A Question About Death

[vermin06]

So, I have a question concerning personal views on death and dying. I'm an atheist, so I'm assuming my views on it will be different than the majority here

What I want to know is, what are some of your personal fears involving death? Mine are the amount of pain and suffering I would have to endure physically before hand, I fear it coming suddenly, and I worry for those I'll leave behind (possible financial burdens and the like).

What do you fear about death?

 

[Cute Tink]

I have a bizarre (to me) fear that if I'm am buried, that I will feel lonely. I view this fear of mine as bizarre because I don't believe in anything after death.

I also don't want to have a long term, painful experience. I would rather it be peaceful and quick.

 

[vermin06]

I have a bizarre (to me) fear that if I'm am buried, that I will feel lonely. I view this fear of mine as bizarre because I don't believe in anything after death.

I also don't want to have a long term, painful experience. I would rather it be peaceful and quick.

Interesting! It's not weird, but it is inconsistent. I think what's happening is you're not connecting end of life with end of consciousness. Indeed, according to Dr. Elizabeth Kubler Ross, the subconscious mind can't perceive it's own natural death. However, why you consciously seem to feel that way is a mystery to me.

 

[LinuxUser]

So, I have a question concerning personal views on death and dying. I'm an atheist, so I'm assuming my views on it will be different than the majority here

What I want to know is, what are some of your personal fears involving death? Mine are the amount of pain and suffering I would have to endure physically before hand, I fear it coming suddenly, and I worry for those I'll leave behind (possible financial burdens and the like).

What do you fear about death?

I use to fear it all, the whole thing. That is until I had my NDE after which I no longer fear it but wait to be united with Christ and my loved ones who are with Him.

 

[vermin06]

I use to fear it all, the whole thing. That is until I had my NDE after which I no longer fear it but wait to be united with Christ and my loved ones who are with Him.

NDE?

 

[Davian]

"When I die, I would like to go peacefully, in my sleep, like my grandfather did. Not screaming and yelling like the passenger in his car." - Jack Handey

That about sums it up for me. I would like to see my kids have kids. I would rather not die in a painful and embarrassing way, like dropping the car on myself when I am working on it.

I suspect it will be much like it was before I was born.

 

[Received]

The only thing I fear about death is the idea of nonexistence. I only know anything, including myself, presupposing my own existence. To say that I won't exist permanently is something not only that hasn't happened before to me, but is something completely nonsensical in the purest sense of the term: all "sense" presupposes consciousness, hence a state of permanent unconsciousness (momentary unconsciousness isn't experienced either, but "jumps" us to future states of consciousness) is nonsensical.

"But you didn't exist before." That's right, but I do exist now, and the future reality of nonexistence is infinitely different than the past reality of nonexistence. I can only think of a secular Nietzschean eternal recurrence or the possibility of some type of Pantheistic or pre-resurrection existence as saving graces to this problem. It's my contention that the real anxiety surrounding death (death anxiety in the purest of existential meanings) rests on the unintelligibility of nonexistence inherent to death.

 

[elopez]

I think I fear what just about everybody else may fear about death: that it isn't the end. Even though I take to God and life everlasting, actually considering the idea as an actuality is very frightening.

 

[Davian]

NDE?

Near Death Experience.

Sometimes misinterpreted as a "death experience".

 

[LinuxUser]

NDE?

Near Death Experience

 

[Davian]

The only thing I fear about death is the idea of nonexistence. I only know anything, including myself, presupposing my own existence. To say that I won't exist permanently is something not only that hasn't happened before to me, but is something completely nonsensical in the purest sense of the term: all "sense" presupposes consciousness, hence a state of permanent unconsciousness (momentary unconsciousness isn't experienced either, but "jumps" us to future states of consciousness) is nonsensical.

If consciousness is just something the brain does, then it disappears with the death of the brain. You won't be 'unconscious'.

"But you didn't exist before." That's right, but I do exist now, and the future reality of nonexistence is infinitely different than the past reality of nonexistence. I can only think of a secular Nietzschean eternal recurrence or the possibility of some type of Pantheistic or pre-resurrection existence as saving graces to this problem. It's my contention that the real anxiety surrounding death (death anxiety in the purest of existential meanings) rests on the unintelligibility of nonexistence inherent to death.

I can't seem to think of myself as sufficiently important enough to expect that, should the universe be cyclical (or 'restarted'), that the deterministic nature of the universe would have everything happen just so I could exist again. Gotta be some quantum randomness that would make things at least a little (or a lot) different.

 

[vermin06]

I think I fear what just about everybody else may fear about death: that it isn't the end. Even though I take to God and life everlasting, actually considering the idea as an actuality is very frightening.

