Hope for a Pleasant Religious-free Immortality
(Top Posts - Philosophy (FREELOVER) - 062600)

OK, here goes. Forget *all* constructs of immortality intro-
duced by ancient and mythical religions.

Forget 'em - they're myths cooked up by pre-scientific humans
without a clue, and as such, unworthy of belief or legitimate
consideration by modern humans in the real world we all know
and experience in this dimension.

Now, a view of hope from a FREELOVER - let's discuss it,
warts and all.

Let's discuss the hope for a pleasant immortality *without*
referencing the constructs of immortality heretofore presented
by ancient and clueless religions:

Consideration of the possibility of legitimate HOPE for a
religious-free and pleasant immortality:

1) Note the word HOPE. Not fact, not belief, not faith, not
likelihood, not evidence, HOPE and HOPE alone, free of the
constraints of ancient religious myth. We've already forgotten
about those constructs, after all, haven't we?

2) Thus far, to the best of our knowledge, we're all that we
*know* exists in the entire universe. We're the only evolved
lifeform with enough intelligence to construct symbols and
construct a complex grammatically-based means of verbal
communication. That doesn't mean the universe is not teaming
with advanced intelligent life, that merely means that from a
scientific and evidentiary viewpoint, thus far, human beings
are all we *know* of.

Does our special nature or, if you prefer, the special nature
of many life forms (movement, reactions to environment,
thought, consciousness) merit consideration that human life
or most life is so very special that a transition to one of the
many alternate dimensions pondered by physicists, is a
possibility and it is valid to HOPE for a continued pleasant
existence in another dimension?

3) Until we know the answers to the questions "why are
we here(?)", "where did we come from(?), and "where are
we going(?)", isn't it presumptuous of us to just ASSUME
death is the final end (reminder - FREELOVERs don't
*believe* in imaginary beings (super or otherwise) so any
construct of continued existence that FREELOVERs have
is totally based on experiential reality in the natural world)?

4) Until we have answers to the key questions of life in 3,
doesn't our likely OBLIVION make it virtually impossible
to give up our HOPE for a continued pleasant existence?

5) Isn't HOPING for a continued pleasant existence a totally
natural extension of that which makes us continue to exist
until the day we die?

6) Isn't the only unnatural aspect of our desire for a continued
pleasant existence the mythical constructs of ancient pre-scien-
tific humans who didn't have a clue, concocting unnatural *de-
mands* to perform certain acts or believe in certain blind faith
tenets in order to merit a pleasant continued existence, juxta-
posed against threats of torment/oblivion should you fail to
jump through the "right" hoops to satisfy the "right" invisible
and silent being(s)?

7) Isn't it logical to accept the reality that this life is more than
likely the entire deal, you're born, you live, you die, while at
the same time being willing to HOPE for a pleasant continued
existence however unlikely or unsubstantiated that HOPE is?

8) Isn't the most seductive part of religious myth the "immor-
tality promise" and, as such, if humankind adopts the position
that secular HOPE for immortality is far more valid, logical,
and likely than is any religious and mythical construct of same,
(pause - takes deep breath) that will remove the LAST nail in
the coffin and FREE many "christians/other followers of blind
faith" from their mythical ties to their pre-scientific religious
myths, allowing "christians/other followers of blind faith" to
rise from the dead and face life with REALITY - HOPE
rather than ancient myth and false promises?

- - -

Reminder - life is likely the deal, there is no evidence that
there is continued existence, pleasant or otherwise, and, well,
see 1-8 above for references on why HOPE for a pleasant
continued existence can be justified as logical and reasonable.

Thanks for your consideration.