RE: If you could, would you live forever?
03-25-2013, 01:16 AM
You, know, a lot of people in this world carry a firm conviction that they will continue to exist in some fashion even after they die!
Along these lines, I will vote "no", but I do so with the assumption that "living forever" implies an unbroken chain of physical living and breathing from this point on wards. Even for those who believe in an afterlife, death is a necessary step in the process. To forever cling to existence as we know it denies us the opportunity to step out into whatever lies beyond. Many would contend that this "beyond" is simply nothing, yet many would also contend that it is not. Whatever it is, there is a mystery to it.
It's funny that this question is posed at this particular time, as this is the start of one of the larger events of the christian calendar: Holy Week (or Easter Week). The whole "celebration" of sorts about this week is based around a particular death, and then what came after. Death, dying and the like are such prominent themes in Christian (and many other religions') thought that a casual observer could easily describe the whole thing as a very morbid affair.
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I think a much more difficult question would be: If I had the means to offer you immortality right now, would you accept it? Even with all my speech about the necessity of death, I really don't know what choice I would make.
Along these lines, I will vote "no", but I do so with the assumption that "living forever" implies an unbroken chain of physical living and breathing from this point on wards. Even for those who believe in an afterlife, death is a necessary step in the process. To forever cling to existence as we know it denies us the opportunity to step out into whatever lies beyond. Many would contend that this "beyond" is simply nothing, yet many would also contend that it is not. Whatever it is, there is a mystery to it.
It's funny that this question is posed at this particular time, as this is the start of one of the larger events of the christian calendar: Holy Week (or Easter Week). The whole "celebration" of sorts about this week is based around a particular death, and then what came after. Death, dying and the like are such prominent themes in Christian (and many other religions') thought that a casual observer could easily describe the whole thing as a very morbid affair.
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I think a much more difficult question would be: If I had the means to offer you immortality right now, would you accept it? Even with all my speech about the necessity of death, I really don't know what choice I would make.