by Eddie Alexander

Created on: August 27, 2008   Last Updated: September 18, 2008

I don't know what happens after death, but I'm not alone. In fact, I'm just one of six billion people living in utter ignorance of the afterlife. Many of them may contend otherwise, but their claims are inherently baseless. Simply put, no one has experienced what happens after death and lived to tell about it because, well, they're dead. Furthermore, sacred texts cannot provide enlightenment either as each and every tome contradicts the others while simultaneously claiming to be infallible. Bearing in mind our innate uncertainty about the topic at hand, let us examine one set of beliefs about life and the afterlife. Specifically and paradoxically, let us examine the (possible) beliefs of a nonbeliever.

Some philosophers have professed that all life is an illusion and that nothing is real. And while this may seem radical to some, it is grounded in reasonable observations about our world. For instance, we know that the world went about its business before we were born and that it will continue when we have passed. This theory holds that everyone begins life with nothing, even if many instantly acquire family and shelter. In the beginning, we have no possessions of our own and no knowledge other than what is innate within us like how to breathe. As life progresses, we gain knowledge, build relationships, and acquire possessions. But then when we pass, it follows that we become as we were: nothing, with nothing to show for the life we lived. That's because we no longer exist. And what of the select few who profoundly impact their world? These influential individuals have merely altered the illusion that others temporarily enjoy until they too cease to exist. The idea remains viable.

Elaborating, we can only know what happens in this life. There might be an afterlife of eternal bliss; there might be a heaven and hell, and seventy-two virgins may indeed be awaiting the righteous; the tree outside your window might also start sprouting Federal Reserve Notes, and the sky may start falling, but none of these propositions is all that likely based on knowledge alone. Based on religion, some are practically guaranteed depending on the text you read, but these alone are not reliable sources.

Balance dominates many aspects of the world: what goes up must come down, day and night, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. We came into this world with nothing, so we should leave in the same fashion. I personally find it most reasonable to expect nothing in the way of the

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>