Atheists, when you see something like this, do you wish you were able to enjoy the comfort and sentimentality of anticipated reunion?
Cloris Leachman Mary Tyler Moore Valerie Harper
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I agree with you but my question was more about wishful thinking for the comfort (through belief) of seeing someone you lost.I’m agnostic
I don’t think i would see anyone again after this and if i do it won’t be in the same way we see them now so it wouldn’t matter.
I was Catholic too. And yes, it would be easier to believe and that is why so many people choose to, it brings them comfort.I think what makes the most sense to me (as an atheist who grew up catholic) is that the period after we die is like the period before we're born.
just nothing, not in a bad way, but it is what it is.
Robert Ebert described death that way - like the eternity before we're born - and it's comforting to me.
I used to feel a lot of anxiety over the "eternity of nothingness" or blackness or whatever. the Tibetan book of death was helpful to me, as was this book written by a dr. called how we die.
I used to wish I could believe in heaven because it seems easier, but, if anything, the way I feel makes me more appreciative of our time on earth.
I was Catholic too. And yes, it would be easier to believe and that is why so many people choose to, it brings them comfort.
It's also easier to comfort a believer who is in bereavement but I can't bring myself to tell someone "don't worry, Johnny is now in heaven with Jesus and you will see him again". That's the kind of thing Evangelical scammers say to comfort their wallet.
Not an atheist but I get what you’re feeling. I don’t believe we’ll actually see each other as we know it on the “other side” because our thoughts and memories are attached to our brains. It’s why you have people with brain injuries that forget everything or don’t recognize someone or something. If our brain is dead then everything it knows should technically cease to exist. It really gives me comfort tbh.
this is why I liked the books I mentioned above.
the one written by the doctor is very realistic and matter of fact about the ways people pass, and the pain levels experienced, and so on. it's basically a guide.
the doctor has studied death and said he never saw any proof of an afterlife and was frank about that.
the Tibetan book of the dead is interesting because it delves into how western cultures avoid death through consumption and getting attached to things and people that will not be here in our next lives. they describe how important it is to prepare for death and reincarnation cycles.
the point made in both texts is that consciousness as we know it ends, and that's it for the being we embody during life.
Atheists, when you see something like this, do you wish you were able to enjoy the comfort and sentimentality of anticipated reunion?
I know, right?I'm an atheist and it creeps me the fµck out just not existing.
Like I did all of this for what?
Well of course it's a delusion but most people who want to believe an afterlife do so because it makes their loss of, for example, a child more bearable. And if a comfort delusion makes their pain more bearable, it's understandable.The concept of Heaven is a delusion.
Are delusions comforting? Yes. Are delusions...delusional? Absolutely.
Thinking you are going to hang out in the afterlife at a bar with your old friends from high school in the clouds is a fairytale. Rubbing elbows with Jesus and Martin Luther King in Heaven is a comforting notion for the burdened masses.
Everyone can't look into the deep abyss of sadness.
Humm...I think you're confusing things here... a friend saying this to comfort their friend is now doing this for a scam? Yes, pastors and church folks have and still do scam people but this doesn't mean that all of their teachings are scams per definition.That's the kind of thing Evangelical scammers say to comfort their wallet.
Where do I say that a friend comforting their friend with religious reassurance is a scam?Humm...I think you're confusing things here... a friend saying this to comfort their friend is now doing this for a scam? Yes, pastors and church folks have and still do scam people but this doesn't mean that all of their teachings are scams per definition.
An old school friend posted on FB that her father had passed away and was now in the arms of our heavenly father.The concept of an afterlife was the first thing that in was able to reject as a child. Now do I miss loved ones in my life? Immensely! But the reunion aspect just isn't there for me.
Look I'm old school and that stumps me . I tend to offer them an ear to talk to.An old school friend posted on FB that her father had passed away and was now in the arms of our heavenly father.
I never know what to say to people who expect you to offer prayers in times like this.
Just a questionI think what makes the most sense to me (as an atheist who grew up catholic) is that the period after we die is like the period before we're born.
just nothing, not in a bad way, but it is what it is.
Robert Ebert described death that way - like the eternity before we're born - and it's comforting to me.
I used to feel a lot of anxiety over the "eternity of nothingness" or blackness or whatever. the Tibetan book of death was helpful to me, as was this book written by a dr. called how we die.
I used to wish I could believe in heaven because it seems easier, but, if anything, the way I feel makes me more appreciative of our time on earth.
??? Just say: gecondoleerdAn old school friend posted on FB that her father had passed away and was now in the arms of our heavenly father.
I never know what to say to people who expect you to offer prayers in times like this.
So people can’t believe in God since childhood? Since u say the aboveWell of course it's a delusion but most people who want to believe an afterlife do so because it makes their loss of, for example, a child more bearable. And if a comfort delusion makes their pain more bearable, it's understandable.
I am an atheist so I don't believe in it. But I also have an atheist friend whose husband killed both her children when they were babies, she was still breastfeeding one of them. She has remarried but still sinks into despair. Sometimes I wish she believed she would see her babies again, it would bring her comfort.
An old school friend posted on FB that her father had passed away and was now in the arms of our heavenly father.
I never know what to say to people who expect you to offer prayers in times like this.
same !! like I can't wrap my mind around death, not feeling any more, not seeing anymore, not breathing, not experiencing...like the brain shuts off and thats it? thats all folks? A SCAM I TELL YAI'm an atheist and it creeps me the fµck out just not existing.
Like I did all of this for what?
Do you remember your birth or the time before you are born?same !! like I can't wrap my mind around death, not feeling any more, not seeing anymore, not breathing, not experiencing...like the brain shuts off and thats it? thats all folks? A SCAM I TELL YA
I like how you think. I recently read about an elderly woman who said that she was at the point where she saw death as permanent sleep. And was not frightened by it.Not at all. I think the ideas of heaven, hell, and destiny cheapen life.
An old school friend posted on FB that her father had passed away and was now in the arms of our heavenly father.
I never know what to say to people who expect you to offer prayers in times like this.