According to science, matter is neither created nor destroyed. So, when you die, your body and soul/life is transformed into a different form. According to Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and ancient philosophers like Aristotle, Socrates and Plato, there is a rebirth after our physical death. Hinduism also believes that your soul/life may be reborn in another being, animal, insect and so on. When we look at things from the perspective of science, ancient religions and philosophy, Do we not see a chance for a rebirth of our soul in a different form?
That's if you believe in the soul.. I suspect that many on here, including myself, do not believe in the soul.
While it is true that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only change forms.. the energy of 'you' is really no different than any other energy. You'll die and the energy and matter that went into you will go into something else. Nothing about your mind will continue after death as your mind is a product of your nervous system, which will break down. If it were true that there were a soul and its energy somehow adhered to your matter and was passed along, we'd all be filled with souls from the past. There are atoms in us that were once in dinosaurs.. and fish and trees and even from mindless rocks and dirt. There's a good chance that you even have an atom in your that was once in Vlad the Impaler or even Hitler. So if you don't feel like you have the souls of a Neanderthal tyrannosaurus Hitler boulder in you, there's a good chance you won't pass your soul along as it doesn't exist.
It is true that matter and energy are neither created nor destroyed, but that's beside the point. Matter and energy are constantly changing form and organization. Your consciousness and mine (as well as our bodies and our brains) represent a particular configuration of matter and energy. That configuration breaks down at death, which is why our bodies decay, and why there is no reason to imagine that anything that is recognizably "you" survives that process ... and quite a bit to suspect that is does NOT survive.
It's actually energy that is neither created nor destroyed.
Energy can be created, hence E=mc2
@magicwatch I thought that equation defined energy. Didn't know it was a "recipe " for energy...
@Cutiebeauty it indeed is a recipe for energy. Radioactivity works because of this.
@Spongebob OK, guess I was wrong lol thx