If Heaven really exists (assuming god also exists), then why is it such a sad occasion when someone dies?

Question

I'm actually an atheist, I just want your opinions. And dont even try to make me a believer.

Answer 1

Being a philosophy major, my answer is, "who the hell knows?" That being said, I think that, religious beliefs or not, death is the ultimate unknown. It is the one thing that humans truly do not understand, and that is frightening. Religion in part exists to explain things like death. Let's not forget that earlier religions (that were not monotheistic) had many gods used to explain not just death, but weather, love, etc. We've mastered weather, and to an extent, love, and do not need gods for these anymore. Death is still the great big unknown. As for people believing in heaven but still being sad, I think that is a product of human interaction and emotion. We are HAPPY our loved ones are now in heaven... We are sad that they are no longer with us. We may also be feeling anxiety, questioning our truth claim (our religion), and wondering if it is really true, if our loved one is really in heaven, nirvana, or wherever your religion prescribes.

Answer 2

Even if you have faith in God, it is still sad to say goodbye to someone you love. Even if you know you'll get to see them again in heaven, it's still sad to know that your time with that person on Earth has come to an end, and that a chapter of your lives has ended forever.

Didn't you ever have a friend move away when you were a kid? In the long run it's not that big a deal, but at the time it seems like the world is ending. I think we'll all look back on physical death the same way.

But, if you don't believe in God or eternal life, etc., look on the bright side. You should be happy to believe that one day you'll cease to exist and then you won't miss anybody or feel sad about anything!

Answer 3

Their death itself may not be such a sad occasion as it is that you will miss them until you also die. Also some deaths are sad, a child who dies or a young person who seems to go before they have fully lived their life. Many people forget in their grief of losing a person that they will see them again, that it is only a temporary separation not a forever one as an atheist would have. I have been to many funerals where the person will be missed by those left living but is not a lot of crying or wailing because it was remembered we will see them again in the next life. And afterward that had comforted most of those in attendance.

Answer 4

The idea of a person going to Heaven and being in a state of perfection, etc. is a great one. Thinking about that person in Heaven is a joy. And the idea does bring joy to those that have died, for the most part. However, when a person dies the sadness comes from the hole that the dead has left and the grief of all the things that will be missed in not being able to share them with the person that is gone. That's what's sad.

Answer 5

we, as humans, have very strong emotions. We don't handle loss well at all. We fear change, because that means that we ourselves will have to change. When someone dies, it is a life changing event, and it also crushes the hearts of those who had love for that person. Even if they believe in heaven or not, its still considered a tragedy because they will have to wait until their death day to see them again(maybe). Its just the way that its been for centuries and people who do believe in heaven have the same feelings as others.
on a different topic, those in Mexico actually celebrate death, its kind of like their Halloween, its called Day of the dead, and that's when the spirits of their loved ones come and visit for a day. an alter is made to honor the spirit and is often covered with flowers and the persons favorite things... oh yea, and candles too....

Answer 6

It is a sad occassion for a few reasons, but basically, the main reason is that the person who passes on will be missed ... missed from the life or lives of those whom the deceased was in contact with. In many senses, it is selfish ... there is little or no consideration for the spirit of God in death by the people who wish that the person would still be alive and in their lives. Or for the fact, particularly for Christians, that our bodies are basically "loaned" to us for a temporary period of time before they are given back to the earth, from which it came. Death should not be a sad occassion, but it is. The funeral is viewed as paying "last respects", in honor of the deceased. Many people have a problem with many things they hold dear being the final time it is done, and last respects is among those things.

Also, it may be are assumed by those who are sad that if Heaven exists, that everyone who passes on goes to Heaven, which may not be the actual case. If one were not to make it to Heaven, would that be a sad occassion? The fact is, we don't know if the person has made it into Heaven or not. It is a comforting thought for those who believe in God, but only that spirit would know the truth.

That's why it is sad. If selfish desires are released, and the true meaning of life is revealed, then it isn't sad.

When my mother died, I was not sad. I think part of it was because she was suffering a rather painful life of cancer. The other part was a bit of envy ... she had lived a good life of a Christian, had come a long way to devoting her life to God, and now, she has passed on. I wasn't happy, but I wasn't sad ... I was honored. I was honored to have known her, to have shared my life with her, to have learned from her, and a part of her is still with me today. The memories, her smile, her laugh, and even her frown, her discipline, her determination to raise me in a way that she thought was right, and just, and loving. I hope that she is in Heaven, but I really don't know for sure. But I am not sad for her, and I am not sad for myself either. She was taken sooner than she had planned, in her 50's ... but she did a great job with me, my siblings, and others who knew her. She was not bitter about her coming death, but embraced it. And I hope to have that type of strength when my time comes, which I hope is not too soon ... I have much work to do ...

I am honored ...

Answer 7

Because bodily life is itself a good. In the Old Testament Book of Wisdom, regrettably excluded from Protestant Bibles, it is written "God made not death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living..." Death of the body is a true deprivation, though it is not the worst deprivation.

Christian belief in the resurrection of the body makes no sense otherwise. If our souls are merely to be deposited in a spiritual realm devoid of corporeality, we'd be better off killing people now and liberating them from the prison of the flesh. But that would be manicheanism or gnosticism of some sort, not Christianity, although the former views are often confused with Christian belief.

Answer 8

I cry for the living not for the died, I cant even go to a funeral and look at someones body without having to hold back my laughs, but when I see what that person meant to ppl other than me, I have to cry, but as for a person dieing i have little care, if you believe in god then why cry when ppl die, when I die I want to meet my death on a happy note, leaving while laughing, I dont fear death, but I dreaded times in my life, so I dont care about ppl dieing, but I do feel for those still living

Answer 9

OK the main reason that it is so sad when someone dies, is that they leave their families.The family and friends of the person don't really want to see them go. I recently had a relative pass away and it was very,very hard on my family.ANd if we know that they are going to heaven, than we should not be sad. We shoukd rejoice that they are with the heavenly father.

Answer 10

I believe that people get sad when someone dies because we don`t know what to expect for this person...if we are living we have not been dead (I`m not referring to medically dead periods of a few minutes) and therefore do not know what this person is embarking on (if anything) and in most cultures it is believed that if you are dead you do not come back to the living, therefore no account of "other realms" is believable for them. Basically we fear where our loved ones go in the same way we encounter the fear of where we are going to go someday.