Why does it make sense to those who believe in afterlife, that there actually is one?
Is it only the idea that a book gives that there is one. without that book would there still be a need for an afterlife?
Is it only the idea that a book gives that there is one. without that book would there still be a need for an afterlife?
Madame M
The mind plays very strange tricks on one after a loved one dies. There's this person-shaped hole where a loved one used to be, and sometimes the mind fills this in -- you may hear a creak that sounds just like a footstep, or someone may jangle keys that sounds just like the way the dear one opened the door.
This is often compounded by funeral traditions where the grieving people stay up late and sometimes get drunk. Sleeplessness and chemicals can do even more strange things to the mind.
So, if, after a funeral, one "saw" the dearly department in his/her favorite chair, if the cushions still had a depression, and the smell of his/her cologne lingered, one might build up a case for afterlife.
In a sense, there is an afterlife for everyone who dies. They live on in our minds and hearts, for better or worse.
?
The idea of an afterlife has followed humans for thousands of years through numerous cultures and religions. Many of them do/did not have a "book" who told them so.
I think it often boils down to accepting that a loved one is gone forever. People have a tendency to not accept the things that are out fo their control. They want to think they have the power to "fix it" in one way or the other. In this case, the "fix" is to simply think there is an afterlife where they get to meet again.
Some also see the afterlife as a place to get the "good life" they think they deserve but did not get in real life. In that case, it's a comforter. "Things are bad now, but I've deserved better and will get it in the next life." It helps them cope with the struggles of their everyday life. Today few of us struggle, but in the past people suffered on a regular basis.
Bethany
Because humans are naturally attracted to finding something bigger than them. Some worship idols, some worship Jesus, some worship in other ways. If they believe in an afterlife it can affect their morals. Some may also believe in signs, and may be given a sign someone put them on this earth and that they must make good choices to make it in the afterlife.
?
It makes sense to them. To the rational they are just a bunch of ******* afraid of dying.
Anonymous
You really don't know jack sh*t about anthropology, do you?