A lack of religous belief means no fear of death... No fear of what might happen after death will doom mankind.
48 comments
1. I'm sure people can find plenty to fear regarding the concepts of oblivion and futility.
2. Just because there's no God, doesn't automatically mean no afterlife. This could be a natural thing, like an insect's metamorphosis.
(Yes, I know what most of you are going to say about spirits. I'm just trying to point out that afterlife doesn't automatically imply God.)
For years and years of my life I was suicidal. The ONLY reason I didn't kill myself was because I was terrified of dying.
A few months ago, I stopped being scared of death...and I stopped being suicidal, too. I would say that it was fortunate that those two events happened almost simultaneously, before I could go and off myself while still in suicidal mode, but I don't think it was a coincidence.
Fear makes people miserable.
Actually, it's the other way around, we don't believe that we'll go to happy happy land when we die, we will just rot in the ground so we'd better appreciate life.
Look, both religous and non-religous people can feel fear. I guess fear of going to Hell after you die can get bad. And non-existance can be a scary concept too (though I think that's certainly less frightening or horrific than an eternity of torture.) There aren't many atheists out there who actually want to die, you know, or who don't actually care about their lives. Mostly what I fear when thinking about what will happen after my death is the same thing I fear alive, here and now: about all the terrible nasty things that are going on in the world and the terrifying things that might.
you've really walled your self in this time.
either your
- a liar.
- not afraid of death, and by your own poorly explained comment, somehow evil because of it.
- doubting your faith.
- or an unrepentant sinner.
congratulations.
"A lack of religous belief means no fear of death... No fear of what might happen after death will doom mankind."
Well, let's look it the other way around, shall we? Fear of might happen after death without fear what will happen before death will doom mankind, as suicide bombers prove time and time again.
P.S."A lack of religous belief means no fear of death..."
Is it the opposite day again?
How does the no-fear-thingy doom mankind?
Oh, and I don't believe and have plenty of fear regarding... well, not death, because I have no diea what that will be, either there is something afterwards, what is good... or there is nothing... what won't bother me anymore...
But dying... it scares me a lot! - if death is nothing... wouldn't dying be like dissapearning into that nothingness... maybe while realizing one is? - Scary thought there!
Actually I think he's talking about Judgement Day, not fear of death itself, and I think he has a point where many fundies are concerned, who seem to have little moral compass of their own, and whose actions are only tempered by their fear of judgement and eternal damnation after death.
"A lack of religous belief means no fear of death... No fear of what might happen after death will doom mankind"
Quite the opposite, actually. Thus Jonestown. Heavens Gate. And Al-Qaeda.
And you wonder why Atheism exists?
I miss read this at first and thought well I don't have religion and I don't fear death.
Now I realize that's his point. Not sure why fearing death is a good thing. I fear dying, I fear being in a hell of a lot of pain for a long time. But death itself, nope no fear at all.
So again, why is this bad?
"...no guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me..."
Atheists have a reason to be scared of death. Religious people (usually) don't.
You might say that it is actually the oposite. Religious belief means that you make this whole mithos about an aftelife. Giving you comfort at your last moments.
I would be far more frightned about death if i had no form of religious (I use the term losely) belief
I've heard a lot of Christians say that they weren't afraid to die because of their religion. But I know that's BS because Christians are just as afraid of death (if not more so) than anyone else. And scientific studies have shown that devout Christians are more likely to request life-prologing treatment.
But basically you're saying that fear is the primary reason people follow religion.
No, it is the opposite. When you think you have paradise to look forward to, you start to embrace the idea of death. When you think that this is it, death is FAR more frightening.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
I wish I could find the quote; goes someting like -
I spent the first five and a half billion years in the void and it hasn't inconvenienced me in the least.
(Mark Twain?)
...Really? Because um, last I checked just about everyone I knew was afraid of dying regardless of religious belief.
And, just a thought, but doesn't religion teach that there's a better life AFTER death, and so believers shouldn't be afraid of death? From what I know, that's true of the world's three major religions. Presuming, Gman, that you are among the masses in these three religions, I ask you: why the fuck don't you know your own religion?
Uh, I don't know about you, Mr. I-Go-To-A-Magic-Happy-Place-When-I-Die, but I'm not particularly eager to shed this mortal coil just yet.
Philbert, it is Twain but I can't remember whence whither either. But it's a good quote, and bears repeating.
Death is more misunderstood than fearsome. Has anyone just sat down and had a good discussion with him/her? I think Death is quite amicable where it comes to reasonable agreements.
"A lack of religous belief means no fear of death... No fear of what might happen after death will doom mankind."
Gman in Cali's logic here reminds me of Shirou in the 'visual novel'/anime "Fate/Stay Night":
image
X3
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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