Thanks, been down that road and its also misleading. Many attempts have been made to verify out of body experiences and the data suggests that no, your consciousness is unlikely to surivive.

My point is more that this concept isn’t new. Look at tribal groups, lets take the Swahili for example, they do not have elaborate burial rituals—literally leave a corpse out in the field for scavengers to eat. These tribes don’t have concepts of the afterlife because they primarily spend their existence surviving. Ironically, researchers don’t see the problems people in societies in most tribes; depression, loneliness, a feeling of pointlessness. This is no surprise since teamwork increases survival for these groups.

I’m assuming the first intro to the idea came about during the Egyptian empire. There are many scholars who point out early Judaism didn’t have such a concept at one point. The Pharos, like modern day billionaires, wanted to live longer to enjoy their wealth but realized that despite a healthy diet they would still eventually die.

Someone wanted to feel important, maybe their priests, and suggested something along the lines of ‘another life.’ Hence mummification and building giant monuments of ego that wouldn’t be easily buried by a sandstorm (archeologist routinely find smaller burial sites that have been lost to sandstorms.) Of course, you have to have your riches buried with you so no one spends it while you venture through the underworld to your new, eternal, life.

This concept, nothing post death, is scary to some but keep in mind you’re still alive right now and probably have many years left ahead of you. Greek philosophers were discussing the possibility that death is just an infinite sleep, peaceful but not conscious.

People are welcome to believe what they want but there are ample examples of the dangers of advocating for a blissful, idyllic afterlife. How many fools have thrown away their one gifted life based on some dumb concept of perfection on the other side. Theres little logical evidence for such a thing, we don’t even need to bring science into the discussion: I throw a big feast and you’re all invited. Would you, near the end of this feast, assume I had planned a longer—grander—even better feast for you the next evening that would last until infinity (in a world defined by finite variables?) No, and to be honest it doesn’t matter if it was because you were good or not at the first feast. It doesn’t make sense to assume there is a grander prize on the other side of death.

This irritates me less than not existing after death, I can live with that. Its irritating that many would rather rest on their laurels rather than putting in the real work of making sacrifices (small ones that we can all make in our lives) and putting aside differences to work together. We should be striving to make everyones one gift an enjoyable, or at least fair, one.

Instead many pound the bible and cite this or that part to ease their minds about everyones ultimate fate. If I had created them and saw then acting this way I’d 1) not tell them they would stop existing when they die and 2) make sure they don’t exist after they die.

This concept that this life is about proving yourself worthy for an unending afterlife is nonsense and dangerous. We should be convincing people to led good lives because it makes everyones life better if we do.