it's human arrogance to think we can't possibly not exist after we are dead. What does it all mean? why bother if we're not going to get the gold star and be the winner of the race!!!? the afterlife concept keeps people in line, I believe it's that simple.

Unfortunately simply wanting it to be true doesn't make it so. So my question is in what way does comfort trump wisdom?

I think it serves more as a personal comfort.

True and I agree. Personal comfort could be a form of arrogance as well, why do we need to be comfortable? why does it make us feel at ease to think this is only stage one of the experience? to me it all comes down to feeling more important then we actually are.

I believe that thats reactionary, counterculture rebellion against religion and its an easy, safe, copout to actual thought.

Do you really beleive you're just a thoughtless automaton moving on chemical changes and social shaping? If so, why?

well on the contrary if I believed or didn't believe in an afterlife, just because, that to me would be a cop out. Actually giving it some thought and looking at it psychologically to question or understand why some humans can't just accept it's lights out/game over and that's that isn't a cop out. To me it's thinking we are more important to the plan and perhaps we are... but who's to say procreation itself isn't what is necessary to keep things moving and there is no stage 2? Maybe, once we're gone... we're gone but our children will carry things on, and so on. I am giving this plenty of thought. To simply doubt or to simply believe are one in the same... I'm giving my reasons for why I think we want to believe and why I feel the way I do.

Do I think I'm thoughtless? no, I think my parents gave plenty of thought (I hope) before having me. Why does it need to go any further then that? why can't I just be born, raised, a product of my upbringing/environment, good times, bad times, fail, succeed, procreate, die, the end? the need to believe it goes further then that to me is arrogance. Maybe it's not unhealthy arrogance, maybe it's what we feel comfortable with and what we were taught, great... be comfortable. Perhaps I'm over thinking it a bit.

Yeah but even you'd agree that looking at it psychologically is a terminal thought process.

Understanding what humans think about death wouldn't ever give you any solutions to the problem you're trying to figure out.

You can reason that they believe in Heaven because it comforts them, but whats that actually tell you.

It says that people are afraid of death. Afraid of no longer existing and enjoying the things they currently enjoy.
Regardless of a belief in heaven or re-incarnation or whatever, the belief counters inevitability with possibility. To them, that's comforting because they don't have to live their lives being tortured by ticking clocks.

Not thoughtless or an automaton, but chemical changes and social shaping is how our brain knows what to do. We are a series of reactions to some extent.

I'm just giving my opinion on it, I'm not saying it is or it isn't this way (obviously I'm questioning it myself). I break it down in sections. To be dead is to no longer be living. Heaven in the traditional sense is the good afterlife. As a person I can't think of any time that I wasn't alive so the idea of not being here is an odd one but I figure it's exactly like before I was born. For the idea that the soul is energy and energy can't be destroyed, ok... maybe our energy survives but that doesn't necessarily mean it goes to "heaven". Maybe it's like air... it's just there, floating around us. Can't see it... but it's there.

I like the idea of heaven, I like the idea of knowing if I do right I will be rewarded. It's human nature to want to be recognized and rewarded for the things we do whether they are seen or unseen. I understand it, I'm just looking at it from the logical standpoint.