will never see him/her again? How do you find comfort when you loose, say, a parent? Please, no athiest bashing, no christian bashing. I'm just looking for a serious answer. Thank you.
2007-01-24 03:59:16 · 31 answers · asked by comet girl...DUCK! 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Wow, so many thought provoking answers. Thank you to all of you who took the time to share your thoughts with me. I've definitely learned something.
2007-01-26 12:42:39 · update #1
Yes. When we die we're gone forever and we will never see or hear that person again. Their consciousness has shut down and they are unaware of us or that they ever existed.
The comfort has to come from spending a valuable and fruitful life in the company of that person. Every moment we are alive is precious and must be valued to the full. If, for instance, I discovered that I was terminally ill, I would at least cherish the opportunity to tell my wife and children, friends and anyone else, how much pleasure they brought to me while I was alive, and how they made my life a pleasure to live. I would urge them not to be unhappy when I died but to remember that my death is the end and that if my life meant anything they were to cherish the memories of that and occasionally talk about me. Then I'll fade from their minds and that will be that. I'm not that special, none of us are.
It's not a matter of finding comfort - it's a matter of avoiding despair. Atheists know that death means the end and are prepared for what that means.
2007-01-24 04:07:54 · answer #1 · answered by Bad Liberal 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Death is a part of life. Everybody dies, and had they not died at that precise moment, they would have died sometime later. Its inevitability is almost comforting. I mourn the loss, celebrate having known them, then continue living. There are seven billion people on this planet, and every one of them will die. Over a hundred billion have already died. Doesn't sound so bad now, does it?
I can't imagine believing everyone I have ever known is off in some magical place, and I'll see them when I die. I think it's counterproductive to the grieving process, and tends to leave unfinished business. Why fully accept they're gone if you're going to get to see them again in another fifty years? Why go out and make new friends if all you have to do is die, and you get to see your old ones again?
If I do have an immortal soul, I want to be reborn again and again. I want to be a thousand different people, rather than be the same person forever. Sometimes I entertain a belief in reincarnation, where in the betweenlife I might see the souls that have lived as my friends, but our mortal lives are nothing more than an occasional topic of conversation.
2007-01-24 04:14:21 · answer #2 · answered by Lee Harvey Wallbanger 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, I don't. I believe we go back to the pure energy state. There just isn't a supreme being involved.
For those who do not believe in an afterlife, yes, even though it sucks, they really think that that person is gone forever. You deal with it the same way everyone else does. Christians may say, "I'll see them in heaven" but we all know that doesn't actually help much.
We know we are not here forever, so we accept that and move on.
2007-01-24 04:07:10 · answer #3 · answered by Phoenix, Wise Guru 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I really believe that. I take comfort in letting them "live on" through my actions. When I lost my grandmom, I donated time and money to this "Senior Dancing" thing that she was really into. I take time to honor her by doing lots of little things in her memory. There is a certain type of book she always insisted I read, so I still read them - for her.
I would love it if I could see her again, don't get me wrong. I'd love it if she hadn't been killed to begin with. But I only have "reality" to deal with so I do the best I can.
2007-01-24 04:09:03 · answer #4 · answered by Haiku Hanna 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately, my desire for comfort in that kind of a situation doesn't change reality. In truth I don't know where people go when they die. I do know that nobody has had a documented experience that proves that they died and were still "alive".
I would, however, take comfort in knowing that my loved one had a good life (hopefully) and that's the best that any of us can hope for short of additional evidence.
It may not be the prettiest story in the world but that's life ...
2007-01-24 04:04:56 · answer #5 · answered by Alan 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Death is part of life. You just have to accept it. Same way, religious people accept that there is an afterlife. You find comfort that you and they did the best you could.
Believing in an afterlife only gives people reason to NOT do things they should while alive. They think, oh well, I can go to confession and be forgiven and still get into heaven. To perfect isn't it?
2007-01-24 04:04:50 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
My life partner died in 2000. Yes, I know that we will never see one another again.
The comfort is that it is a fate we all face. Death is the great equalizer. No one escapes it, no matter what accomplishments we claim in life. Indeed, it is a fate that even our sun will face in a few billion years.
It is also said that we all are breathing the same air that passed through the lungs of such greats a Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, Aquinas, the Buddha and Confucius, Socrates and Marie Curie. Life is often equated with breath, and so while we live, we share a bit of our life with others. After we go, those molecules disperse and enter into every living creature on the planet. So in that way the breath of life lives on and re-enters each of us for as long as we go on breathing.
^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^
2007-01-24 04:02:54 · answer #7 · answered by NHBaritone 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
I will be comforted by the fact that we had a loving relationship til the day they died. Thoughts and memories of them would live on until I died and that is comforting to me. What about family members and friends who are not christians? *IF* I were a christian would it not pain me to think they were going to hell? How do you christians reconcile yourselves to the notion that non-christian family and friends aren't going to your heaven?
And I agree with previous posters who talk about some kind of afterlife. We really don't know that there is not some kind of spiritual afterlife. I personally would love there to be, but I'm not pinning all my hopes on that. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.
2007-01-24 04:09:38 · answer #8 · answered by Stormilutionist Chasealogist 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
especially situations yet no longer consistently. look at close to death reviews no longer actually everyone is going to heaven and a few are allowed to come again returned. those actually everyone seems to be replaced for existence. greater nde are occurring because of the improvements docs have and that they gained't be confident there's a medical reason to it. the element right here i've got seen Christians being hateful (Asking question) yet i do no longer understand in the event that they seem to be a Troll or no longer. Atheist come returned with we are hateful to yet i've got seen that they are far greater.
2016-11-26 23:12:30 · answer #9 · answered by kinkade 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no i dont believe that. i believe there is something else after this world. i just dont believe there is a God. we dont actually know what life is. life evolved origionally from none living elements. so what ever that spark that is life is i dont know. but i believe it is some kind of energy. and considering no energy can be destroyed then it is possible theres something else after this. belief in god is not nescessary for belief in an afterlife. so not all athiests believe that when this life is over thats the end of everything.
2007-01-24 04:07:50 · answer #10 · answered by vibrance0404 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