Question for the non-religous

THE LOOK
THE LOOK Posts: 324
edited October 2013 in A Moving Train
What happens to the souls of people, that have caused great harm, ( Hitler, etc. ) here on earth?

Just curious....
Bigfoot is blurry.
- Mitch Hedberg
Post edited by Unknown User on
«134

Comments

  • BinFrog
    BinFrog MA Posts: 7,314
    So you're asking what non-religious people (who generally don't believe in the afterlife) think about the souls of evil people? For real?
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • JimmyV
    JimmyV Boston's MetroWest Posts: 19,604
    If there is no heaven and there is no hell...then nothing. They cease to exist when the body dies.
    ___________________________________________

    "...I changed by not changing at all..."
  • unsung
    unsung I stopped by on March 7 2024. First time in many years, had to update payment info. Hope all is well. Politicians suck. Bye. Posts: 9,487
    I'm not religious, but my girlfriend and her family are. I see through the tax exempt stays and the messages they create from that. I see religion as a giant money making scheme for certain elite.

    That being said I might convert to Catholic just to appease her. It's a decision I'm not taking lightly. I feel comfortable enough knowing that I'll play the game and not be brainwashed, and I'm only doing it for one reason. I have no problems with others doing it as long as it isn't pushed on me. I sit and roll my eyes at the bs spouted when they talk about a person and say he was a good guy because he had Jesus in his life. They make it sound that he'd have been a terrible person without.
  • KK171821
    KK171821 Posts: 65
    THE LOOK wrote:
    What happens to the souls of people, that have caused great harm, ( Hitler, etc. ) here on earth?

    Just curious....

    same thing that happens to yours
  • THE LOOK
    THE LOOK Posts: 324
    BinFrog wrote:
    So you're asking what non-religious people (who generally don't believe in the afterlife) think about the souls of evil people? For real?


    I guess I shouldn't have used the word "souls". I am just curious what people think about those who have caused great harm. Is there karma, spiritual judgment, etc. It is just hard for me to think that someone could murder and just cease to exist. I am just looking for people to share their thoughts, not clown me for my question.
    Bigfoot is blurry.
    - Mitch Hedberg
  • Thirty Bills Unpaid
    Thirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    THE LOOK wrote:
    BinFrog wrote:
    So you're asking what non-religious people (who generally don't believe in the afterlife) think about the souls of evil people? For real?


    I guess I shouldn't have used the word "souls". I am just curious what people think about those who have caused great harm. Is there karma, spiritual judgment, etc. It is just hard for me to think that someone could murder and just cease to exist. I am just looking for people to share their thoughts, not clown me for my question.

    They become dust. And their memory evokes hatred for many many years.
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    One needn't be religious to believe there may be something after this life. Not heaven or hell - I don't believe they exist - but I think maybe, maybe something else.

    As to the question, I don't see any differentiation in what could happen after death based on one's actions while living...if that makes sense.
  • BinFrog
    BinFrog MA Posts: 7,314
    My take:

    Your "soul" lives on by the deeds you did in real life which echo after you die in the minds of those that remain.
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • Thirty Bills Unpaid
    Thirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    BinFrog wrote:
    My take:

    Your "soul" lives on by the deeds you did in real life which echo after you die in the minds of those that remain.

    Memories. Yes.
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • MotoDC
    MotoDC Posts: 947
    edited October 2013
    Dust or souls, divine judgement or no, if nothing else they serve a purpose in terms of helping us define true evil. They help us, as the creators and shapers of the future, understand what NOT to do. Therein lies one of the many powers of the historian -- (re)defining who was good and evil such that future generations will carry on that belief in their own decisions and actions. An intensely cliched, but reliably apt, example of this is the "Hitler" effect. That is, if you can find any parallel between a Hilterian thought process and that of whoever you're trying to "prove wrong", it's almost ipso facto understood that that person is in the wrong. However the phenomenon backfires a bit in that context b/c the Hitler comparison is such an easy "card to pull" and has been so overdone:

    Brynzie: "Palestine should have its own state and the Israel should be smaller"
    Person B: "Hilter would agree with that"
    Byrnzie: ...
    Person B: "OMG you're Hitler and I win"
    Byrnzie: ...

    :lol: :twisted:

    I dunno just thinking out loud here (other than that last part, which was ofc said in jest).
    Post edited by MotoDC on
  • BinFrog
    BinFrog MA Posts: 7,314
    MotoDC wrote:
    Dust or souls, divine judgement or no, if nothing else they serve a purpose in terms of helping us define true evil. They help us, as the creators and shapers of the future, understand what NOT to do. Therein lies one of the many powers of the historian -- (re)defining who was good and evil such that future generations will carry on that belief in their own decisions and actions. An intensely cliched, but reliably apt, example of this is the "Hitler" effect. That is, if you can find any parallel between a Hilterian thought process and that of whoever you're trying to "prove wrong", it's almost ipso facto understood that that person is in the wrong. However the phenomenon backfires a bit in that context b/c the Hitler comparison is such an easy "card to pull" and has been so overdone.

