Atheist, Are'nt you scared?

[Perfection]

Stop saying it's made up!! There have been people who "passed out" then went to heavenly good places, so that counts as evidence, even if it may be lying. Why can't atheist be more tolerant!

It's not lying per se, these people really do believe. What it is is an overactive immagination interpreting the strange mental state that too much CO2, not enough O2, and unusual concentrations of hormones has on the brain. Pretty much all the phonomena associated with it can actually be produced with drugs.


A good link
http://skepdic.com/nde.html

 

[Sims2789]

Aren't you at least a little tine bit scared of your afterlife? If what you say is true, then when you die, there is nothingness, so doesn't that scare you at all?

2 rules:

No flame!

Tell honestly!

I mean it for that one! Saying you are not scared of something like this will not make you brave, IMHO. Please answer honestly!

Poll comming.

No, I'm not worried about my afterlife. Although I'm sure a few Athiests believe in God but are in denial, accept the fact that at least some of us don't.

 

[King Alexander]

The X Heaven has its houris, ever available and ever virginal, so that it becomes an eternal whore house.

I had never thought of it that way..., so are you saying that God is running 'business'?(j/k)

Still, you didn't answered the thread's question.

P.S.: *text altering is mine*

 

[cgannon64]

I'm glad this thread has some honest posters.

If you say death does not scare you, you are a bald-faced liar. You can rationalize why it shouldn't, and you can be completely right, and you can type those words in this thread, but there is no denying that sometimes it makes you want to cry at night, and it probably will again, and it probably will as you lie dying.

 

[BasketCase]

Aren't you at least a little tine bit scared of your afterlife? If what you say is true, then when you die, there is nothingness, so doesn't that scare you at all?

Since when does the existence of an afterlife require the existence of a God???

For that matter, the reverse is also an unknown: what if there is a God, but no afterlife??? The Bible (whichever one you read) was written by humans. Divinely inspired or not, humans are going to find a way to screw stuff up, and the Bible could be flat-out wrong about the afterlife.

 

[klopolov]

I'm glad this thread has some honest posters.

If you say death does not scare you, you are a bald-faced liar. You can rationalize why it shouldn't, and you can be completely right, and you can type those words in this thread, but there is no denying that sometimes it makes you want to cry at night, and it probably will again, and it probably will as you lie dying.

Honestly, it used to make me cry, and not only at night. When I was 5-6 years old, I cried for three days or so when I realized that I will die one day... But lately (last 3-4 years) I have realized that I was afraid of neverending emtyness (as some people said in this thread). I came to realize that if I died, i would not "feel" or exist in that nothingness and therefore there is nothing to fear... I'm not going to welcome death, when I say I'm not afraid of death, I mean that I realize that we all die eventually and that I am absolutely ok with it. It's hard to put it in words, but I hope I'm making sense...

 

[punkbass2000]

I'm glad this thread has some honest posters.

If you say death does not scare you, you are a bald-faced liar. You can rationalize why it shouldn't, and you can be completely right, and you can type those words in this thread, but there is no denying that sometimes it makes you want to cry at night, and it probably will again, and it probably will as you lie dying.

Bah, fearing death is akin to fearing the dentist. You know it'll be better after you've got it done and over with

 

[Taliesin]

"Death is nothing to us, for when we are it is not, and when it is we are not."

But I won't deny that trying to contemplate not existing is pretty alarming, and the process of dying (much like that of living) in most cases is unpleasant.

Basically, I have faith that either 1) I'm wrong about the universe, in which case I stop existing and prove Lucretius' point, or 2) I'm wrong about God and I go to heaven or hell or some other afterlife, in which case there's not much I can do about it now, or 3) I'm right and the drop of water loses itself in the ocean.

The worst this can produce is a little anxiety and some fear of pain, nothing more.

 

[cgannon64]

Bah, fearing death is akin to fearing the dentist. You know it'll be better after you've got it done and over with

As a kid, I'm sure you rationalized that, but did that stop you from trembling when he took the drill to your mouth?

 

[BasketCase]

I used to think along those lines too (the "either I'm going to heaven or I'll be dead" thinking). But then I realised that God, if it exists, isn't stupid, and would see right through that and send me to hell anyway. But if God did exist, and he was a nice bloke, he would see that I was a nice bloke too, and send me to heaven. So I don't have to believe in God, assuming he's a nice bloke and all.

Me too, with this addition: if God isn't a nice bloke, I don't want to go to his Heaven. :harrumph:

 

[punkbass2000]

As a kid, I'm sure you rationalized that, but did that stop you from trembling when he took the drill to your mouth?

Certainly. One gets over it. You can't presume that everyone views things like you do. Some of us are happy enough with life as it is and happy enough to know that we will not live forever. I, personnally, am not particularly thrilled by the idea of living more than 80 years, which I have a pretty reasonable shot of doing.

 

[klopolov]

Can you imagine living for 500 years or so? Would it not get boring? I mean, when everyday it's "been there, done that", it will get boring. Now, imagine living in heaven forever. Wouldn't that get boring?

 

[cgannon64]

I've rationalized death, and realized that it is a good thing. I've realized that life is, to put it simply, wonderful. You seem to have done the same.

But still, can you really say you don't fear non-existence? I do not fear it right now, but only becuase I went through the terrors recently, and they are not permanent. But I'm sure they'll return.

 

[klopolov]

I fear loss of loved ones because I can experience and feel it. I do not fear non existance because that implies not feeling and experiencing it. How can you fear something that will not affect you in any way?

 

[punkbass2000]

I've rationalized death, and realized that it is a good thing. I've realized that life is, to put it simply, wonderful. You seem to have done the same.

But still, can you really say you don't fear non-existence? I do not fear it right now, but only becuase I went through the terrors recently, and they are not permanent. But I'm sure they'll return.

I honestly haven't a clue of what you're referring to. The terrors?

 

[Perfection]

Can you imagine living for 500 years or so? Would it not get boring? I mean, when everyday it's "been there, done that", it will get boring.

I venture I could live for at least 2000 years before I get bored of science. Probobly more

Now, imagine living in heaven forever. Wouldn't that get boring?

That's the true question. Of course, it could be something repetitive that you'd enjoy, but I'm not sure what that would be.

 

[punkbass2000]

That's the true question. Of course, it could be something repetitive that you'd enjoy, but I'm not sure what that would be.

Personnally, I could only assume it would be the opposite if it were to truly be utopia. It would need to be unpredictable and not always enjoyable. It would need to be subtle. It would need faith to appreciate it. It almost certainly could not be stated overtly and be one enjoyable moment repeated forever. Well, unless it is a timeless omnipresence with God or whatever who would theoretically keep it enjoyable by virtue of the presence.

 

[cgannon64]

I honestly haven't a clue of what you're referring to. The terrors?

The terror of death.

I suppose that did sound a little strange; as if I am undergoing some early stage of pyschosis.

 

[HAND]

I'm an atheist... and i'm terrified of dying. I'll have a good life before i die though, since this my only known existence.

 

[punkbass2000]

The terror of death.

I suppose that did sound a little strange; as if I am undergoing some early stage of pyschosis.

I've never undergone what you're referring to. Death is a natural part of life. Without it, life would be even more meaningless.