life after birth

[tsukikage]

Stolen from angelwifey, who I don't know but found while LJ-surfing:

In the womb of a pregnant woman, two babies -- a believer and an unbeliever -- are having a conversation:

UNBELIEVER: Do you believe in life after birth?
BELIEVER: Yes, of course I do. It is obvious that there is life after birth. Our purpose of being here where we are now is to become strong enough and to get ready for that future life.
U: That's nonsense! There can be no life after birth! Can you imagine what such life would be like?
B: Well, I don't know all the details, but I believe that there will be more light and that we will perhaps be able to walk on our feet and to eat with our mouth.
U: Nonsense! It is impossible to walk on one's feet and eat with one's mouth! That's ridiculous! We have a navel-string to feed us. This is what I want to tell you: there can be no life after birth, because our real life -- the navel-string -- is too short already.
B: Yet, I am sure that life after birth is quite possible. Everything will just be a little bit different. You can imagine this.
U: But, nobody has ever returned from there! Life simply ends with birth. Properly speaking, life is nothing but a long period of suffering in the dark.
B: Oh, no, of course not! I don't know exactly what our life will be like after birth, but in any case we will meet Mum there, and she will take care of us.
U: Mum? Do you believe in Mum, then? And where do you think she is?
B: She is everywhere around us, we abide in her, we are able to move and live because of her; without her, we simply cannot exist.
U: Nonsense! I have never seen any Mum -- thus, it is obvious that she does not exist!
B: No, I cannot agree with you. Sometimes, when everything around us is quiet, you can hear her singing and feel her stroking our world. I am convinced that our real life will only begin after birth. And you?

Comments

[aluminumstudios.livejournal.com]

If I had to guess, that was written by someone (probalby a Christian) who believes in an afterlife/heaven?

A seemingly convincing way of making an argument for it but with one big flaw if it's trying to open a non-believer's eyes.

When a baby is born, to another one in the womb there is no evidence that the one being born is terminated - it's simply moved down a chute and out a hole.

When we die the functions that we define as our life are measuably stopped and there is no evidence of anything about us slipping out to another place.

Our universe is made of 57 fundamental particles and 4 fundamental forces that guide the existence of everything. If a soul is part of us it would logically have to follow that it must interract with us and thus it would have be part of the 57 fundamental quantum particles and 4 forces.

While there is a good probability that there are more particles to discover , the ones left to discover (such as the theorized graviton) are so exotic and elusive that they don't consitute enough energy or interraction with the more common matter to really be able to substantiate a soul that can be part of us and guide us.

If you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about, if you smash particles down to their smallest consituants you'll find 57 kinds such as quarks, electrons, positrons, neutrinos, etc. They are all guided by the 4 forces of gravity, electro-magnitism, the weak, and strong nuclear forces. Every touch, every bit of warmth, every motion, and exchange is guided by these forces (mostly the elctro-magnetic.) For a soul to be part of our caporial body it has to be part of this system that constitutes the Universe.

I'll believe in souls and an afterlife when they can detect something (anything) leaving the body at the moment of death.

Feel free to delete or screen this comment because it's really long and probably extremely off topic from what you wanted when making this post.

失礼しました

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

I'm offended: not by your comment, but that you think I'm the type of person to delete or screen your comment.

[aluminumstudios.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of how in the past I've screened and deleted comments that were off of the track I wanted a post to be on. I just wanted say it was OK.

I didn't mean to offend you. Gomen.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

That's okay. :)

[belindabird.livejournal.com]

I'm offended by this post for some undefinable reason. Not because I don't believe in an afterlife, because I kind of do in some sense, but I suppose it's because I think people should be allowed to believe what they want without being made to look stupid, if that makes any sense :/ I'm not really even sure if that's the whole reason.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Hmm... Well, I just posted it because I thought it was interesting, not because I was trying to convince anyone of anything... But I'm sorry it offended you. Maybe I should put it behind a cut?