Gothic_J

I of course, want to live forever, but short of that, Ill settle fo 2 or 3,000 yrs. even 500 would be pretty nice.

~CEO Morgan, Morgan Industries.

my sentiment is the same, and I have great hope for the medical tech of the 21st century.

SLD

I heard Jerry Falwell on TV saying we would sing praises to Jesus forever. Ughhh. I don't think I could stand five minutes of that.

Send me back to earth, please!!!!

What makes life so much fun is death. Knowing it's going to end, and then getting close to that end just for fun - like skiing down a double black diamond or scuba diving in shark infested waters just to see one up close.

That and sex. Wasn't it Mark Twain who pointed out that of all the earthly pleasures we enjoy, we leave sex out of heaven? Of course Islam doesn't, and maybe I'll convert to get my 72 virgins, but I have a question about that. Is it 72/day, and will I have the stamina each day to deflower them? I don't think I could ever get tired of sex. An eternity of doing the funky monkey might be palatable. But I would want a few million years where I get to roam around and learn everything I'm curious about as well - such as watching life evolve on earth, and seeing life on other planets, going back in time and watching great historic moments and even being given the mental powers to understand the intricate details of relativistic quantum field theory. I could stand eternal life for a while.

Well that doesn't make any sense. Oh well back to bed.

SLD

Thanatoast

Gothic_J said:Agreed, somewhat.

There's a great deal of distinction between living "forever" (assuming that's even possible, given the eventual heat death of the universe) and living "indefinitely". Going on and on without the ability to end one's existence would be an assault on personal liberty, and I would have none of that.

However, I think the current human lifespan is far too limited, for me, anyways. I also believe boredom wouldn't become an issue for quite a long time, and even that could be eliminated given precise manipulations of the brain (or whatever medium we or our descendents will think with in the future). Sounds a little like the theistic claims that "God will make it all better" in their supposed coasting through eternity. But at least it would be the subject's choice, and not the decree of a bronze-age deity.

veniceboy

For me reincarnation is far more attractive, I enjoy life and would like to experience again, and again... but there is no renewal!

Death sometimes scares me, but usually I don't worry b/c I was dead before I was born and it never bothered me in the least.

I agree the concept was created b/c of fear and ignorance, and also to control the masses that will never get a decent life- promise them one "afterwards"

Rhaedas

From a realistic point of view, I do hope for future developments to greatly extend lifespans. But just as the arguments against eternal heavenly life here, such a thing must go hand in hand with allowing euthenasia by the individual, for even a mere 1000 years may or may not become boring to one who has experienced it. And given some sort of heaven with eternal bliss, I would hope that there's a clause to allow non-existence if so desired. But then again, the fundamental version don't sound like they have any free will involved.

Myself, I'd like to imagine that given a choice, I'd always find a reason to exist a bit longer, to see a little more, to witness the next steps of man. But not having ever been in that position, history from a long term experience may be quite boring, and a 1000 years life may be tedious to many.

I'd like the choice though.

lpetrich

SLD, Islamic tradition tells us that one will have 100 times the usual sexual potency -- you'll be able to hump all those ladies without trouble. And those ladies apparently have self-renewing virginity, so each time you make love to one of them, it's like it was her first time.

And here is the appropriate part of TA's Summa Theologica: Whether the blessed in heaven will see the sufferings of the damned?:

Nothing should be denied the blessed that belongs to the perfection of their beatitude. Now everything is known the more for being compared with its contrary, because when contraries are placed beside one another they become more conspicuous. Wherefore in order that the happiness of the saints may be more delightful to them and that they may render more copious thanks to God for it, they are allowed to see perfectly the sufferings of the damned.