Many folks who have god(s) say they are not afraid of dying because of the afterlife in their belief systems. I seriously doubt most of them have no fear of it, but, be that as it may, they say it.
Since most of us don't buy into an afterlife since there is no evidence for it, are we more afraid of it that others?
I sure as heck don't want to do it because I really, really like being alive, but I am not afraid of it. It's ineluctable, and that gives me the freedom to fully embrace my life and the lives of others.
What are your thoughts about it?
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You stated that quite well.
Not afraid but not running toward it either. Really just enjoying the here and now.
I don't ever recall having a fear of death before, during, or after my Christian life. I will say that I now feel more alive and free to explore the wonders of the universe now that the shackles of religion are gone. It may not be the fear of death that drive people to religion but the fear of living. They hide behind the rules, rites, and ceremonies without facing life as it is.
“The only position that leaves me with no cognitive dissonance is atheism. It is not a creed. Death is certain, replacing both the siren-song of Paradise and the dread of Hell. Life on this earth, with all its mystery and beauty and pain, is then to be lived far more intensely: we stumble and get up, we are sad, confident, insecure, feel loneliness and joy and love. There is nothing more; but I want nothing more.”
― Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel
That was well said DesolateProphet. They are more afraid of losing control and realizing the true place our species has in the grand, uncaring cosmos. Heliocentrism in the 21st century, lol! Death is just something they like talking about a lot and usually in reference to outsiders. They are pro-LIFE and most infidels are pro-DEATH. Its so sad that I sometimes actually lol.
And that is a beautiful quote Rajesh. Now I have to read everything she has written.
Death is not to be feared...just hope the manner of dying is painless and quick...
Fear of the inevitable is not an innate thing, it has to be learned.
Religion teaches folks that there's an alternative to death so practitioners tend to look at death as a fearful thing because it is not inevitable to them. They think there's a way around it and that leads to fear.
If you don't believe in an afterlife or reincarnation and realize that death is the only way to go, there isn't any fear.
Or do you really think some god is going to save you ?
Religion put those fears into most people, and they profess to have have the only solution. Perfect circular reasoning.
Is this really a 'yes or no' question? Every time I think about this I become more unsure of the answer. The feeling I get when imagining reality, thought, perception, and existence becoming nil can possibly be equated to fear, but if I was afraid in death, I wouldn't be able to call myself dead. So I suppose I could say that I don't fear the feeling of nonexistence, but I fear the lack of feeling that it entails.
Well, I was afraid of death, until I started thinking of it as nothing: just like how I wasn't aware before my birth. I don't know if that makes sense : $
hi
I didn't fear death asa Christian because I viewed it as a transition rather than an end. I don't fear death now as an atheist because it will just be the end. Anyone who has ever passed out has basically experienced what I believe it will be like to die the only difference being that I won't dream or wake up. My only concern with dying at this point is the method. Don't want to suffer any more pain than necessary or go in a way that would cause the people in my life to experience the same in my passing.
Death itself doesn't bother me
Leaving this world without making an impact on it is my greatest fear
I am curious, in what way would you like to impact this world?
Yes, I am afraid of death and there's nothing wrong with being afraid to die, its natural. However its important to remember not to let fear of death prevent you form living. Living where I do death is present on a regular enough basis that you would have to be a touch insane not to fear it people get killed in this town all the time.
Fact is, I don't want to die I am comfortable enough being alive and I done feel I am done living yet. I have gone through my own experiences which I have written about elsewhere on the site and figure eventually if pain keeps building one day I may decide I would rather move on to whatever comes after life what ever that may be, but with my goal being to live as long as possible and fear of failure at this goal I have to say I fear death for now but not because of some belief or lack of belief of what comes next.
As always your comments give me food for thought, I have always been one to say that I don't fear death but while I was reading your post I wondered if this lack of fear is rooted around the fact that I don't live around it. I know it happens and I've had to look it in the face a few times but I wonder if I lived around it the way you say you do if I'd have more fear of the things I say I'm fearless about.. As always I enjoy reading your thought :)
Best Of Wishes
I grew up around Christians, so I always tried to fit in but I knew I just didn't connect and the stories just seemed so out of place to me, but I tried to just believe just so I wouldn't be judged and the whole time I feared death because I didn't want to do the wrong thing. I didn't want to commit a sin and not have time to pray and ask for forgiveness, you know, if something were to happen soon. It sounds so silly though i don't know why I cared what everyone else thought I should have just opened my eyes and have been honest with myself the whole time. But now I am proud to say I am an atheist and I do not fear death. It's kind of like when you go to sleep and wake up in the morning. 'Man that seemed so short.' When it was really like 6 to 10 hours right? I figure when we die we won't exist, there will be no fear at all. I mean ask yourself, this universe has been around for billions of years right? Well how old are you? How long did those billions of years feel? Not long right, because 'POOF' here we are, unaware of where we came from. That's just how I see it. Long story short, I now appreciate how long we have to live and am very grateful I still have the chance because we have everything to live for, we have nothing to die for.
I was more afraid of death as a Christian, than now, as an atheist. I don't fear it really at all. What I do fear for lack of a better word, is not living life as long as I hope to. Like maybe I get into a car accident, and poof...life's over. But, maybe that's just it. We are to live our lives to that absolute best and fullest while we are still alive to do so! But, fearing death...or wondering what happens in a potential afterlife? Nah, all of the anxiety that came from my Christian roots, is gone. I never believed in heaven or hell even as a practicing Christian, I just always thought those concepts were stupid. It's great to be free of fear, and worrying ''where'' I will end up, upon my death.
