Technically no. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being. If we define murder as the act of killing than this would include veganism. Humans are omnivores by nature, we have teeth specially adapted to eat both animal and plant material, and are healthier if we eat both. Of course you can survive just fine on plant material alone, that is your decision to do so.

Um, yes....I am glad that we can both agree on that. Books can be used but only if their statements can be corroborated with evidence.

In my opinion it is better to live your life assuming there is no after-life, that way you can make the most of this life, and if it turns out there is an afterlife, then you will be pleasantly surprised.

To what foolish speculations do you refer?

And why is it a waste of time to convince you? Is your mind already made up? Are you afraid that perhaps that might be no afterlife?

Damning? In what way?

I am merely stating how debate works. The affirmative belief always carries the burden of proof. If there is an afterlife, no evidence has been presented.

We are composed of matter, and there is energy (heat, kinetic, electrical, nuclear) in our bodies, but there is no evidence of a 'spirit' or 'soul' in our bodies. Even if there was to what extent does it carry our memories, personality, and sentience? And in what way is it connected to an afterlife? To assert knowledge on any of these questions is foolish speculation.

The 'Unknown' is exactly that...

And why do you believe we have spirits? A lot of people believe in spirits, but why do you? Do you have any evidence?

What evidence do you have of any of this? The body has energy in it, but we are not energy. At any given movement you are losing and gaining energy, most of the energy you lose is through something called "heatloss" so you are constantly losing energy and you replenish it primarily through eating food. You cannot misuse scientific terms to support pseudo-scientific conclusions. Energy is not the same as a "soul" or "spirit", it has a very specific scientific meaning.

I suppose "after-death" would be a lot like "before birth". Does anybody here remember what it was like before they were born? Of course not, you didn't exist and when you die, you won't exist either. There is no "sitting there and watching blackness" because you are non-existent, you can't see anything not even black.

The burden of proof is on those who say there is an afterlife.