Christians: Do you have a fear of death and how do you deal with it?

[graceandpeace]

Please explain the basis for your belief that a human would retain consciousness and awareness after their death. Refer me to scientific studies please.

Science answers scientific questions. Theology answers theological ones.

Your post asked a theological question by requesting Christian belief on a given subject, & different posters have provided their opinions.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Science answers scientific questions. Theology answers theological ones.

Your post asked a theological question by requesting Christian belief on a given subject, & different posters have provided their opinions.

The reality of death is both a scientific and theological matter.

Romans 8 is a great comfort to the believer.

 

[dysert]

The reality of death is both a scientific and theological matter.

Romans 8 is a great comfort to the believer.

The way I see it, either my faith is properly placed, in which case I'm destined for glory beyond imagination, or death is the end, in which case I'll still be better off than I feel here.

 

[Willtor]

Since there is no basis to believe there is consciousness after death, then why do you believe there is?

Whoa, there, cowboy. You've made a leap of reasoning that I'm having a hard time following. I said that science couldn't find the mechanism of the resurrection (or, if it could, it would be a natural event). You are coming back saying, "no basis to believe there is consciousness after death." I'm sure you made an implicit connection between these, but could you explain it?

Could it be that this is a placebo or rationalization used to help you deal with your fear of death?

This reminds me of Christians asking non-theists if they don't believe in God because it's a coping mechanism that lets them live in their evil ways and convince themselves that there are no consequences; a placebo or rationalization, if you will. I wonder what you make of that question when it is directed to you? You probably use the following smiley:

But I don't want to dodge your question, altogether: As I say, I don't think I'm especially afraid of death. I certainly prefer to be alive, so I do what I can to avoid death. But, if it turns out there's no resurrection, I have nothing to fear for myself in death, right? No, I can't see how to make that shoe fit.

More likely, my belief in my participation in the resurrection is related to the resurrection of Jesus.

 

[Inkachu]

I'm not afraid of the afterlife, just the process of actually dying. It terrifies me. Not having any control, being scared, probably in pain, being ripped away from my family, thrust into the unknown against my will... yeah... it's an ongoing struggle for me. If I could just like, take a train to Heaven when I'm an old woman, I'd be much happier about that lol.

 

[Viren]

No, I've been placed in His Kingdom spiritually and made alive in Him, the body is just like a space suit, just needed for here. My sins are done away on the cross by accepting His offer. I can't see death unless I would choose to leave Him and go wilfully live a sinful lifestyle. I used to be afraid of death very much before I was saved, although I never heard about hell, just fear of death.

Agree, eternal life exists now. It's not just something you maybe get after the body dies.

 

[pdudgeon]

I'm not afraid of the afterlife, just the process of actually dying. It terrifies me. Not having any control, being scared, probably in pain, being ripped away from my family, thrust into the unknown against my will... yeah... it's an ongoing struggle for me. If I could just like, take a train to Heaven when I'm an old woman, I'd be much happier about that lol.

when you think of it, the process of going to sleep is somewhat similar to dying.
Each night, even when we know that we are going to go to sleep, we don't fear it because we have the experience of waking up the next day.
what i'm hoping is that actually dying is similar to that experience of going to sleep, where we are not aware of the exact moment when we pass.

There are differences, of course, between the experience of natural death and that of accidental or man made death. In the latter cases, of course we are aware of the approach of death, but in the case of natural death i don't think that we are aware.

 

[Inkachu]

Pdudgeon, I hope you're right. Obviously, we'd all like to just drift off in our sleep and wake up in Heaven, but it doesn't seem to happen that way for many