IA Here is a Serious Question.

[TheProfiteer]

since I'm lurking in this forum today I'll take a stab at this one

there seems to be a common undercurrent amidst all these different ideas about basically returning to what you could call the Source of creation at death. Some think this implies a reincarnation cycle, some think you get judged and go to heaven or hell, some get thrown back into the Matrix, etc.

Now I believe God is responsible for creating the universe, so just like our bodies are a part of a grand natural order, our consciousness is too. each consciousness (spirit, ego, the I) is almost like a reflection of the totality of consciousness that God represents. It's kinda like we'd be a reflection of the sun focused through a magnifying glass into one little point (burning a hole in someone's shoe LOL). break the glass (which signifies death) and that light doesn't cease to exist or diminish the sun in any way...the light just exists in another form now.

Now if when the "glass" breaks, do we exist in a harmonious state and retain our consciousness, or do we lose it and that same life energy just gets refocused in a different glass (reincarnation), I don't know. Our bodies break back down into dust so it stands to reason that our "spirits" do the same. There's not enough info for me to draw a logical conclusion. I have some ideas about it but they're just ideas...don't wanna get too deep into it

my beliefs fall in line with this as well.

I believe that our being, our individuality, our conciousness is a product of our flesh, our bodies, our physical mind. When our body dies so does our being, but that spark of life, that energy that exists within life is potentaily returned back to the earth to create life anew.

[trini_gsr]

my beliefs fall in line with this as well.

I believe that our being, our individuality, our conciousness is a product of our flesh, our bodies, our physical mind. When our body dies so does our being, but that spark of life, that energy that exists within life is potentaily returned back to the earth to create life anew.

the question is...does that life spark retain its sense of self once returning to God, or is it "recycled" into new life (reincarnation)? Also, is there a judgement of sorts waiting on it when this happens that determines its next destination? This is the point where the different religions go off in different directions.

Seems like it should be a basic recycling...but then you have to wonder how does the whole karmic cause/effect scenario fit into it. because the natural universe follows these laws too. Only it might not be so immediate where spirituality is concerned. I dunno...

[TheProfiteer]

the question is...does that life spark retain its sense of self once returning to God, or is it "recycled" into new life (reincarnation)? Also, is there a judgement of sorts waiting on it when this happens that determines its next destination? This is the point where the different religions go off in different directions.

Seems like it should be a basic recycling...but then you have to wonder how does the whole karmic cause/effect scenario fit into it. because the natural universe follows these laws too. Only it might not be so immediate where spirituality is concerned. I dunno...

I think that all the things we attribute to spirituality is derived from human worldly notions. Which is wrong, because if there is anything beyond death, it is so much more than what we understand or can even imagine. I do know for certian, I can just feel it, that our being does not go beyond life. It dies with our flesh.

[ISAtlanta300]

Everything that has a beginning, has an end. And vice versa. However, the simple fact that you had a beginning, dictates that you either already had your end, or were just waiting in line to begin here and now on this earth anew.

If we subscribe to the notion that something can not come out of nothing, then you were already 'somewhere' before you were even born.

Maybe you were pure energy. Maybe you were just a soul. But could you have been nothing and then suddenly just 'exist'?

Maybe when you die you return to your 'dormant state' until you are 'sparked' anew. Maybe this 'dormant state' is heaven. Or maybe a temporary holding state somewhere in one or other dimension.