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I wanted to get some views of those who I would consider the freest thinking of Mromons and Exmormons on the Golden Questions that got this whole religion thing started for me.

We all die, but what we truly believe to happen at that death inevitably effects how we live

You should add "I don't know" to your poll.

I used to believe in life after death, but now I'm not sure. I'd like to believe in it.

ktall

Consciousness is the excretion of the brain. As the brain goes, so goes the person.

ajax18 wrote:We all die, but what we truly believe to happen at that death inevitably effects how we live

How so?

Moniker wrote:

ajax18 wrote:We all die, but what we truly believe to happen at that death inevitably effects how we live

How so?

A lot of things, I guess you're just looking for what things I'm talking about in particular?

1. Whether we choose to live at all. How bad does life have to get before it can be considered better to die? It all depends on what you think is coming with death.
2. Hobbes philosophy seemed to be that death was the worst thing that could happen to a man. So if your government required you to die to protect it, than the government really wasn't worth supporting. Contrast this with other philosophies that promise rewards for one sacrificing his life, (e.g. 9/11 hijackers, or just about any regime that required soldiers to die fighting early Greek and Roman ideas of virtue was often tied to the one who would die fighting for the rights, quality of life, and surivival of the country/tribe
3. I also believe that belief in eternal justice adds an additional motivator for people other than our legal system and earthly justice which is not pervasive enough to possibly right every wrong

John Larsen wrote:Consciousness is the excretion of the brain. As the brain goes, so goes the person.

Do you think reincarnation holds any water? Is it possible that all matter has a limited amount of intelligence and hence consciousness? Or are we just star dust that happened to flop this way?

ajax18 wrote:

John Larsen wrote:Consciousness is the excretion of the brain. As the brain goes, so goes the person.

Do you think reincarnation holds any water? Is it possible that all matter has a limited amount of intelligence and hence consciousness? Or are we just star dust that happened to flop this way?

It is possible. But since I don't remember anything about any previous life (assuming I had some) the net equivalent is the same as dying and someone else being born. So I don't give much credence to the idea on the principle of parsimony.

Of course, true Buddhists say the idea of the self is an illusion, so I guess I could wrap my head around that if I had to. But if you subscribe to reincarnation, how do you explain the problem of population growth and what mechanism supports the whole workings?

ktallamigo wrote:You should add "I don't know" to your poll.

I used to believe in life after death, but now I'm not sure. I'd like to believe in it.

ktall

Yeah, that's sort of where I'm at now.

John Larsen wrote:

ajax18 wrote:

John Larsen wrote:Consciousness is the excretion of the brain. As the brain goes, so goes the person.

Do you think reincarnation holds any water? Is it possible that all matter has a limited amount of intelligence and hence consciousness? Or are we just star dust that happened to flop this way?

It is possible. But since I don't remember anything about any previous life (assuming I had some) the net equivalent is the same as dying and someone else being born. So I don't give much credence to the idea on the principle of parsimony.

Of course, true Buddhists say the idea of the self is an illusion, so I guess I could wrap my head around that if I had to. But if you subscribe to reincarnation, how do you explain the problem of population growth and what mechanism supports the whole workings?

I suppose that would present a problem to the idea. I was just investigating the idea, and by no means claim to be competent in it. It sure seemed like I was dead when I was under anesthesia for surgery. From my perspective it was as if time did not pass at all, much different from sleep. In retrospect if that's what death is like, I could think of much worse states.

ajax18 wrote:

Moniker wrote:

ajax18 wrote:We all die, but what we truly believe to happen at that death inevitably effects how we live

How so?

A lot of things, I guess you're just looking for what things I'm talking about in particular?

1. Whether we choose to live at all. How bad does life have to get before it can be considered better to die? It all depends on what you think is coming with death.
2. Hobbes philosophy seemed to be that death was the worst thing that could happen to a man. So if your government required you to die to protect it, than the government really wasn't worth supporting. Contrast this with other philosophies that promise rewards for one sacrificing his life, (e.g. 9/11 hijackers, or just about any regime that required soldiers to die fighting early Greek and Roman ideas of virtue was often tied to the one who would die fighting for the rights, quality of life, and surivival of the country/tribe
3. I also believe that belief in eternal justice adds an additional motivator for people other than our legal system and earthly justice which is not pervasive enough to possibly right every wrong

The first two seem to deal more with how/when/why we choose to die, rather than how we live. It appears that way to me, perhaps I'm wrong?

What precisely is eternal justice? Hell? Heaven? So the rewards or punishments found in religion motivate people to live a life for the reward or to avert the eternal wailing and gnashing of teeth?