I have a belief that if there is going to be a such thing as immortality then there will no such thing as religion, and all this kinds of scares me. If on one hand we achieve immortality, that means that when we finally do perish that we just rot in the ground whereas if there is no immortality then we just hope that there is a heaven and a god and...it's all kind of scary because I feel I can't win either way, what do you think?

I really don't believe in a god but I do believe in an after life. There has to be an after life otherwise everything that a person is would be for naught.

Umm.... what were we talking about? I saw your picture Abby and my mind went in a different direction

If you rot in the ground, so what? You won't be around to feel it. What possible difference can an afterlife make to how you live your life today?

The idea of an existence of an "afterlife" and what will happen there
is what keeps most, though not all, people from acting like animals.

Is this a trick? For some reason, I find it hard to concentrate on the question....

This is a serious question, and Christianity for example plays a lot of its teachings on the bible, or at least that's my belief. If you were to take god out of the picture, you wouldn't be able to teach his beliefs and threaten people with condemnation to hell if they do horrible things.

I agree. I can't speak for others but I believe In Jesus Christ and the after life of heaven. It keeps me on a straight path and comforts me on my own mortality.

My opinion is that there is no god and death is the end unless you've done something so great, you're remembered, like Achilles and Agamemnon.

Knowing that this life is all I have gives me a feeling of urgency. There are things I want to do before it's too late. I'm motivated to do things by my belief in death being the end. I also feel it gives me a deeper appreciation for the universe and everything in it.

Life is the greatest gift the universe has to offer. Immortality is reserved only for the truly great. Those that squander the gift of life are snuffed out like a candle. To me, this is just.

refer to my new post if you are interested in true scientific hypothesis
"telomeres Secrets of Aging and Imortality"

This

Well, solving the problem of the diminishing telomere does not get us anywhere near immortality, unless of course science modifies our genetics to the point of being immune to every disease or immune disorder and every toxic substnace whether natural of man-made.

But even then we would still have to worry about over population,and the human destruction of our environment that would lead to starvation.

Given some sudden ability to be immortal and immune to all those things - humans would also have to, simultaneously, develop a homogenous sense of values with great regard to enviornmental healing and continued sustainablity of the enironment that support us. AND what about the birth rate? Would humans also deny their desire and instinct to breed once Earth's human capacity had been reached?

These are all the reasons why immortality is a fantasy that's confined to the philisophical realm of mysticism i.e. spiritualism and religion.

I always liked Andy Weir's philosophy of what God is...In a way it is a door to immortality, given we just meet God in the outskirts of the universe and he or she sends us to another time/life.

Although I don't put a lot of confidence into it, so I write...My door to immortality.

ummmm....if we are immortal we do not perish so the question is moot - cheers

I think all of the reasons you pointed out show that your own conclusion must be wrong. Each of the hurdles you presented are possible to overcome. That means given enough time it would be guaranteed to occur somewhere, somehow.

I read a lot of sci fi, maybe I am just biased, but I think its just a matter of time. Also, why make this exclusive to humanity . . . I just say, some intelligent species somewhere will eventually figure this stuff out and fit it into their culture without destroying themselves in the process.

Just my .02

In this reality, The human body will die.

Consciousness is infinite and forever.

We are immortal.

You know, I could buy into the idea of reincarnation because energy cannot be destroyed, but only transformed. However, the idea of our consciousness (meaning any memory of what we were) going on forever I find ridiculous.

^^^^ Agree, also I believe we are all God ^^^^

I don't know what happens when our bodies die but it seems less scary to me than when I'm in the same room as an angry, out of control man. It's the pain that gets me. I know I'm not assured that I won't feel pain in my continued consciousness after the body dies, but I try to focus on the here and now.
I also think the hell is the guilt and shame one deals with after they did the horrible things more so than a physical place of fire and brimstone. Also, "horrible things" vary from person to person, regardless of religion.

So you believe that memory means consciousness? How much of your life do you actually remember? Details? I doubt it.

Do you remember your dreams? Do you remember where you were in 1972 on January 3?

That's not what I said at all. Do you even bother to read posts? I said a MEMORY OF WHAT WE WERE. That means any memory of the being that inhabited the vessel (body) is dead when the body dies.

I can agree that once were dead we're eaten by worms and therefor become part of that worm. Then the worm may be eaten by something else and we become part of that. But, any form of consciousness beyond the grave is pure speculation and should be regarded as such.