Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on May 31, 2012 at 11:13am

But where does he get those wonderful toys --?

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Permalink Reply by Doug Reardon on May 29, 2012 at 9:51pm

As it was before you were born, so shall it be, after you die.

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on May 29, 2012 at 10:35pm

I get that, and I don't have a problem with it, but I'd really like to get all of the things done that I want to do before that day arrives, and that could take a couple of hundred years --

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Permalink Reply by Rob Zog on May 30, 2012 at 4:09am

It is hard to contemplate our non-existence. We can imagine blackness but not the cessation of thought. I remember being prepared for surgery. The mask was placed on my face and I was told to count backwards from 100. I awoke four hours later with a dry mouth and no recollection of anything taking place. I am comforted by the thought that at the end of life, it really is over.

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on May 30, 2012 at 9:36am

Then you can also understand the theist, "Hamlet," when he was contemplating death, "To be, or not to be," and was concerned that in his crypt, awaiting resurrection, he might have nightmares,

"To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--To sleep--perchance to dream: aye, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause."

Theists see human life as a larva, which, in death, enters a pupal stage, then emerges as a butterfly - metaphorically speaking --

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on May 30, 2012 at 11:23am

Actually, it's impossible to contemplate our nonexistence. Why? Because there's nothing to comtemplate. We can contemplate the effects of our nonexistence: people who will be distraught or saddened. People who will be glad. We can imagine people going through our things, selling some, keeping some, being surprised by some, shocked by some, reminiscing over some, etc. We can think about things left undone and we can be glad about some of the things we HAVE done.

But death itself isn't really subject to contemplation for there's nothing to contemplate.

This is very disconcerting for some people. Hence, you get religion which says, "Guess what. When you die it's a new beginning. Your life goes on and (blah, blah, blah) awaits you."

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on May 30, 2012 at 2:19pm

Unseen, you gotta quit trying to cheer us up --

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Permalink Reply by Giakorina Mejia on June 1, 2012 at 2:31am

When I was little and believed in god, I was afraid of dying because I didnt know if I was going to "heaven" or "hell". I actually had panic attacks about it. it literally kept my up at night. But now that I know or at least very certain there is no after life, that I'll merely cease to be, I'm actually comforted. I have nothing to fear because there will be nothing. Maybe I'm crazy but that makes me feel good. It gives me comfort.

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on June 1, 2012 at 9:29am

You're not crazy at all Giakorina, to believe that where you will spend eternity depends entirely on the whim of some capricious god has to be frightening.

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Permalink Reply by Sharon M on June 3, 2012 at 10:34am

I find it liberating to no longer be worried about the afterlife. I also have a much higher appreciation for life. I even became a lot more motivated to do the things I want and experience the things I want. I learned to care more about what the people important to me thought of me as well, because the only thing I would leave behind is what people remember me by. Obviously, I don't want to die. I want lots of time to do everything I want, and that's what makes me enjoy life. If I were worried about getting into heaven or hell, I wouldn't enjoy my time here half as much. 

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Permalink Reply by Simon Stepho on July 22, 2012 at 10:56pm

I've thought about this a lot, and at my young age I don't think I can get into the right mindset until I have more experience in life, because I think that if you haven't experienced much in life, then how can you understand death? Personally I think the main reason that people still believe in a diety is because they're too scared to die, hence why I see many people who profess to be xians are total hypocrites, any why theists will do anything and go to the extreme in their beliefs, just so they can earn a spot in heaven.

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on July 23, 2012 at 12:04am

There's nothing to understand. We understand things by relating them to experiences we've had, but death is not an experience. Dying is an experience. Death is not.

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