Hi everyone, this is my first post here.
I'm an atheist and should mention this is relatively new to me as a long time agnostic. My intellect says all the right things and pushes all the right buttons when it comes to the logic and the rational. In fact, I've been accused of having an overly critical mind many times. Don't get me wrong, to err is human and I have made my fair share of mistake; big one too!
So death is simply the end of the 'me'. The end of existence of cognition and sentience. This is it, right? Not quite:
I came here frantically searching for answers to a conundrum, an inwards cognitive dissonance if you will that creeped in and spoiled an otherwise peaceful evening. Long story short, I got spooked by an event which urgently suggested I was about to push daisies.
I couldn't sleep because some notions imposed in my very core by the catholic church at an early age - the human constructs of heaven & hell, especially hell - made a special appearance. This is not the first time this 'little' problem rears its ugly face.
So I guess my questions are: How do I get rid of this freak theatre in my mind? Do I need a deprogrammer to talk some sense into me?
I'll tell you, being an atheist is fantastic until the power of suggestion rooted by the church comes and crashes the party!
Please respond.
Thank you
Mario
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Yes!
You need a deprogrammer.
Find a support group. Perhaps an atheist club or group near where you live.
You have been reinforced with these irrational beliefs for a ling time and it is almost always useful to get some help to get the "Demons" out of your mind.
Your response is wonderful and very appreciated. Indeed: Irrational and rational cannot co-exist. It would be illogical, something I cannot be bothered with. I invested too much into self-reliant spirituality over the years, it cannot fail me now and I need support. I'll look around 'cause those "Demons"... they have to go. Thank you so much :)
Welcome to the boards,
Yeah even at my age and having been an atheist for more than 3/4ths of my life I am still effected by the dogma i was preached about right and wrong as a kid in irrational ways that will likely effect me until I die. That being said hey we are here to support you with any issues you may have or want to discuss whenever you need some advise or jut general help trying to figure out the rational way to act feel free to hit up the message boards. Don't feel you are only limited to talking about religion though.
I too have had a few close encounters with the near death so to speak mine were more like what has told to me is limbo. Even after all this time I am sometimes torn between what is the rational way to think. One thing I do know is its important to be true to yourself.
Perhaps some of the things you feel are, how can I put this,,, Your brain telling you you have some things to get over or make amends for. I think this will take some soul searching. Do you have things you regret, feel guilty for, or that make you think you have been a bad guy? In my personal near death experience I remember in the aftermath thinking it felt like a long time when in reality it could have only have been minutes. I remember thinking it was all in my head or my own creation if you will. I personally thought to myself "Wow I would hate to be in a bad mental place when that happened." Form my experience in the end you judge yourself as your only one there unless you create others. though admittedly I did not spend much or enough time there to consider myself an expert. I was just getting to where am i part which entirely distracted me when I figured it out. Time for a scary thought, If I could do it over without some obvious risk being involved, I think I would be down for another round.
I don't know if any of this was helpful but I hope it was. In any case, welcome to the boards Mario, it may be nice to have someone else around that has gone through something similar.
Thank you for you response. To be sure, when I was a youth and later in early adulthood, I did some things and while they were nothing to 'write home about', in other words, petty stuff, I nevertheless cannot find a way to forgive myself to this day.
You hit a nerve there and that speaks to me.
However, being an atheist, I shouldn't have felt panic the way I did - I tell you - it WAS panic! I wan't to get to that zone where those irrational and illogical fears go away once and for all. Isn't that what being atheist is about?
At ALL times, no matter the circumstances, I want to be able to understand that "when my time is up, that's it. Nothing to fear. I will have no conscience or sentience anymore".
I strongly feel that your suggestion is part of the solution and must be logically assessed.
Thanks again!
Hi Mario!
I've looked death in the eye a few times. When doing so, I reviewed a lot of stuff in my life and asked myself a lot of questions. Unlike you, though, I didn't ever have to de-convert from any religion as I've never had one. So I didn't think about hell. You were indoctrinated with it. You know about it. In a profound moment like facing death, people tend to go to what they know. It doesn't mean you have lost reason. It was momentary. Give yourself a break. Give yourself time. With time, the old 'hell' synapses will go away and the newer logic and reason ones will build.
Welcome to AR.
Hi and thank you!
YES: Early indoctrination and brainwashing from any church are scourges I wish to see banned from the face of this Earth! In the best of situations, they spook someone like me to the point of panic. In the worse of situations, they have put 1/7 of our population in shantytowns while the 1% enjoy all the luxury.
While talking here, I can still feel the pressure. Talking it out helps though. I'm not half as 'panicky' as I was 24 hours ago. Now it's the angry stage... Like they say, "this too shall pass".
Throw a logical curve ball at me anytime, I'll hit it out of the park. Throw a simple irrationality at me and I'm a wash-out all of a sudden!
Thanks for the warm welcome!
Mario if you have lived and enjoyed that you lived than any heavenly father that could punish you for that does not deserve your attention let alone your strength. Use the rest of your life to let history know that you exist and fuck any diety who may deny that fact!
You're right,
Deities do not deserve any attention as they do not exist! The problem with forced-fed indoctrination is no matter how logical or irrational one is, a near death experience is a false reminder of the challenges it created in the first place!
Thank you!
Thank you everyone. You were all of great help to me. I'll stick around the Atheist Republic for quite a while! @ Capt.Bobfm, I looked around in my town. There are no such group. Perhaps I should think about creating one :)
I realy do understand the feeling. When I get in that place I like to believe that life is god. This god has no powers beyond what we can do with our hands and minds. Life just wants to be experienced. As for an afterlife all nature is recycled. Oceans are born, have a life and then die their plates are melted and recycled. I know that when I die something of me will be recycled into something else. I can also set up instructions towards my memorial. This will let me know that a memory of me will continue.