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Nor afraid of death, but afraid of dying.
I am less afraid of death now than when I was a Christian. As a Christian, unless you are very arrogant or rewrite the bible to suit your lifestyle, any sin can land you in Hell. There was always the fear that maybe I interpreted something wrong and was disobeying a rule. The bible says women are not to speak in church, but I did it all the time. I couldn't be sure where I was going when I died. Now, even as an agnostic atheist, I don't know what's in the afterlife, but I'm more interested than I am scared to find out. When the time comes for me to die, I will either stop existing, which seems very peacful to fall into, or I will go to some afterlife I never imagined.
There are many possibilities as to what could actually happen when we die but the fact is nobody here knows what happens when we go all the way to the other side of where our current perceptions lies.
Out of curiosity though, what bible are you referring to when you mention the Bible?
Death is inevitable. No need to fear it.
When I actually believed in Christianity my fear of death was watching war after war and genocide after genocide from heaven.
Yeah i know that feeling. If i didnt learn from science that religions stupid i think the fact that gods up there watching us kill torture and steal in his name but doing nothing would be enough to stop me believing.
I'm new to this forum and this topic caught my eye right off. I've noticed that many of my theist friends profess no fear of death; but they seem a bit uneasy about it. The thought of death does not bother me at all. The thought that life simply ends without any complications is rather comforting. Theists worry about whether their "faith" is strong enough to get them into heaven - hence their anxiety.
Theres been some science fiction exploring the afterlife. Since energy cannot be destroyed many postulate another existence resulting from the energy that runs us being released as we die.
On one hand that could explain ghosts but i dont buy it if i was turned into energy id go explore the universe not hang around a planet filled with life you cant interact with.
This is why I believe that theism is a superstition. "If I don't go to church, something is going to happen. If I don't do Lent, I will be punished. In case there IS a God, I won't get into Heaven." If God loves everyone, as is always stated, then if you are a good person, you should get into Heaven, believe, or not believe..so what are they ( theists) afraid of? It is a superstition...just like the wishing well, the rabbits foot, statues, the horseshoe, etc.
For me there's no fear in death as I will be dead and I will have no fear at all . But my conscious mind mulls over the thought occasionally "Is death the end ?" My heart says No ! But my mind says "Shut up heart your a god dam moron ! " and I always go with my brain ! Until I'm presented with evidence to the contrary then death is the end of this fantastic voyage :)
You know, I usually think I'm not afraid to die, but the other night a bat flew in front of me and I considered the possibility of it carrying rabies, which started the train of thought of what I would do if I caught rabies. (Don't think I'm morbid. My mind just tends to wander) and I thought if I was to late to cure it, i would probably kill myself before i let hydrophobia kill me. And in that instance I thought I would probably pray just in case. I wanted to kick myself because its a dumb thought and cowardly to pray to something I don't believe in to avoid a hell I don't believe in. But I guess the fear-mongering 3 times a week for 7 years stick around. When I think about what people say Hell is like, I can't help but get scared about the possibility of it, even though I don't think it's true. Maybe if I ever get away from my Bible-thumping hometown I can stop going to church twice every Sunday and Wednesday night and being told that atheists will suffer in teeth-gnashing agony for all of eternity. It's kind of a downer.
Thats the main reason i hate religion if you dont believe you go to hell, if thats what happens to people that just dont believe just imagine if you believed in the wrong one. Play the numbers they cant all be right lol
I once had a crazy notion this universe was a test created (im not saying god could be aliens or even us from a previous universe since scientists now think universe creation is cyclical its not impossible that the previous one could have had life for billions of years) with a set of physical laws just to see how many planets created lifeforms, its just a silly idea and yet it makes more sense than the religions.
Im scared and thats probably a good thing since my life is awful i suffer from depression have a history of attempting suicide and take 40+ pills a day plenty to end it. But i dont because im scared of the unknown.
I think there would be less wars without religion and not just because of arguments but because they 'know' their future is safe so care less if they die oh they wont want too but they will be fine with dying.
just remember one thing....when it is time to die your brain will be dead too so you will never know what happened Unfortunately many have a slow death....There are medications to ease the pain but for me personally if my quality of life gets so bad that I can't function I have no qualms asking for assisted suicide...but that is just me... So no as long as I live my life to the fullest. I am not afraid when the end comes......
Asimov an atheist was actually quoted on this. He said he was thankful atheism showed him theres no hell or worse eternal heaven.
My outlook on this changes quite a bit. Sometimes I'm terrified of death, sometimes I'm not worried about it at all and sometimes, I think I may be looking forward to it. Seems to me the whole concept of heaven and hell stems from a need to be in control of what happens when you die. For us, we aren't. At all. It's the kind of thing that can hurt your head just thinking about.
Im hoping its like groundhog day you pick a day of your life and it repeats man that would be fun.
