by JH 32 Replies latest jw friends
Many here don't believe in God anymore so can't believe in any resurrection. So what do you expect once you die?
And if you believe that there is nothing after this life, are you working overtime in this life to get the most out of it because there is nothing after...
I expect what's described here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/ask_doctor/death_body.shtml
When someone's heart stops pumping blood around their body, the tissues and cells are deprived of oxygen and rapidly begin to die. But different cells die at different rates, so for example brain cells die within 3-7 minutes while skin cells can be taken from a dead body for up to 24 hours after death and still grow normally in a laboratory culture. But contrary to folklore this doesn't mean that hair and nails continue to grow after death, although shrinkage of the skin can make it seem this way.
Rate of decomposition depends on environmental conditions
From this point on nature is very efficient at breaking down human corpses, and decomposition is well under way by the time that burial or cremation occurs. However, the exact rate of decomposition depends to some extent on environmental conditions. Decomposition in the air is twice as fast as when the body is under water and 4 times as fast as underground. Corpses are preserved longer when buried deeper, as long as the ground is not waterlogged.
The intestines are packed with millions of micro-organisms which don't die with the person. These organisms start to break down the dead cells of the intestines, while some, especially bacteria called clostridia and coliforms, start to invade other parts of the body. At the same time the body undergoes its own intrinsic breakdown under the action of enzymes and other chemicals which have been released by the dead cells. The pancreas, for example, is usually packed with digestive enzymes, and so rapidly digests itself.
Gases include methane and hydrogen sulphide
The decomposing tissues release green substances and gas which make the skin green/blue and blistered, starting on the abdomen. The front of the body swells, the tongue may protrude and fluid from the lungs oozes out of the mouth and nostrils. This unpleasant sight is added to by a terrible smell as gases such as hydrogen sulphide (the rotten egg smell gas), methane and traces of mercaptans are released. This stage is reached in temperate countries after about 4-6 days, much faster in the tropics and slower in cold or dry conditions.
A corpse left above ground is then rapidly broken down by insects and animals, including bluebottles and carrion fly maggots, followed by beetles, ants and wasps. In the tropics, a corpse can become a moving mass of maggots within 24 hours.
If there are no animals to destroy the body, hair, nails and teeth become detached within a few weeks and after a month or so the tissues become liquefied, and the main body cavities burst open.
Burial in a coffin slows the process
The whole process is generally slower in a coffin, and the body may remain identifiable for many months. Some tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, are more resistant to decomposition while the uterus and prostate glands may last several months.
But within a year all that is usually left is the skeleton and teeth, with traces of the tissues on them - it takes 40-50 years for the bones to become dry and brittle in a coffin. In soil of neutral acidity, bones may last for hundreds of years, while acid peaty soil gradually dissolves the bones.
To become fertilizer/compost/ a faded image.
If there is no God, then I expect to die and never return, just like other life on earth.
Oh, and yes, it's a bummer, but I am trying to condition myself and prepare for it.
Even if God does exist, does it change anything? He seems to have left us here to live a few years, if we're lucky and produce a few others and then die.
Anyone have any evidence contrary to this idea? The bible gives so many different scenarios that I can't decide which one I should believe. Although Solomon was blessed by God to have better wisdom, he concluded that we just go back to dust like animals and who knows what the spirit he mentions really is?
I guess we can hope for something after death, sometimes it makes you feel better and if it's not true it couldn't hurt anything.
Ken P.
Oddly....there isn't a person alive....nor has there ever been....who can prove ANYTHING beyond the grave.
This really bothered me for awhile to the point of starting a thread about "who has seen a ghost" I have heard of stories of people either seeing or talking to dead loved ones. My grandmother claimed she often talked to her son. These dead people always reasure those alive that everything is OK.
I figured if people here had seen or heard dead loved ones....then their must be life after death.
So what come out of the thread? Nothing substantial that made me feel better.
Gumby
Good Morning.
At the moment my future seems to be more wrinkles and gray hair. After this episode it's anyone's guess.
I've gotten to the point in my life where pondering over the "what-if" in regards to what happens after death just isn't important. Oh, I'll have discussion at times with my husband, but basically I've learned that how I spend my time now is more important then what happens after I shed this body.
My former husband always told me people fear death; period. So we have all sorts of belief systems that can support any idealogy that the individual finds comfort from. And I'm not going to judge those people today who need a belief in an after-life too find comfort from this life. I'm just busy taking each day as it comes with full knowledge that none of us escape this life without experiencing a physical death.
Meanwhile I'm living life to the best of my ability. And it ain't bad.
granny
Of course, being raised a witness, I used to never believe in the after life. But now I am not so sure. I have had several experiences with people and animals after they have passed on. Fear of being harshly condemned and taunted prevents me from posting those stories in this forum. But, they have happened.
What does it all mean? I don't know. To me, it doesn't matter anyway. We will all find out eventually what, if anything, waits for us when this life is over. The best we can do is muddle through and take our joy where we can find it.
Does, God (creator) exist? Yes, I think so. I take this propositon one step further and say that we are all gods. There is a creative force that is here that we can all tap into. We produce both good and evil with this power. Why should we condemn God/s for doing the same?
Now, I could be wrong. I have been before.
Robyn
When I die I'll be dead. Surprisingly this doesn't bother me. Guess that's why I'm so gung ho on living my life to the fullest while I'm still here.
~Aztec
