Do atheists dread death?

Question

First I just want to make it clear that by "dread" I do not mean "fear". For example, you may dread going to work the next day but you do not fear it. I don't think many atheists actually fear death, while some religious people might (not knowing where they are going...Heaven or Hell).

The reason I ask this is because atheists believe that after you die you are finished and through, while spiritual people believe it is just the beginning (whether it be bad or good).

For this life to be "it" would be depressing for me (I guess that's one of the reasons I believe in a God).....

And I am going to try to make my question clear, because I know some people on here are quite touchy about this subject. I'm not asking why you don't believe in a God or anything like that, I'm just asking if you dread the end.

Some of you are mixing what I said....about the fear and dread thing. Like I said before, I am meaning them in two completely different ways....in fact, just pretend I didn't even mention fear.

Answer 1

I don't. That's like dreading tomorrow. It's gonna come, you may as well welcome it.

Answer 2

I've been questioning since I was a little kid -- questions that wouldn't go away. When I asked people in my family (as well as priests) for answers, I found that people had just accepted a belief system that made them feel ok - never had considered these questions. As the years went by, I really really tried to believe -- I dreaded death and saw death everywhere. I would sincerely attach myself to every smart believer I could and try to get to believe from what they told me. I read everything I could to try and get the same belief. But nothing worked. And I came away with the realization that life's meaningless meant that many people have the enviable mechanism of being able to adopt a belief system that becomes a reality for them -- a belief system that will shield them from the problems of death and life's meaninglessness. I went through these bouts of dreading death a number of times and was depressed. I tried to think about the fact that it was selfish to want to live forever and how I didn't ask to be here (and the fact that the mystery of existence was incredible) but it all boiled down to the fact that I did want to live forever and I was depressed. But I couldn't adopt a belief system that wasn't based on experience -- I just didn't have it in me.
What this led to, however, was some 'dark nights of the soul' where my ego dropped away and I was finally at the point where I fully let go the reins of control. What resulted one night was incredible -- 'something' took over and I had this direct experience that we're never alone and that this something is ALWAYS there (and this something is intimately tied to us). But we don't experience it because, deep down, we think it means the end of our ego/individuality. So, instead, we create our own gods that support our ego/individuality along with a belief system that does the same thing. The crux of it all was that my realization of the meaninglessness here and the fact that we humans try to put our own meaning on it by adopting a belief system was true BUT that at the foundation of it all was something that made any meaning or meaninglessness in this world miniscule. And that the only way to really know this is NOT by belief but by experience. And that this 'something' is total LOVE -- not conditional in any way. No hell, no judgement, no sin, no guilt, no saved versus unsaved, no punishment.
Because I didn't integrate this experience, I let it fade. And it's a very distant memory which has resulted in my not being happy again. There are those who have a full-blown awakening and, if they integrate it, their lives are tremendously changed because they're not in the realm of belief but in direct experience. I'm trying to get back to practice where this experience can be integrated. Until then, despite the wisps of memory, I dread death.

Answer 3

I'm agnostic, rather than atheist, because I don't believe that we can prove or disprove the existence of an afterlife, but I don't have any hope of an afterlife. I think everyone, however, dreads the unknown, even someone who believes in an afterlife. An atheist does not believe in an afterlife and so cannot be said to dread death. Death to an atheist means non-existence, hence no consciousness, hence no awareness, hence there is nothing to dread. Like anyone -- believer or not -- I dread losing life and the ability to enjoy all of its pleasures, and I dread the possibly painful and messy process of dying. That's something that everyone can agree on, I think.

Answer 4

Let me see if I can help you. First of all, God doesn't believe in atheist. There really is no such thing and here's why. An atheist is saying that there is absolutely no possibility of there being a God. Well, you would have to prove that. That's like me saying, I believe in my whole heart that there is no gold in China. Well, now I have to go and prove it and if I find one little piece of gold, I'm wrong. No one has ever proven that there is no God b/c that is impossible. You see a painting and you know there's a painter. You see a building and you know there's a builder. Well, look at at the billions of people on earth, know as creation, and tell me there's no creator??? Yes, we have a God, like it or not. The Bible, if you believe in it or not, says there is a rest to the people of God, which means that every person that is born again, which Jesus says in a requirement for entering the Kingdom of God, has rest about when they die. The Word says that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of peace, love, and a sound mind. I have peace about where I will spend eternity and what God will say on the day of judgement. All will face a day which they will stand before God and give an account for the things they've done on earth. Rev. 20, 11-15 describes it. Not what our intentions were or are, but what we did. Ever told a lie, stolen anything regardless of value, lusted after someone (which is adultery) or taken God's name in vain (used it in place of a curse word)? You'll be proven guilty by your own confession as a lying, thiefing, blastphomous, adulter in your heart. Ask yourself in your heart, when you stand before God who is just and will punish sin where ever it is found, will you be guilty or inoccent? Heaven or hell? The Bible says to repent of your sins that you may be forgiven, which means to turn away from them and never to be committed to them again. Ask God to help you and from a pure heart that you want to change your life. God says draw close to Me and I will draw close to you. Put your faith in the Living God, like you would a parachute if you were going to jump out of an airplane, who is the only one who can take away your sins. If you die without the Savior, then your in big trouble on the day of Judgement. Please carefully take into consideration what I've said b/c it's not God's will that anyone should perish but all should come to repentance. We have our own will though so please choose wisely! Read your Bible and get into a Bible believing church. God bless!

