Reasons for (Not) Believing in Life After Death

The Life of Jesus

By sufffering and dying on the cross, Jesus paid the price for the sins of the world, enabling all those who confess their sins to be forgiven and granted eternal life with God after they die. Jesus' resurrection proves that death is not the end. When he ascended into Heaven, this opened the way for Christians to follow him. Chrisitans believe in immortality of the soul. This means that the soul will continue to live on in Heaven with God forever, after the body dies.

The Teachings of Jesus

Jesus told his followers that they must believe and trust in him in order to gain eternal life. He said: I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. (John 11:25)

The Teachings of the Bible

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

But the truth is that Christ has been raised from the dead, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised. (1 Corinthians 15:20)

The Teachings of the Church

Belief in eternal life is one of the most important beliefs in Christianity. Christians regularly recite these words in the Creed: I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting."

Effects of Belief in Life After Death on Christians

Reassurance- Knowing that death is not the end and that Jesus will look fter them

Purpose to Life- They will be judged and so they must lead good lives

Purpose to Death- Death is not the end but the beginning of life eternal

Ghosts

Many non-religious people believe that when people die their spirits live on as ghosts. Evidence for this is sightings that people have claimed to have had of ghosts. Even though most people have never seen ghosts, they've never seen gravity or electricity either but they still know they exist.

Reincarnation

Lots of major religions believe in reincarnation, but some non-religious people do too. People have been able to accurately recall places, events and happenings in previous lives under hypnosis. Hypnotised people can't make things up so the information must be coming from their subconscious. Also, people sometimes get the feeling that they have been somewhere before when they couldn't have been. This is because they have been there in a previous life. 

Mediums

Mediums are people who claim to be able to contact the spirits of dead people. These spirits hang around and want to give messages to their loved ones. Mediums have been able to say details about people's deceased loved ones very accurately, although some people say it's cold reading. However, lots of non-religious people think that mediums prove there is life after death, and the messages they give people have been known to bring comfort.

No Scientific Evidence

Science is able to prove or disprove most things and provide reliable answers. Science has not proved that life after death exists. However, it also hasn't proved that life after death doesn't exist...

Common Sense

Nobody has returned from the dead to tell living people about what happens after they die. If life after death existed, wouldn't there be clearer hints?

Wishful Thinking

People are scared to imagine death being the end, and don't want to think they'll never see dead loved ones again, so they imagine that there's life after death to make themselves feel better. This explains why people turn to mediums, and imagine ghosts.

Humanists' Views:

Humanists believe that the only way people live on after death is in people's memories, in the work they did while alive and in their children. Humanists believe that this one life is very special and that people should make the most of it.