One thing which so many religious theists have trouble understanding about irreligious atheists is the latter's lack of belief not just in gods, but also in any sort of afterlife. More than any other topic, emails I get regularly ask about what I believe happens after I will die and how I can go on living without some sort of hope for the possibility of an eternal bliss.

In GOD.com: A Deity for the New Millennium, John A. Henderson writes:

The believer will ask, "What happens to you after you die?" That question implies that life must go on forever. The answer is, "Nothing happens, except the body disintegrates." The dead person may live on in the memories of the people he or she left behind. You return to the same place you were before you were born. Perhaps it would be better to answer a question with a question, "Where were you before you were born?"

The theists' question can be difficult to answer because it makes so many assumptions which simply shouldn't be taken for granted. The belief that an afterlife needs to exist suggests that life has no meaning unless it is eternal in some way. This, however, makes no sense. There's nothing else in life which people — religious theists included — require be eternal in order to have value or meaning. On the contrary, it can be argued (and has been argued by many) that is precisely the temporary nature of things like life which allows them to have value.

John Henderson brings up another possible response: if it's acceptable that we didn't exist before we were born, why is it unacceptable that we stop existing after we die? Granted, now that we are alive most of us have gotten used to it and won't like the idea of stopping, but wishful thinking isn't a good basis for believing in an afterlife.

What happens after you die? Who cares — the person that I am is dependent upon my memories and personality. Both of those are dependent upon my physical brain. When my physical brain dies, then both my memories and personality will disappear. When they disappear, then who I am as a person will also disappear. If something does "live" on after my physical death, it won't be "me" anymore and I see no reason why I should particularly care what happens to it.

 

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