>> If you didn't start with that belief, what observation could you make to come to the conclusion that there is an afterlife? I always appreciate the parable

>> If you didn't start with that belief, what observation could you make to come to the conclusion that there is an afterlife? I always appreciate the parable of the flame in Buddhism. If you use a lighter to produce a flame, where did that flame come from? where does it go? If you use it again, is that flame the same or is different? You realize that the flame is really just a distinction we make of matter that has always been there and it doesn't go anywhere, just changes. I don't mean this to say that "you" are just changing when you die, but to question what "you" really are. I think consciousness is an interesting area we still struggle to understand. It's weird that no physical thing can be "about" something but that thoughts can be. I can think of george washington riding a unicycle, but does that mean there is a neuron in my brain that physically is that mental picture? Lastly, there is a contingency problem with matter. If all physical things are contingent upon a cause, then the physical universe must be caused by something that is immaterial. If you think about math, does it really exist? If I ask if "four" exists, there certainly is a english word, "four" and a grouping of lines (4) there can be four of something but these are all just representative of four'ness. So does four really exist and if not why is math so effective at explaining our universe? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_universe_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_universe_hypothes... If the universe is contingent upon an immaterial cause, I don't think it's out of reach to imagine that cause as an Aristotelian god. All that to say, I think there's reason to be skeptical about any certainty in knowing what happens when we die. Hopefully it's something interesting or I won't be around to find out!