Science vs. Spiritualism

I believe that there is more to life than our worldly bodies and earth.  I am a firm believer in Heaven and Hell.  Maybe not the way movies portray it, but I feel there is more to it than what we know.

Any if I am wrong?  Well, I will have lived my life with a great hope and will have looked forward to a peacefull afterlife.  That makes my days seem brighter.  If I'm wrong?  I'll be dead and I'll never realize it, so who cares?

I'll carry on living my life for Heaven.

I would very much like to believe that some part of ourselves continues on after the body dies.  Perhaps there is some sort of "conservation of energy" whereby whatever makes us unique goes on. But, being a scientist, the need for proof tends to be foremost for me.  And there is none. There may be many, many things we do not yet understand about our universe but inability to disprove  a theory does not prove the theory.  ESP, precognizance, telekinesis, etc may have very simple, scientific answers that we are just unable to access yet.  Just as gravity was no less a force before Newton's Laws than after, we may one day find paranormal subjects quite normal.

I was curious whether you ever heard of a free-thinking scientist; Alfred Russel Wallace. Shunned by the scientific community for his 'unconventional' spiritual beliefs. He was a contemporary of Charles Darwin. It's believed that it was Wallace who first discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection. Very interesting stuff!!

I don't think that your soul carries on as you - I don't think I'll be floating around somewhere as "me" after I die. But I do believe that there's an energy that your soul becomes a part of. That sounds too hocus pocus even for me - it's sort of hard to explain.

That sounds like something out of the His Dark Materials trilogy.  It reminded me of it, anyway.  I like the idea of that.

I think there might be something, but I don't believe in Heaven and Hell.  I really don't think there is anything a person could do that could condemn them to torture for eternity.  But maybe I'm just way too optimistic for my own good.     And I don't believe in an omniscient, omnipotent God, so that probably has something to do with it.

I've had some really odd experiences, but I still argue with my mom when she tells me that there's a ghost in the room that I used to occupy.  I slept in that room for quite a few years, completely undisturbed.

Anyway, I basically just don't know what happens after we die.  I'd like to think there's something, though.

I would very much like to believe that some part of ourselves continues on after the body dies.  Perhaps there is some sort of "conservation of energy" whereby whatever makes us unique goes on.

I tend to think the same way as Twisted on this.  I really, really want to believe that there is a grand scheme for us and when we die some part of us goes on (or out or up or whatever).  But the skeptic in me just rolls her eyes.  In the end, I think that we're basically worm food (or fertilizer for those of us choosing cremation).

Perhaps it is our family and friends that keep some part of us alive, and that is the true essence of one's soul.  Maybe that's really what the spiritualists see - some sort of imprint we've left on those still alive.

Really interesting thread, Ricki!