I am a bit apprehensive about dying, and particularly the means by which it happens, and I worry about what will happen to my loved ones when I'm gone. Like most people, I dislike pain and helplessness, and my body will instinctively fight to survive. I've even taken some practical measures to prepare for those things, including writing a will and taking out life insurance, and I put my seatbelt on when I drive. So, yes, I am afraid of dying. I think most people are. What I don't do, however, is anthropomorphise death or spend time bargaining with the universe or some external force to save me from its finality, or create comforting delusions about its reality ("They're in a better place now, deary" - no, they're gone). I realise that death is inevitable and that there are conditions under which it might be preferable, like the extreme pain of a late stage terminal disease or in the humiliating of the self that comes with Alzheimer's.
Well said, and better than I could express my similar views.
I am far more afraid of death as an atheist than as a Christian. but I find that to be a good thing. to me, the only way to cheat death is to put forth the effort to become something great and to bring good things to others. It's trying to escape death like this that's made me so happy to be an atheist. If I didn't fear death, I feel like I wouldn't strive for the things I should be striving for with nearly as much effort.
My only fear is it all just ending and being forever in the dark not aware of what happend
I'm not afraid of being dead. That's silly. That's like being afraid of not being born yet. But I'm afraid of dying. I'm afraid it may be painful and slow. I would rather it be painless and quick.
I think that as an atheist I'm more afraid of death then when I adhered to islam.theres a certain "fear of the unknown factor " involved.Its silly to be scared of the inevitable but I guess its part of hunan nature.
I'm only 15, so I can't say, "after being Christian for bla bla years." However, I will say that death for someone who is still very young isn't much of a scary thing. If I was 60 years old, my viewpoint might be a bit different. When we die, our conscience will cease to exist and I won't have to wonder how my life could have been better or how stupid I was for dying or whatever. The end of life is the end of any thinking you'll ever do on any subject. But because I have a conscience now, I weep inside my head in response to thinking the experiences I am having now could just go away. The act of dying is scary, saying goodbye to the conscious world, but once you're out, no more scare.
I'm only 15, so I can't say, "after being Christian for bla bla years." However, I will say that death for someone who is still very young isn't much of a scary thing. If I was 60 years old, my viewpoint might be a bit different. When we die, our conscience will cease to exist and I won't have to wonder how my life could have been better or how stupid I was for dying or whatever. The end of life is the end of any thinking you'll ever do on any subject. But because I have a conscience now, I weep inside my head in response to thinking the experiences I am having now could just go away. The act of dying is scary, saying goodbye to the conscious world, but once you're out, no more scare.
Cyber, I am surprised that with having had a career a LEO you would not have developed more of a fear of death. I am sure it is on your mind more these days as you have discussed what was going on in your life in other areas of the site.
I don't mean to go to far off topic but I feel sorry for everyone in your current situation dealing with the issue that your going through. I feel helpless wish there were ways I could help in a more meaningful way. Apparently all I can think of right now is, death does not have to be a bad thing or something that is feared. Though death is a great unknown and people inevitably go there, keep in mind that there comes a point where its better to go there than remain here wherever there may be. I don't really without doubt know what comes next anyone who is still alive doesn't but I can say from my own experience wherever I went when I was poisoned long ago for that brief period in time, I was not in pain and there was no suffering, all the pain was gone it felt much like letting go. Letting go to me is something that both the deceased and the the living have to do and its a process and i can very hard for all involved.
Sometimes, what people fear more than death is the pain doing so will cause or the lives they will leave behind or the pain of having to go on after someone dies. In your present situation I think your husband needs more than anything else loving comfort. If he has come to terms with the fact that his life is ending, he needs to know its OK and that you love him. If he has not you need to try and help him survive. I don't know your whole situation but I feel for you either way.
What a nice post, Z, thank you.
I'm not afraid of dying but I sure as hell don't want to do it any time soon because I really, really like being alive. I also really, really like that a lot of other folks are alive too. That's because we all have at least the potential to enrich each other's lives.
My husband and I both have a great deal of hope that medical science can provide us with more of the time together that we crave. Because, not only, even after decades together, do we still love each other, but we like each other as well.
I have forever gained in the knowing of him. If today is the last time we share a meal, or a laugh, or a touch; if I don't get to hear his voice tomorrow, or tease him for using the wrong verb tense, or listen to him breathe as he sleeps I HAVE NOT LOST. I am forever changed, for the better, in the knowing of him.
Perhaps because of my age, I am more at peace with the idea of death's inevitability. Trust me, though, I still look both ways before I cross the street. ;-)
I'm wondering why death is something that is feared. To me, death is just something that means our time here is limited, and so we have to do as much as we can or want to in that time. As opposed to some religious people who feel that there is something after death, maybe paradise gained by being "good" during life. Maybe that's why some religious people fear death, as it might mean they are punished for their"sins"? I'm not sure. But I think that because I know my death is inevitable (hopefully not for a while, I haven't been alive for long!) and absolute (i.e. there is nothing more), this means I will do as much as I can with the time I have. Like Matthew Rosso said however, if anything I would "fear" not having done enough with my life before I die. But maybe my view will change as I get older.
Who wants to live forever? There is no purpose to an eternal life. A life that has an ending has a purpose of living while it can. To live forever would be an endless hell of nothingness. I need action! When my body can no longer act I will beg for death.
Not afraid, no. I've had a couple of close brushes to temper my outlook. I consider loose ends left undone and the emotional turmoil my family will experience, as the only part I fear or worry about. I'm not a shill for the author, but here's a book that might help those without belief gain a comfortable perspective.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470401818/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF...
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