Is there any Religion WITHOUT a belief in an afterlife / reward?

by ThomasCovenant 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  ThomasCovenant

  Hi

  It's been interesting to read the various discussions that go on here particularly between those who 'believe' in a 'god' and those who don't.

  In my opinion when all is said and done it seems to come down simply to

  'I believe, because I want to believe'

  versus

  'I don't believe, because in my opinion there is not enough evidence to cause me to have no logical choice but to believe'. (That's me )

  With regard the first choice it would appear to me that all 'believers' have one thing in common. A belief in a reward for themselves in the future.

  Does anyone know of any religion that doesn't believe in this?

  I have come to a position where I am content to accept that when I die I'm gone for good.

  Yes, it would be great to think that there was something 'better' after and if I really wanted that I would start thinking about being a 'believer' . Any religion as they all seem to offer the same.

  Thanks

  Thomas Covenant
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  Mysterious

  I don't see reincarnation without memory of your past much of a reward, but maybe those are just my values talking.
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  Grammy

  I have come to a position where I am content to accept that when I die I'm gone for good.

  I have also reached this sad but true conclusion............Just my opinion of what happens when a person dies.

  I don't know whether to admire those with faith in an after life of some sort or feel sorry for them, but I suppose it would be better to delude myself in to believing there is something more to this life than just living a short while then dieing,

  However after 26 years as a Jehovah's Witness I can not delude myself any longer.

  With all the research I have done on the Bible and the God of the Bible, I no longer believe!
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  White Dove

  I'm for believing in the possibility of reincarnation, but as Mysterious said, it isn't based on a reward but rather a process of improving one's self. You can come back better than you were before and move on or the same, only to have to learn what you failed to learn in the last life.
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  aniron

  Is there anything in life that we don't believe has a reward
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  WTWizard

  Most atheists do not believe in some kind of afterlife or reward after death.
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  parakeet

  WTWizard, atheism is not a religion.
  
  
  
  
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  Gregor

  Ah, yes. The old pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye. The bedrock of religion. The absolute perfect carrot on a stick. Like the sign in the window of the funeral home "Never a dissatisfied customer".

  There is no afterlife for athiests, only for those who believe there's one.
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  Undecided

  If they really believed in a grand afterlife, why would they try to keep living when they get sick and pray to get well so they won't go to heaven. Eveyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die.

  Ken P.
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  marmot

  I'm an atheist, not a militant one, but I do believe we all get reincarnated in a way.
  
  If you think about it, the quantum particles that make up our atoms were all originally a part of the singularity at the source of the big bang. These went on to form elements, nebulae, stars, planets and finally a closed loop ecosystem on earth.
  
  On a short-term basis, we're all going to be "reincarnated" as nutrients that will go on to become a part of other living beings and will maybe shuffle their way up the food chain until being ingested by a human and joining the human race again. Maybe even a woman about to conceive, in which case that new person would experience a whole new life with a part of us inside them.
  
  On a long-term basis, long after the human race has gone extinct our sun will eventually burn out and go supernova, scattering our atoms among the stars back where we came from. Maybe we'll be sucked into a black hole, maybe we'll fall as cosmic dust on some other life-bearing planet or maybe we'll make up a newborn star.
  
  I find it very calming to meditate on the flitting transience of life as we know it and think about how best to enjoy it and make it enjoyable for others. Buddhism most closely approaches this, I've found.