Tired Christian
#631638
2008-Jul-21 06:53 AM
Only the weak resort to hoping for an afterlife (like me). Atheists, however, aren't afraid of something that is so illogical and I admit that they are superior to me in that respect.
Oh c'mon mate, dont put yourself down. Merely "hoping for an afterlife" isn't essentially a sign of weakness. Fear of death, to any living organism, is as natural as the need to feed or procreate. It is one of the most elemental parts of the survival instinct. An organism could end up dying much sooner without having a rational fear of death.
Human beings, unlike all other organisms on our planet have a foresight thanks to a larger and more complex brain. We not only think about our future as an individual and as a group, but also attempt at planing it. So while all animals fear death or any immediate situations that could potentially lead to it, human beings start precieving their own death as soon as they are old enough to fully understand the concept of dying. And that is where "hope" comes in; a very human psychological process which has evolved over time to counter the more unpleasant sides of human foresight, which allows us to pay more attention to the present and the future, hence increasing the efficiency of life, rather then wasting precious time being distracted with the recurring thoughts of our death which inevitably lies in the future very much out of our control.
In the past mankind has intellectualized (as we humans naturally do) the process of death and realizing our somewhat unique lifestyle compared to other animals we assumed that we were "special" and hence deserved a special treatment by whomever created this universe and us within it. So consequently it was assumed that there had to be more then what met the eye, and death which comes to all animals cannot be a very just end for a creature as special as a human being. Following that line of thought it seems quite rational that if there indeed is something after this physical existance then probablly what we get in that afterlife would have a significant relation with what we do in this present, physical existance. Hence; do good and get good, do bad and get bad.
Theists and atheists, both subcategories of mankind, harbor hope in regards to this matter. While the theists believe they would continue an individual and conscious existance (albeit a different one) after the end of their corporeal life and be personally rewarded by their creator in an afterlife for the good that they do in this life or be punished for the bad, the atheists believe that they would also live on, not personally or even consciously but rather through what they have given this world and their species, and through their descendants, and their actions would have a direct or indirect impact upon their own lives or those of their following generations. Essentially both the coping mechanisms do the job and in a perfect world neither one, in practice, would be inferior to the other. The problem is that over the past several hundred years of theism so much trivial dogma has gotten added to the old belief systems that the things that were supposed to increase the efficiency of human existance have instead become counterproductive. We atheists do not wish any harm upon any other category of humanity or their chosen divinities, but when we see the words of a lot of really good men (Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.) being used to justify pointless death and destruction, we hope that one day our family (humanity) would rid itself of such thoughtless behavior by turning to a more logical approach to matters like life and death.
Joules
#631904
Well said. :)
