Argument Against the Possibility of an Afterlife

Reductio ad Absurd um:
Telling a religious person that they are wrong is pointless. Instead follow them in there hopes and dreams and illustrate the conclusions. What are the ramifications of eternal life?
Eternal paradise is an individual concept, obviously. But it is always based on the epitome, the peak of happiness in his or her life. If that moment were stretched on into eternity, it would become mundane, meaningless. If it were a single moment stretched to eternity, it would still seem like only a moment.
No matter how varied and imaginative your activities, they are all based on the same governing rules that define the universe, if for no other reason than your mind isn’t capable of experiencing anything else. It is a product of the universe, and as such, is wholly endemic to it, and dependent on it for all experience, function, and even imagination. Say there is suddenly no such thing as gravity, and you can float and fly as you please. This is still based in reality though, because it is only in comparison with a concept, a rule of the universe.
Unfortunately for the religious concept of eternal life, the human mind is geared to operate on the concept of change, of cause/effect, the passing of experiences defines time, and the pace of time. The untrained human mind is trapped between the conscious realization of the unknowable future, and the animalistic tendency toward self-preservation. It naturally tends to seek constancy and eternity as a comfort from the unknown.
Once constancy is found, though, the mind tires of it. There is no change introduced, and the mind stagnates and submits to entropy. The whole world appears from the mind’s perspective to freeze up and lose motion, focus, and meaning. When faced with true eternity the untrained mind begins to understand, and recoils in fear.
I believe that no matter the state of eternity, whether it be heaven or hell, after a billion trillion years of unchanging constancy, the mind will be reduced to a wisp of neutral gray emotionlessness, beyond even the pain of watching all your hopes, dreams, fears, loves, ideas, knowledge; your very existence become meaningless and inconsequential in the infinite halls of heaven or hell.

Eternal life is an individual concept that is incompatible with individuality.

Humans, and Their Foibles

Human beings are essentially mad. Madness defined as a goal which contradicts its own existence. Humans are the essence of conflict. Power corrupts them. They desire power. They are imprisoned by shelter, and terrified of freedom.
They are both social AND individual creatures, and as such are essentially opposed to themselves. Since they operate in a societal form, humans pay attention to other humans, and are blinded by the “human experience” of the universe. They cannot gain a sufficient experience of the world as it is, instead of merely as humans expect it to be. Because of this, they are disillusioned, easily misled, and frightened of a world they struggle to understand only through the avenues of social human perspective. They are often the subject of a vague sense of general unease that arises when they forget for a moment their human conceit, and perceive their insignificance in a world that they suddenly feel is infinitely large and threatening. They forget that it is no more threatening than it was when they saw themselves as an integral part of it.
But the objective viewpoint can only be gained through societal interactions; through communications of other ideas and experiences; therein lies the problem. An individual can only see the world truly as it is through an objective viewpoint. So the only way for an individual to find balance and peace within their self; to start resolving the eternal conflict that up till now has been the very essence of humanity, is to find an objective viewpoint through society. This is a very hard thing to do. This is why the majority of humans suffer from poor education and suffering based on subjectivity of their surroundings. It should be the primary objective of any society to bestow on its individuals a widely educated, objective viewpoint. It could be argued that the primary, or dual purpose of society should be to protect its citizens. It is true, however, that if the majority of humanity were bestowed with a truly objective education, there would be far less need to defend yourself from your neighbors. It would be as the Dalai Lama said; that eventually we would see that there is no such thing as enmity, that everyone is part of a cohesive whole. We should not be warring against one another,  we should be promoting each other to benefit from one another. Like the cells in the human body. And it is also as Alan Watts said, that to rightly describe an individual, you would also have to describe his surroundings, both past and present. So it would be a misconception to separate the individual from his surroundings. So by this reasoning, we as humans, as individuals and as a society, should treat our surroundings, our world and everything in it, as part of our bodies, to be promoted and benefited from.

On Pride…

Pride is necessary to an individual, and there are benevolent, and even beneficial forms that pride can take.
Pride is the device of individuality. As pride flourishes, so does self-awareness; the ability to see yourself as separate from your surroundings. Pride is also a good motivation and point of inspiration. Any activity, idea, or interest a semi-reasonable person places their pride upon tends to flourish. Obviously, if the pride is placed on an interest that is harmful to human life in some way, or that goes against the local social fiber, then the individual will decline correspondingly. Humans are defined by their natural and social environment, and thought patterns become part of the environment due to human memory retention and their tendency for past/present reality correlation; defining their world around them by combining their current circumstances with their memories. Because of this, positive and negative states of mind are apart of the environment and affect the development of the individual as a whole. Placing your pride in a negative interest will lead you to either be a person who is either harmful to life, or against the social grain. In the case of the former, as a living person who is interested in promoting life I would be against you; in the case of the latter I would have to let reason be the judge.