How can there be life after death?

[Peter1]

I was possessed 3 times about a year and a half ago believe me the afterlife is real - I am still recovering.The most horrible experience you could ever imagine I spent about 4 weeks in the hospital after it happened and I can still remember most of it.The first one made me destroy religious items in my home and more which I will not talk about.The second one drove me out of my home and I walked 20 miles not knowing where I was going I just about froze to death that night and almost died I was completely exhausted. I really believed I was out on the street and had no home..The third one filled my mind with garbage making me hallucinate driving me out of my home again the police picked me and brought me to the hospital all I was wearing was a pair of shorts.I am lucky to be alive today and am grateful to God.

This is first time I have ever shared this with anyone.I guess people will think I went crazy trust me it was real.

 

[Mancunian]

I was possessed 3 times about a year and a half ago believe me the afterlife is real - I am still recovering.The most horrible experience you could ever imagine I spent about 4 weeks in the hospital after it happened and I can still remember most of it.The first one made me destroy religious items in my home and more which I will not talk about.The second one drove me out of my home and I walked 20 miles not knowing where I was going I just about froze to death that night and almost died I was completely exhausted. I really believed I was out on the street and had no home..The third one filled my mind with garbage making me hallucinate driving me out of my home again the police picked me and brought me to the hospital all I was wearing was a pair of shorts.I am lucky to be alive today and am grateful to God.

This is first time I have ever shared this with anyone.I guess people will think I went crazy trust me it was real.

So why did your experiences lead you to the conclusion that the afterlife is real?

 

[Debp]

I was possessed 3 times about a year and a half ago believe me the afterlife is real - I am still recovering.The most horrible experience you could ever imagine I spent about 4 weeks in the hospital after it happened and I can still remember most of it.The first one made me destroy religious items in my home and more which I will not talk about.The second one drove me out of my home and I walked 20 miles not knowing where I was going I just about froze to death that night and almost died I was completely exhausted. I really believed I was out on the street and had no home..The third one filled my mind with garbage making me hallucinate driving me out of my home again the police picked me and brought me to the hospital all I was wearing was a pair of shorts.I am lucky to be alive today and am grateful to God.

This is first time I have ever shared this with anyone.I guess people will think I went crazy trust me it was real.

I know someone at another forum. They were involved in the occult and were delivered by Jesus Christ. Their occult experiences are so bad that they will not talk about it.

Also a pastor, Rev Chris Wickland, in the UK was a satanist in his youth. He likewise was delivered by Jesus Christ.

 

[ProDeo]

Why are Christians so afraid of life having an end point? Why must one live forever when one didn't exist for billions of years and seemed to not suffer from it?

Non-existence is not to be feared. It's a return to the experience we all had before we were born. Which is to say, no experience at all. Why is everyone so frightened of this? I don't get it.

What if ?

 

[ProDeo]

But can one truly call it belief if you're making the decision to follow Jesus while under such a threat?

In order that you can't complain that you did not know.

 

[ProDeo]

Exactly.
That is the hook.
Once you have released yourself from the hook there's nothing to fear.

No Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie doubt ?

 

[ProDeo]

From a mainstream scientific perspective, near-death experiences (NDEs) are profound psychological and physiological phenomena triggered by severe stress, trauma, or the dying brain, rather than evidence of an afterlife.

Key Neurobiological Explanations

• Cerebral Ischemia and Anoxia: As the brain is deprived of oxygen and blood flow (such as during cardiac arrest), local brain regions shut down sequentially. This malfunction can cause tunnel vision, bright lights, and a sense of floating.
• Neurotransmitter Surges: Extreme physiological crises trigger the release of chemicals like endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, which can induce feelings of deep peace, euphoria, or dissociation.
• Electrical Activity in the Dying Brain: Recent studies in neuroscience have recorded high-frequency gamma oscillations and synchronized brain activity in some patients shortly after cardiac arrest or life support withdrawal. Researchers suggest the dying brain may still be capable of intense, dream-like cognitive processing or memory integration.
• Evolutionary Threat Responses: Some neuroscientists view NDE features as a phylogenetically preserved defense or coping mechanism activated during life-threatening danger.

Assumptions on a phenomenon that can't be tested in a scientific way.

 

[ProDeo]

Do you still feel special?

Yes, we as only species have a conscience, can feel guilt, can learn the difference between good and evil, the reason why we are here. Unlike all animals and other living creatures we can reason, we can make willfully free choices, good choices, evil choices. Human kind developed a moral system, installed judges punishing evil doers.

Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

With all the features as described above.

Any animal lacks all that, it just behaves as it is created, has no morals.

 

[Debp]

Why are Christians so afraid of life having an end point? Why must one live forever when one didn't exist for billions of years and seemed to not suffer from it?

Non-existence is not to be feared. It's a return to the experience we all had before we were born. Which is to say, no experience at all. Why is everyone so frightened of this? I don't get it.

I'm not afraid of that. But I do believe Jesus when He says He goes to prepare a place for us.

P.S. It's a wonderful life to be a Christian, peace with God through forgiveness of our sins.

 

[ProDeo]

@Riven @Mancunian

PROMISES

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I [Jesus] stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jer 29:12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
Jer 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

 

[Mancunian]

Yes, we as only species have a conscience, can feel guilt, can learn the difference between good and evil, the reason why we are here. Unlike all animals and other living creatures we can reason, we can make willfully free choices, good choices, evil choices. Human kind developed a moral system, installed judges punishing evil doers.

Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

With all the features as described above.

Any animal lacks all that, it just behaves as it is created, has no morals.

Key Pillars of Animal Morality

Ethologists and primatologists like Frans de Waal point to two core pillars shared by humans and other social animals.

Empathy and Compassion: Many mammals share feelings or offer comfort. Chimpanzees console peers after conflicts, elephants mourn and support injured herd members, and dogs react to human or pack emotional distress.

Reciprocity and Fairness: Animals track give-and-take. Capuchin monkeys show strong "inequity aversion"—rejecting a cucumber reward if they see another monkey receive a more desirable grape for the same task. Chimpanzees also cooperate on tasks and share food with partners who helped them.

Social Norms and Punishment: Pack animals like canids and primates enforce group rules. For example, coyotes or dogs that cheat or behave dishonestly during play can face ostracization or avoidance from the pack.

 

[Mancunian]

Observational and experimental research shows that many social animals—such as primates, elephants, dogs, and cetaceans—display behaviors that resemble foundational building blocks of human morality:

 

[Mancunian]

Key Evidence of Rodent Prosocial Behavior

Harm Aversion:
Studies show rats will stop pressing a lever for a food reward if they realize it delivers an electric shock to a neighboring rat. This reaction is linked to the anterior cingulate cortex in the brain—the same region involved in human empathy.

Rescuing Peers:
In experiments by Peggy Mason at the University of Chicago, free rats consistently learned to open tubes to release trapped cagemates, often doing so before or even sharing food rewards with them.

Fairness and Reciprocity:
Research indicates rats engage in reciprocal trading ("tit-for-tat," such as exchanging grooming for food) and display a basic sense of fairness during interactions.

Play Rules:
Dominant rats allow subordinate rats to win a portion of their play sessions, demonstrating an implicit social structure and boundary-setting.

 

[Mancunian]

Key Evidence of Self-Recognition in Wrasse

Mirror Self-Recognition (MSR): When researchers place a colored mark on a cleaner wrasse's throat (simulating a parasite), the fish will look in a mirror and attempt to scrape or rub its throat against rocks or the tank floor to remove the mark.

Self-Face Recognition in Photos: Studies show that mirror-trained cleaner wrasse can recognize photographs of themselves. They act aggressively toward photos of unfamiliar fish or composite photos showing their own body with another fish's face, but remain calm when viewing pictures of their own face.

 

[ProDeo]

Key Pillars of Animal Morality

Ethologists and primatologists like Frans de Waal point to two core pillars shared by humans and other social animals.

Empathy and Compassion: Many mammals share feelings or offer comfort. Chimpanzees console peers after conflicts, elephants mourn and support injured herd members, and dogs react to human or pack emotional distress.

Reciprocity and Fairness: Animals track give-and-take. Capuchin monkeys show strong "inequity aversion"—rejecting a cucumber reward if they see another monkey receive a more desirable grape for the same task. Chimpanzees also cooperate on tasks and share food with partners who helped them.

Social Norms and Punishment: Pack animals like canids and primates enforce group rules. For example, coyotes or dogs that cheat or behave dishonestly during play can face ostracization or avoidance from the pack.

Gen 1:20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”
Gen 1:21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

You can't blame a cat for killing a mouse, a cat has no morals. Once upon a time our cat caught a bird in our garden. Then within seconds ~50 birds came flying in sitting in trees and screaming loudly in support of the victim bird. Some of these birds flying over our cat picking him until he let go. Amazing spectacle.

Still you can't blame the cat, created according to its kind. No morals, no conscience, no good nor evil, created as they are. Some of them with amazing attributes.

I already told you how God created mankind in Paradise, a supernatural place where the Laws of Physics were different, living in the presence of God, no death, sickness, no evil, only goodness, harmony and love. And that is where we go when we die, restored to God's original intended creation.

Mankind wanted to know evil, God put them there, away from Paradise, away from His presence, into the evolved earth where death rules as a necessity, where you can (and will) experience good and evil exactly as mankind desired. Why complain??

Let's face it, this world is an excellent place to learn the difference between good and evil, just as mankind desired. Just read history and the daily news what mankind is capable of.

I have an atheist friend who once told me -> I can not see evidence for God, but enough evidence for a devil. He is right about the latter, mankind made a deal with the devil, we have to experience the consequences. That is, for this temporarily life. No choice.

What happens after death you have a choice.

 

[One 2 question]

Why wouldn't a loving God just leave atheists dead?
Why resurrect them just to throw them into a lake of fire?
What's the point of that?

You don't believe that's the end of the Creator's story concerning the lake of fire do you? Why He designed it and purposed it and created it. To just to throw them into it and throw away the key.

One of if not the greatest act of love the Creator will perform comes after their incarceration.

When what He wills is carried out.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

 

[soberxp]

Modern Christians need to understand that quoting Bible verses to atheists doesn't work.
Most atheists that I've spoken to know the Bible better than most Christians.
Speaking for myself here, I've read it front to back countless times.
If you are at all interested about showing atheists the way, be honest. Don't pretend to know things that you don't. And answer questions using your own words.

 

[Mancunian]

I've seen it all now.
You can't be serious?

 

[soberxp]

I've seen it all now.
You can't be serious?

So what did you see? Plate tectonics, or the biblical "dust to dust"? You were formed from the dust.

Gen 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

 

[Mancunian]