I think there are things that God is holding back from,like reincarnation.Do you read the papers lately.how many from japen are killing themselfs because the believe in reincarnation.George

(1.) That is interesting B-Man.  I would think that anything where there is life instead of oblivion would be great.
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What if there IS a "God" and an afterlife... but "God" really is the cruel monstrosity that the Old Testament, Revelations, ect. pictures him as - would you consider eternal torment preferable to oblivion? I sure as heck wouldn't. And even if I myself didn't end up in a hellish hereafter, there's people I care about who WOULD (my family has had a minor plague of suicides over the last 10 years.) What sort of puke-demon would I have to be twisted into in the hereafter, to see their torments as "just?" For instance, my dad is a hard-core atheist (i.e., hell-bound!) and I love him more than I ever could some ghostly, "ethereal", gassy, farty, intangible "God." Sorry 'bout that. If I got to "hell" because of that, SO BE IT. (And "God" can plant a big, sloppy French kiss on my keister.)
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(2.) Besides, if the afterlife would "bore" one, then shouldn't life be boring you as well?
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Presumably, we will be "shells" of what we formerly were... right? And our afterlives will be "shells" of what our REAL lives were, no matter how "blissful". (After all, is not the very fact that physical life is fraught with danger, risks, and uncertainty the VERY thing that makes it interesting? Perfect security (which the afterlife supposedly promises equals perfect BOREDOM, does it not? Sort of sounds like spending eternity locked in a pink rubber-room in an insane asylum...)
Hence, I would prefer reincarnation (with maybe some "down-time" on the other side... which I'd call a nice place to visit (maybe), but I don't think I'd want to LIVE there. Sort of like South Dakota...)
After a bit of rest, recuperation, and (most importantly) TRAINING to be SUCCESSFUL in C1, I'd probably like to dive right back in. (Unless of course, I decide to go for cryonics... in which case there's a good chance I won't see the afterlife for many centuries, as I won't actually "die" but be in "hibernation" for a century or two!)
ANYWAY... this is a pretty cool world if you know how to "play the game", MarD. I certainly haven't seen even one-hundredth of it that I'd like to, and my life is half over already. (AND I'm just getting started FINALLY at "figuring out the game"..!)
To finish... I hope you get what you want, and I hope I get what I want. Apparently they are DIFFERENT things. (BUT - wouldn't a "one-size-fits-all" after-death reality be sort of a drag anyway? One would think that "God" (if he/she/it exists) could come up with a BETTER universe than that!!!)

B-man

B-man,

(1.) I really think you're missing the point.  Life is not about what we want at all.  We are here to serve a pupose...
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Serve, schmerve. I didn't ASK to be created. And I am NOT anybody's "property" but my own. "I may be a dog, but I'm my OWN dog", dammit! I refuse to believe otherwise, sorry Bug!

(2.) I'm not saying that you have to believe and preach the gospel, but you should watch what you say about God.  The Bible says that those who are not against Him, are for Him.
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"If you ain't with us, you're against us" (Fascist-In-Chief George W. Bush.) Need I say more??? (Except that anyone who would cramp their own style out of FEAR of somebody else's power, is a WASTE OF FLESH in my opinion.)

(3.) To me, it seems that your arguments about God, heaven, the afterlife, and reincarnation are all of a very selfish nature.  You mentioned that you loved your father very much.  If you do love him so much, it seems absurd to choose reincarnation over spending an eternity with him in heaven?

My father (age 43) died very unexpectedly 2 months ago, and I can hardly wait to see him again.  I'm not saying that I want to hurry up and die.  But when I do leave this world, I'm not going to lose him again.  I wouldn't think you would want to leave your father either.
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I want my dad to have what suits HIM best, not what suits ME best. He's his "own dog", too. He's a pretty old guy, Bug. Suppose he dies over the next couple of years? And then I die say, 30 years from now. That's a long time, Bug. If he isn't there when I get to the "other side" (because he reincarnated, or moved on to better things) I'll understand that, and respect his decision.
To ask him to "stay where he is until I get there" is pure selfishness of the WORST kind, and he'd agree with me there. Such is life...

B-man

Has anyone read the cosmic cradle by neil carmen.Its a great read.Love and hate togetter cannot exict.It has to be one or the other.chose wiseley.George

B-Man, I do respect your opinion greatly and I can, eventually, see the logic in it.  However, if you see that maybe the afterlife will "bore," you, then I'm sure God can work something out.  I also know my father very well and I also know that he feels one life is enough!!  The fact that you were given a life, whether requested or not, shows that God loves you and knows you better than you know yourself.

Bug, I'm afraid you're confusing me with Matthew (= DocM).

Don