perceive the answer. Because we don't know it to exist, it does not. Again, this is not something you will understand the first time around. Anyways... It's not so much an answerable question that you pose but rather an internal one, and, I daresay somewhat rhetorical. It is indeed humorous to examine how everyone that has posted on this thread has a definitive theory which they support with nothing but opinion. Not to criticize anyone's perceived wisdom, I am only stating that such a question is unnecessary. And yet, the whole quest of mankind throughout the history of his existence has been to answer it. Perhaps it would be more beneficial if we could illuminate the reasons behind our desire for knowledge rather than the knowledge itself. No one knows the answer to this, and I'm sure that it was asked more as a ruse to delve into the beliefs of others rather than truly receive an answer. Why? Because nobody in the history of mankind, and nothing in the history of life, has ever returned to tell the tale. So what can we do to prepare for this alleged afterlife that has just as likely a chance of existing as any other figment of our imagination? We can live our lives. We have no purpose on this Earth other than that which we define within ourselves, (I'm ranting because this question is tied in to so many crucial concepts) and this is how we find happiness. Fulfillment. Stop questioning what happens later and start questioning why your questioning what will happen later and chances are, you'll find the source of unhappiness in your life.
The computer you are typing on is made up of material, matter. The CPU controls it's functions, but what controls the CPU? Does your computer have a soul or a spirit that floats off when your computer crashes it's last crash? What controls the the CPU then? What controls the brain? Hardware and programming. The hardware in your brain consists of lobes, cortices, and synapses. The programming was partially written before your birth in the form of DNA data, and the rest of the programming was written as you've aged. That's what it takes to operate the human mind. Just because it's complex doesn't mean it's magic, once again.
Yes but your computer is not sentient it has no control over itself yet we as humans do, we can act freely and have thought , we are sentient. Where does this come from. Things in the body like your heart beat or respiration these are things we cannot control these are programmed into the brain through DNA. So where does our thought come from our freedom and I believe that it is the soul. I am not religous nor am i aetheist but I do not believe we simply cease to exsist after death, I belive that we live on through our soul whither it be in a tree or a new born baby.
Im guessing its like when you sleep with no dreams you dont remember anything your just awake again. Or mabye nothing you never think again but I'm not religious.
Ever seen a movie where the plot is something along the lines of "People make robots that are so smart that they can learn, so and they realize that they don't NEED to be submissive and start a robot revolution?" That's pretty much how humans work. Regardless of what you may think or want to believe, we are composed of millions of tiny cells, and our sentience is just a survival mechanism. (We are programmed by evolution, which is a pretty awesome programmer)
I think you always dream, but usually you forget what your dream was about when you wake up. Some dreams are also just memories of the day - you basically just go over what you just lived. People with disturbed sleep patterns do not dream every time they sleep due to the fact that they fail to reach the "level of sleep" where dreams occur.
I think it depends how you die. If you die under normal Eath conditions you will rott and decompose while if you die in a vacume area like space where there is no oxygen then your body will not decompose and essentialy you will last forever. If your incinerated then you turn to ash and if you are eaten by a animal then you will be digested. Depending on how you die and where you die can effect what happens to your body.
Those movies are science-fiction and not real life examples. You're right but the main argument is what happens to our conscience after death, not our body.
A strong argument that has flaws is "What you believe" People say it all matters about what you believe but then there is no definate answer of what happens to you after death.
im one of the religious and i belive in heaven and hell. if you search the controversy in medjegorie. you will learn alot. i visited it this summer and i believe whats going on. supposibly 20 years ago mary the mother of god started appering to 6 people on top of a hill. she took them to see hell heaven and purgatory. now she appears to them every day and i got to see one of them having a vision. i saw a light in the sky when mary was supposably there. well for the past 20 years mary is slowly giving them each secrets. once all of them get all 10 secrets then they will reveal them. there about the end of the world. no it doesnt mean its going to end soon its just about it. well after they reveal them then a sign will appear on top of the hill where they had there first vision. scientists wont be able to explain it. we can see it but cant touch it. the sign will be there forever. and if you look at it and dont believ you will go to hell. i know it sounds far feched but when i was there it all seemed true and now i belive in it. right now 3 of the people have all ten secrets and 3 have 9. so it should be pretty soon.