    I dunno just thinking out loud here.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • MotoDC
    MotoDC Posts: 947
    BinFrog wrote:
    MotoDC wrote:
    Dust or souls, divine judgement or no, if nothing else they serve a purpose in terms of helping us define true evil. They help us, as the creators and shapers of the future, understand what NOT to do. Therein lies one of the many powers of the historian -- (re)defining who was good and evil such that future generations will carry on that belief in their own decisions and actions. An intensely cliched, but reliably apt, example of this is the "Hitler" effect. That is, if you can find any parallel between a Hilterian thought process and that of whoever you're trying to "prove wrong", it's almost ipso facto understood that that person is in the wrong. However the phenomenon backfires a bit in that context b/c the Hitler comparison is such an easy "card to pull" and has been so overdone.

    I dunno just thinking out loud here.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
    :lol: Perfect.
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    i kinda believe in karma ... or rather i hope there is karma ... but what happens after we die - i don't know nor do i particularly care ... if there is a heaven/hell ... great ... i'll deal with it then ... :lol:
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    unsung wrote:
    I'm not religious, but my girlfriend and her family are. I see through the tax exempt stays and the messages they create from that. I see religion as a giant money making scheme for certain elite.

    That being said I might convert to Catholic just to appease her. It's a decision I'm not taking lightly. I feel comfortable enough knowing that I'll play the game and not be brainwashed, and I'm only doing it for one reason. I have no problems with others doing it as long as it isn't pushed on me. I sit and roll my eyes at the bs spouted when they talk about a person and say he was a good guy because he had Jesus in his life. They make it sound that he'd have been a terrible person without.

    what the cuss? ... what if she asked you to vote democrat!? ... sell out! ... :lol::lol::lol::lol::)
  • chadwick
    chadwick up my ass Posts: 21,157
    i would rather be dying & die being as wonderful as i could have been in this life vs' have been a complete monster like some folks.

    if those that believe there is no god & there is no afterlife, why aren't they fucking some shit up right now? the truth is most non-believers actually believe in some form of afterlife & they believe in some kind of god,... this is what i believe they believe


    if they are in a jet, 35,000 ft up & they are doing a nose dive, i would imagine they are screaming to god & wondering about what is going to happen as their life flashes before them
    for poetry through the ceiling. ISBN: 1 4241 8840 7

    "Hear me, my chiefs!
    I am tired; my heart is
    sick and sad. From where
    the sun stands I will fight
    no more forever."
    Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
  • MotoDC
    MotoDC Posts: 947
    hedonist wrote:
    One needn't be religious to believe there may be something after this life. Not heaven or hell - I don't believe they exist - but I think maybe, maybe something else.
    Interesting, Hedonist -- are you intentionally differentiating between religious and "spiritual"? If not, how does one discuss a belief in the existence of an unearthly afterlife w/o a supportive believe in spirits, non-scientific existence, etc, of some sort?
  • BinFrog
    BinFrog MA Posts: 7,314
    chadwick wrote:
    if those that believe there is no god & there is no afterlife, why aren't they fucking some shit up right now? the truth is most non-believers actually believe in some form of afterlife & they believe in some kind of god,... this is what i believe they believe


    You'd be incorrect.

    I don't believe in god or the afterlife. But morality is not lost on me as the result of my views. Why am I not "fucking shit up"? Easy: I know that being a good person is the right thing to do. It doesn't take faith to see that basic decency is a good thing.

    Golden rule? Ten commandments? Seems pretty basic to me.
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    BinFrog wrote:
    You'd be incorrect.

    I don't believe in god or the afterlife. But morality is not lost on me as the result of my views. Why am I not "fucking shit up"? Easy: I know that being a good person is the right thing to do. It doesn't take faith to see that basic decency is a good thing.

    Golden rule? Ten commandments? Seems pretty basic to me.

    especially when so many people who are fucking shit up espouse a religion and/or god ...
  • Hugh Freaking Dillon
    Hugh Freaking Dillon Posts: 14,010
    BinFrog wrote:
    chadwick wrote:
    if those that believe there is no god & there is no afterlife, why aren't they fucking some shit up right now? the truth is most non-believers actually believe in some form of afterlife & they believe in some kind of god,... this is what i believe they believe


    You'd be incorrect.

    I don't believe in god or the afterlife. But morality is not lost on me as the result of my views. Why am I not "fucking shit up"? Easy: I know that being a good person is the right thing to do. It doesn't take faith to see that basic decency is a good thing.

    Golden rule? Ten commandments? Seems pretty basic to me.

    exactly. human morality was around long before we invented god and heaven.
    Gimli 1993
    Fargo 2003
    Winnipeg 2005
    Winnipeg 2011
    St. Paul 2014
  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    MotoDC wrote:
    hedonist wrote:
    One needn't be religious to believe there may be something after this life. Not heaven or hell - I don't believe they exist - but I think maybe, maybe something else.
    Interesting, Hedonist -- are you intentionally differentiating between religious and "spiritual"? If not, how does one discuss a belief in the existence of an unearthly afterlife w/o a supportive believe in spirits, non-scientific existence, etc, of some sort?
    I guess I see religion as more...organized. Concise with their guidelines/rules. Faith in a higher power, with repercussions (or not) based on the life lived. I differentiate because while I can't say god does or doesn't exist, I do believe in the good and negative energies people give off and pass on.

    I *think* some energy remains after death - whether actual or perceived or maybe both, I don't know. But I've sensed/smelled my late dad's presence a couple of times. I believe it was real, but I can't say for sure.

    (I actually can't say anything for sure on this topic ;) )

    It just feels better to me, to live as good (all-encompassing word there!) a life as possible with no purpose other than it's just the right thing to do, for me.

Categories