Michael, death is just that, death, the end of life. To try to put it into some sort of ongoing experience requires evidence.
To use religous belief that there is an ongoing exsistence, without evidence is snake oil BS..t!!

Beliefs have consequences. I wonder if the belief that they were sending soldiers off to be 'promoted' to 'eternal life' influenced the decisions of born-again George Bush and closet Catholic Tony Blair to go to war in Iraq? I wonder how much they influence the beliefs of fundamentalists in the US and now, alas, Australia, who withhold medical treatment from their children and permit them to die instead? And we all know how they have influenced the actions of Muslim suicide bombers on, before and since the 9/11 attacks.

Beliefs have consequences; and all too often, irrational beliefs have fatal consequences for innocent bystanders instead of -- or as well as -- the ones who actually hold them. Believe what you like; but as soon as that belief has consequences in the real world, it becomes my business and everyone else's to see that what you believe is based on evidence and reason rather than wishful thinking.

what i believe to know[as a certainty]is there is a[the]god,from this certainty i trust[to KNOW]there is an after-life

[now the thing is if im wrong[and after'this'life,i dont get born into the next incarnation ....so what[i will never know]

but if'you';die and there is an after-life[you go through eternity KNOWING'you'were wrong]

but if there is or isnt[again]my reply is so what![this gift of life that i have lived i have lived as full as i chose to live it[i dont waste a second of it thinking this is all there is]plus;in knowing the'life/giver'i have had acces to conception of greatness greater than me'

my biggest issue is that those who cant concieve god[or concieve the AFTER BEING]HAVE ONLY LIVED THE'LIMITED'LIFE OF THEIR'OWN'CERTAINTIEs[wrong certainties,based on wrong concepts[implanted into perfectly good people by'other'people[so vile they take even away from others the certainty of knowing'this-life'isnt all there is

they go so far as to mis-represent'life'as well as god[dying is painless,as has been reported by many that have passed over[yes there was pain[but then just before dying all the pain left]then comes the huge deception of god'judging'us[and a judgment'day'any that can concieve the life-GIVER,realise that is just what'he'does;GIVE US LIFE[all of us]from the most'vile'to the'best'of huh?-man can realise.

it is not for me to confirm[or for me to give comfort,but that we loved;in life',we'love'in death[those'loving'to steal;love to steal in the next'life'[but]thieves have their'own'hell[they would call it heaven]because an eternity of thieving is what they'chose'to love

same with those who love all'evil'and all'good'[like goes with like [sheep with sheep[goats with goats[wheat with wheat,tares with tares]its not rocket science'

i am not'promised'anything[but knowing the'after'life[second-birth] gives me simple'comforts[and if wrong there is no one going to be able to say see'johan'there is nothing here]sadly many'waste'their after life in the delusion they really are'dead',

this is the damage lies[believing'lies does]no-one should be allowed to hurt anyones'free-chosen'[informed]belief[you that tell'your'children;this'life is all there',is are not only decieved but decieving[if you[generic'you']dont know,then dont talk about what you cant concieve,it is not only dumb[its criminally ignorant]

Polycarp

"The qualifications of Christianities [sic] foremost proponent.. Paul.

a) Educated at the feet of "Gamaliel" (search that one urselves)
b) Hebrew of the Hebrews.. of the tribe of Benjamin.
c) Circumcises on the 8th day according to the Law.
d) A Pharisee by position, status and learning."

So this Paul chap is well educated, well bred, has the tip of his penis removed and was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. How exactly does any of this make him an infallibly reliable witness?

An interesting read, this article. I agree with much of what the author has to say. He who has conquered death is most certainly worth of our attention.

For anyone interested, I'm currently engaged in discussing the claims of Jesus resurrection in the responses to Brett Walker's article which is referred to here. I've tried to show that Christianity is not something which is completely and utterly based on blind faith, because there's some good, solid historical evidence which points us to the conclusion that he rose from the dead. I'd encourage you to have a look if you want to discuss that issue- I'd love to discuss it here also, but I've already made many points in the other article so I'll refer you there to avoid repeating myself, and so you're able to see a bit of background about where I'm coming from.

Argument? Need to do better than this, Michael.

First, as mac has hinted above, the burden of proof in this matter is not shared. The fact that many believe in an afterlife contributes no evidence whatsoever to its reality. The burden of proof rests entirely on the person making an assertion - if you want to claim there is an afterlife, without proof it remains nothing more than an unsupported assertion.

Second, to expand Faustino's and Ponder's points a little, death is not "an awful horror." Or at least, it need not be so. Catholics are taught to strive for a death in a state of grace, and few of them would describe this as a horror. Sufferers of terminal illness who wish for a comfortable death before pain and disease incapacitate them would not describe this as a horror either. The "awful horror" is when death comes after prolonged and futile suffering, only after every human dignity has been stripped away. "Death is an awful horror" when it comes in the manner of someone else's choosing.

Third, while Steve Reyn's passing was premature, and possibly even tragic, the man died instantly doing what he loved. This quote from his eulogy says much: "Steve was overjoyed, exuberant and at peace. On September 26, 2008 Steve was riding his bike in Nigeria when a car took a corner too fast, lost control and struck Steve. Steve instantly passed from this world to the next." http://memoriesofsteve.com/

Onya Steve.

Michael, if you're looking for a death with which to argue against the right to end one's own life, this ain't it. Reyn died the transcendental death in a state of grace: presumably what he wished for, even if it wasn't the timing he would have chosen.

"In Christian philosophy, death is something everyone is fated to experience and an instrument that God uses for his purposes." Fine. You've articulated how christians can strive for the death that realises their beliefs. Yet you're denying non-believers the right to do the same. Not logical, not just, and not sustainable.