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In the minds of many Buddhists, such a disavowal would disqualify me from being considered a member of the faithful. They would find it puzzling, if not offensive, that I would even want to think of myself as a Buddhist. It would be comparable to someone denying the existence of God, then describing himself as a practising Muslim. For the pious, Buddhism is a religion like all the others, with its own share of weird and wonderful dogmas. It is certainly not my business, as a mere Western convert, to question truths that have been verified, again and again, by people far wiser and more accomplished than me. Instead, I should abandon the conceits of my ego and humbly acknowledge that I share in a far grander destiny extending over millions of lifetimes in myriad realms, compared to which our brief sojourn on this paltry planet pales to insignificance.
This stuck a thought with me. It is interesting how in Buddhism concepts such as afterlife etc can be debated and how someone can leave such notions out of the practice altogether and still be a follower of the Buddha. You cant really say the same for other religions (although I doubt Buddhism is one). For example its non-sensical to be a Christian and not believe in an afterlife