Michael Althouse
2 min readOct 28, 2024

--

This is now the second story of yours that the algorithm has directed me to. Both are about so-called "life after death" or whatever the current term du jour is. It's a lot like the arguments for and against some type of supernatural being, a capital "G" god. Fun, but pointless. However, your goal is to, apparently, convince others that this is not the end.

Okay. Let's say you are successful, you have convinced us - all of us; all however many billions of us there are now all believe you, there is no death, only a new perspective (paraphrasing your "proof" essay, probably badly - sue me). Then what? Well, you'd have to find something new to write about, but beyond that, what? What does the world look like now that we all believe? The Christians have an answer to that question. So do the Muslims, and the Jews, as do all of the other faiths. Do you?

I had an NDE a little more than 24 years ago. I had several, actually, over the period of a few hours that day. I was a mess and probably should have died. Apparently I did, clinically, but came back. When I left the hospital more than three months later and as I rehabilitated over the next many months, I thought a lot about what happened then. I read a lot about what happened to others in similar circumstances. I read a lot about what others had to say about near-death-experiences. I was a sponge, thirsty to learn all I could.

And I did. I learned that the world is full of people looking to exploit anything and everything, and those who are so longing for answers are easy targets. That includes those like myself who just wanted answers to what was a really weird experience (and I still don't have them - and don't you dare construe that as proof, it is not). There are people who will fill those voids - for a profit. Thankfully, all I lost was what a handful of useless books cost. The same goes for religion and a host of other shit. So, is there life after death? Fuck if I know. Fuck if you know, either. But there is good news - it doesn't matter.

--

--

Michael Althouse
Michael Althouse

Written by Michael Althouse

Lecturer/professor of communication studies at California State University, Sacramento. www.michaelalthouse.com

Responses (1)