I am impressed that most people here say that they don't fear death.
But you do fear it, even if you say you don't.
Fear is a human trait, it comes even without knowing it.
The only people that don't fear death are those that don't want/need to live.
And i can bet that all people that can read this post want/need to live.
Even for those that don't want/need to live, the fact that you are waiting for the right moment to die proves that you FEAR to die before the right time.
Death is a deadline, it is where you have no more choice, no more control, no more freedom.
I fear death every second of my life.
That doesn't mean I don't accept it and live my life the best I can.
There is a difference between fearing death and accepting it.
Most people think that their acceptance of death means that they don't fear it.
This is a theist mind set and propaganda, created by theists a long time ago which I fear that is still effecting our thoughts today.
If I had the money I would invest in technology that would help us extend our lifespan as much as possible because death is the enemy of life and knowledge.
Death is our worst enemy and religion has used this enemy for its own advantage throughout the ages.
Spreading the idea that death is a good thing, it is part of life, and that its gonna be a better place after you die, etc....
This is all a brain washing technique and wishful thinking that tries to grab desperate people in their worst emotional state into a theology that does not make sens but gives hope.
Abusing the idea that 'Beggars cannot be choosers' to use human fear of death for their advantage.
That is one of the tools of religion.
There are quite a few things in your post that I disagree with, but I'm tired and need to get up early so I'll mention just two right now:
"But you do fear it, even if you say you don't."
Pretty damned presumptuous of you to assert that you know my mind better than I do.
"Death is our worst enemy."
No, it isn't.
heh maybe because you are tired that you are saying so :P
Yea it is pretty arrogant of me to make such a claim.
Having said that, I reconfirm what I said. Yes I am that sure.
There is just no way that you can still be alive if you don't fear death.
You might not know it, but the fear is there.
If someone told you;
why don't you jump off a plane without para-shoot?
The answer is that; you fear you will die.
And not that 'although i will die after, I will have the fun of a free fall.'
fear of death>then the fun.
If you don't fear death you will do it if you like that type of fun.
Death is an Unknown.
Humans fear the Unknown by nature.
So unless you have some mental disability or something, you MUST fear death.
There is a difference between not wanting to do something (to die in this case) because one wants to do otherwise (live) and fearing it. For instance, I don't want to have colonoscopies every ten years (because they are, well, icky) but I don't fear them.
The unknown is not always frightening. You make a base assumption that is false.
Being tired meant I didn't want to type, not that I couldn't think.
Saying I have a mental disorder because I disagree with you about who I am and how I feel about my own life / death somehow reminds me of the recent news story of the man who was put in a mental institution for being atheist. You admit arrogance and then repeat it.
The airplane and parachute bit was silly. What part of "I really like being alive" didn't you get?
I can assure you people that dont want to live can fear death i know that for a fact.
I was afraid of death when the thought of hell entered the equation. I'm a former Christian, and now that I'm an atheist, the only thing I 'fear' is not living as productive of a life as possible. That somehow I will squander the time I've been given here, and that's probably the only scary thought. We can die at any moment. So, it's important to focus on the here and now, and get busy being happy, and helping others to find happiness too. :)
liking something cannot beat basic instinct.
It is a scientifically tested that human and animals fear the unknown.
It is not just my arrogance talking, just said that I seem arrogant since I'm not supporting my claim, since I thought you knew something this basic.
seems I was wrong.
Lear something about fear here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140212132803.htm
It is not a matter of; if you fear death or not.
It has been proven that all living creatures do.
It is a matter of how much you fear death and how much can you control your fear.
If you accept your death, you might think that you don't fear death but you are wrong, you just control your fear and not let it dominate your life.
If you like something, you will always fear of loosing it.(not always the same amount of fear, depends on the subject) Though fear is always there.
If you have no fear at all then there is something wrong with your head.
This is not an insult.
Psychopathy is a real thing which can make a person have no fear.
My claim was, that unless you have such a mental disorder or something you will experience fear.
Especially the biggest fear of all, The Unknown.
I still, and will probably always, disagree with your assertion that I fear all of the unknown. Perhaps some of it, maybe. Death does not scare me though. And I'm not a psychopath. Prove I fear it! Prove all people fear it. You cannot.
Some, who are completely sane, are in positions that cause them to welcome it. My mother, for instance, chose it. She caused her own. And I think it was the right thing for her to do. Why are there more and more states in the U.S. finally passing death with dignity laws if it is always feared or only psychopaths welcome it?
Have you ever looked death square in the face? I have. I do not fear it. Period. I'm not ready for it yet. I like being alive. It will happen. That does not, in any way, shape, or form, scare me.
And I do not think of death as the unknown. I think of it as the end.
