2011-05-13, 03:50 PM
Dusk Wrote:I don't really believe in an afterlife, either. The trouble with the idea that we don't have some greater purpose is that it is upsetting to see all that is wrong with the world - diseases, murder, people who lack access to safe water, corrupt governments, and so on - and believe there isn't some reason behind it all. Have you ever had a loved one die of cancer, or some other slow disease? It's not something that's easy to accept.
I would rather eliminate all the wrong in the world then to live with it thinking it was done for some higher purpose. I can certainly find comfort in thinking that the lost of a love one will live on or died for some greater purpose but there are so many various flaws in that way of thinking: the aspect of life and death is controlled and thus does not need to exist (a being can control reality and choose to establish one in which death is inescapable) and the purpose may not be great (E.G. a little girl could die by a drunk driver so that driver could realize he needs to stop drinking, it happens a lot and most people die in a way that most wouldn't consider a "great" destiny). To feel a sense of retribution is nice but to reduce the aspect of death to mere puppetry is horrifying if not the WORST thing that can happen to humanity.