I wouldn't say that fearing eternity itself is what most people fear. I think, for those who believe in an afterlife, would fear an eternity in something akin to "hell". I'd actually say most people fear that death IS the end, therefore the majority believe in some form of an afterlife.

I personally have never heard of anyone fearing an eternity because it's an eternity.

And thank for clearing up NDE for me, guys XD

 

[Nooj]

It's my contention that the real anxiety surrounding death (death anxiety in the purest of existential meanings) rests on the unintelligibility of nonexistence inherent to death.

In that case, the existential threat of death hasn't hit me yet. I don't think I'm being dishonest or lying. I don't think that somewhere deep in my heart, I really am fearful of not existing. Death is neutral. It is not something I run from, it's not something I run towards with open arms.

The painful or horrible circumstances regarding death don't nauseate me. I probably would if it came down to it, say if someone was going to torture me to death, I'm not nearly so ignorant as to say I wouldn't be a slobbering mess, but right now - not really.

Not even Hell or Heaven. I find it a little strange how Hell is such a huge topic in apologetics. Atheists jump on it, Christians bemoan its horribleness. But I don't think eternal punishment is a matter of concern.

 

[AlexBP]

Prior to becoming a Christian I was extremely afraid of death, but did not have any specific fears attached to that general fear; the general fear was just a fact of life. Now I no longer am afraid of death, but have instead adopted the approach of Albus Dumbledore: "To the well-organized mind, death is merely the next great adventure." The only thing that makes we want to avoid death is that I am still young, so if I died today my family and friends would think of it as a great tragedy.

 

[elopez]

I wouldn't say that fearing eternity itself is what most people fear. I think, for those who believe in an afterlife, would fear an eternity in something akin to "hell". I'd actually say most people fear that death IS the end, therefore the majority believe in some form of an afterlife.

I personally have never heard of anyone fearing an eternity because it's an eternity.

I think perhaps you have misunderstood me. I was saying that most people fear death not being the end, that 'life' continues after physical death. That thought alone is frightening. Introduce specifics about life after death such as a God and a heaven and hell and it becomes that much more frightening, to me at least.

I'm not sure I fear God or heaven or hell in and of themselves, but at least considering the actuality of it is frightening to me. That's what I was saying, not that I fear eternity because it's infinite in duration.

 

[vermin06]

I think perhaps you have misunderstood me. I was saying that most people fear death not being the end, that 'life' continues after physical death. That thought alone is frightening. Introduce specifics about life after death such as a God and a heaven and hell and it becomes that much more frightening, to me at least.

I'm not sure I fear God or heaven or hell in and of themselves, but at least considering the actuality of it is frightening to me. That's what I was saying, not that I fear eternity because it's infinite in duration.

I think I still misunderstand you XD Why would one fear a life after death?

 

[Martingale]

the process of death, whether its fast or takes months, is ugly and ultimately robs the dying of all personal dignity.

 

[quatona]

So, I have a question concerning personal views on death and dying. I'm an atheist, so I'm assuming my views on it will be different than the majority here

What I want to know is, what are some of your personal fears involving death? Mine are the amount of pain and suffering I would have to endure physically before hand, I fear it coming suddenly, and I worry for those I'll leave behind (possible financial burdens and the like).

What do you fear about death?

...that the funeral ceremony might not be to my liking.

 

[MercyGrace]

The potential for pain frightens me as well as the thought of how my children would handle losing me (if I were to die while they were still young).

I am a Christian and I know I shouldn't be afraid of death, but I still am in some ways. I'm so aware of my own sinfulness that the idea of facing God (even though I know my sins are forgiven in Christ) is frightening to me, although I wish it weren't. The Bible says, "Perfect love casteth out fear," and I guess I don't yet have a perfect or complete love for God or an understanding of His love for me.

Even the concept of living forever or being outside time (the book of Revelations in the Bible says, "Time shall be no more") is scary because it is beyond my comprehension, and what I cannot understand is easy to fear. Personally, I just study the character of God as revealed in Jesus Christ and continue to put my faith and trust in His goodness, justice, mercy, and love.

 

[rjc34]

I think I fear what just about everybody else may fear about death: that it isn't the end. Even though I take to God and life everlasting, actually considering the idea as an actuality is very frightening.

Personally the thought of being eternally conscious is more frightening that the thought of simply dying and ceasing to exist.

The idea of 'eternity' is horrible. I can't imagine anything worse than spending a trillion years up in any kind of afterlife, and realizing that the trillion years I just experienced isn't even a pin-prick on the timeline of eternity...