Based on your profile photo, you are substantially younger than I am. I suspect when you're my age, you will have a much different opinion about the ineluctable end of your own life than you do now. In the mean time, grab the clue that not everyone who doesn't think as you do is mentally disordered, for that may be far closer to a mental disorder than my not fearing my own death.
As I said, you do fear the unknown.
You just control it like everybody else.
"Death does not scare me though."
Yes, since you have control over your fear. Fear is there but it is not enough to overcome your control over it.
Don't you fear of never seeing your family again?
If someone points a gun at you, would you want him to shoot you or do you fear that he will kill you?
When driving a car, don't you fear that if you are drunk you may kill yourself and others? The fear is there but you can overcome it(drink less), you can ignore it(be reckless), or you may not drive anymore(controlled by fear).
Fear is part of a human being, science has proven it, if you read the link I gave you.
I don't need to prove it, it is a very basic part of everybody.
Every body have different levels of fear for any subject.
It has a say on many decisions in our life.
The unknown is feared because we like stability, we are comfortable doing thing we know.
When we deal with the unknown, we fear that we will fail.(different levels of fear, depending on the individual mental strength)
EG:
Someone challenges you for a car race and the winner gets the other guy's house.
Even though you know you are the better driver and there is a very very high chance for you to win, you still fear to loose it.
The stakes are high, fear plays a part in this decision, anything can go wrong in the race and make you loose.
And because of this fear that if you win it, it would make you even more happier since it was a challenge.
So fear is part of your psych, you accept it or not.
It has been tested over and over again in labs
Watch the video to see how our brain uses fear to help us survive:
http://www.fearexhibit.org/brain/wired
Why don't you put your money in any bank that comes along? Since you don't know if they are reliable or not. So first you do your homework and then choose the right bank. Simple because you fear to loose your money and fear of an unreliable bank.
Fear of the unknown.
The pic was taken when i was 16, I'm 27 now :P
That is bias, judging my intellect depending on my age :P
Death is the moment that we stop having a choice, our brain avoids it. You need to control your fear to be able to commit suicide.
"I'm not ready for it yet."
Why not?
You fear death happens before you are ready then.
I'm not saying that you are scared of death, I am saying that fear is there having a say in your choice just like everybody else(except psychopaths maybe)
I wasn't challenging your intellect. Re-read my comment about age. It had to do with proximity to end of life. I'm not 27, in fact, none of my kids are even that young. From a statistical perspective, I am far, far closer to the end of my life than you are, so chances are you have a vastly different attitude about it than I do. Additionally, if you want to get all biological and shit, you are still bound to the urge to breed, I'm not and that may play a role in our difference in attitude about death.
As for the brain chemicals associated with fear...in order for the brain to produce those chemicals, a threat has to be perceived. Death is not always a threat. Ergo, my earlier comment that it is not always a person's worst enemy. It may be to you right now. I'd ask you not to make the mistake of applying that notion to everyone else.
The situations you note as examples fall short. Do I drive drunk because I don't fear the inevitability of my own death? Oh my, that's just silly.
Let me say it again: I like being alive. I absolutely get that my life will end. It is the natural order of things. That notion does not scare me. Not fearing my ineluctable end simply does not mean that I always behave in a manner to hasten it. Those two are vastly different things. Take a moment and try to separate them in your thoughts.
I'll also repeat something I said earlier about 'the unknown' and expand on it a wee bit. Yes, there are some things unknown to me that frighten me. Notice I used the word 'some'. You seem to have skipped over that. There are other unknown things that are quite exciting, about which I feel gleeful anticipation. I do not consider death an unknown. Let that sink in.
Perhaps, Jeff, the reason I'm really debating your stance is actually rooted in your intimation that you know more about my emotions and biology than I do, as well as the seeming insistance that everyone operates in a single way - the one you have described.
I'll have to ponder this.
In death there is only peace. If there is something one needs to fear, it is life. The thought of life after death scares me, for if there in fact is life after death, in any form, then it is fairly deductible that it is long, arduous, painful, and mostly pointless, albeit punctuated by beautiful moments. I would choose death over it any day. There is beauty death. The beaut of never knowing that you are in fact dead.
In death there is only peace. If there is something one needs to fear, it is life. The thought of life after death scares me, for if there in fact is life after death, in any form, then it is fairly deductible that it is long, arduous, painful, and mostly pointless, albeit punctuated by beautiful moments. I would choose death over it any day. There is beauty death. The beaut of never knowing that you are in fact dead.
I think the fear of the unknown is a potential concern for why many fear death, but the unknown has been indoctrinated into many of us through religion. Religion creates this idea that there is something else after this life. That might be so, but it might not be so. Religion often paints a reward vs punishments type of scenario as to what awaits all of our 'souls.' The truth is, when we get fixated on that, we forget that we have a life to live. I'm most fearful of wasting my life, than what might be awaiting after it.
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