Answer 5

"Death" is not well defined. It means many different things, literally, and different things to different people, and everyone's death is unique. I fear/dread pain, which is usually involved in death. I fear/dread the death of my loved ones. Some may fear dying before they can accomplish what they want. Some may just enjoy living and not want to quit. I'm atheist. I take great comfort in knowing that, after I'm dead, I won't have much of an opinion about it.

Answer 6

I personally don't fear death itself but what it means to me....I love living more than anyone can possibly understand. I really enjoy every second of existence and I really do understand just how lucky I am to be alive at the here and now. What I do not enjoy is thinking of that not happening anymore. I do not fear death I but I think it is safe to say that I do dread it. I, with every bone in my body believe there is no god or afterlife of any sort, but I do, with some part of me, wish I did believe in some sort of after life or reincarnation. It must be nice to feel that sense of security.

Answer 7

Absolutely not. In fact, I fear the opposite - an infinite length of life.

I don't think people understand "infinite" very well. Infinite basically means that you can exceed the size of every finite quantity. For instance, if you consider that the Universe, in all of it's time and history, and probably collapse into a "Big Crunch" is a finite amount of material, means that in an "infinite" amoutn of time, you can go around to every atom and electron in the universe and follow it throughout its lifetime... and still have time left over. Consider that for a second - that's an astronomically huge number, bigger than any number we could ever conceive of, but you will still outlive the experience. This is an absolutely terrifying idea to me.

I don't fear death at all - I welcome it. Not to say I'm suicidal - I intend to live a full, long, happy life before fading into oblivion. But the thought of "everlasting life", even in a paradise such as "heaven", scares me beyond any fantasy or threat of hell you can imagine.

Life needs to end to have meaning.

Answer 8

I'm glad you asked this. My answer is no, I don't. Why would I? Everyone's going to die anyway, it would be boring to live forever so I'm actually looking forward to my death day...that way it can be proved that people don't go to heaven/hell (only problem is that the people who are alive won't know it). When I die, I won't feel anything, just like I didn't feel anything before I was born. It's common sense.

Edit: by the way, Chromestah, you're wrong, of course we wouldn't want to die when someone points a gun at us...because it isn't time yet, I haven't achieved the goal of living life to the fullest, I don't want to die now, that's true, but when I'm 80-something, then I wouldn't mind dying, because I've already lived life.

Answer 9

Yes, I do!

Shortly after I became an atheist I would have something close to "panic attacks" - but it wasn't so much that I was "afraid" but more like you put it, I was dreading the end. I had a very clear understanding that dead was really the end and I had so much more to learn. The thought that I would never understand quantum mechanics and there would be so many unread books made me sad. Later, the thought that I might not be around for my children etc made me sad. It's more something I felt comfortable with as time went on. But "dread" it? yeah, I do.

Answer 10

Think about what it meant when you said:

"For this life to be "it" would be depressing for me (I guess that's one of the reasons I believe in a God)....."

There's no "guess" in it at all. You protect yourself from the "fear" of death by adopting a belief that denies its existence.
We could rephrase your question as: "How can atheists face that? I know I can't."

No sane atheist or theist wants to die before his time. The difference is that our understanding of reality makes it impossible for us to simply conjure up some fairy-tale ending for life. It would be like me asking you to consider believing in Santa again because Christmas will be so much nicer for you that way.

There is also something else that is (perhaps) harder for young people to understand. If you've lived long enough, the body AND THE MIND seem to prepare themselves for this last event. You gradually become "ready" to leave. So take heart. Even if you were to lose your faith, evolution seems to have given us that one last little comfort. (Did you know that a common end physiological state is a dehydration accompanied by euphoria?)

Answer 11

I am married to an atheist and she does neither fear nor dread death. We do look at it from a different perspective. She would spend all her life savings trying to stay alive. If I got a serious disease, I would be ready to pack it up. I will live as long as I can, but am looking forward to life after death.