Life is meaningless without an afterlife

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Some apologists argue that an afterlife must exist for this life to have any meaning.

"IF there is no afterlife, then life, to me anyway, seems absolutely meaningless as time is infinite whereas our lives are very short. Once we die we cease to exist for all eternity so it makes no difference what we accomplished or did not accomplish in life, whether we had lots of joy or lots of pain...because against eternity our extremely short lives are inconsequential.[1]"
"I know that one day I will die. I've been told that if there is nothing after that, like reincarnation or whatever happens to you, that's just unacceptable to me and that is kind of scary in a way.[2]"

Counter arguments[edit]

Wishful thinking[edit]

This argument is a case of wishful thinking. It assumes that things have to be meaningful because that is a more comforting and psychologically appealing situation.

Infinite time does not imply meaningfulness[edit]

A finite life does not necessarily imply it is meaningless. An infinite afterlife does not make it meaningful.

Actions have lasting impact[edit]

The impact of our actions do have an impact, even if it is just an unintended impact. This is similar to the idea in chaos theory that a butterfly wing flap can cause a hurricane.

"And like the star that goeth out, so is every work of your virtue: ever is its light on its way and travelling—and when will it cease to be on its way?"

Friedrich Nietzsche

Infinite regress[edit]

Heaven precludes genuine charity[edit]

Main Article: Heaven precludes genuine charity

If there is an omnipotent and perfectly just God and an everlasting reward, there is no reason to act morally except to secure one's own well-being in the afterlife, i.e. loving your brother can only be a rational means to one's own ends not the well-being of one's brother.

References[edit]

See also[edit]