Atheists, how long did it take you...?

Question

to deal with the fact that you will one day be non-existent? I've recently accepted that there is no heaven or hell and that when we die, that's it...our time is up, but sometimes it's almost unbearable to think about how one day I will no longer exist. Have any of you ever gone through this and if so how did you deal with it?

Answer 1

It took me a number of years, during which time I came to realize that I have to live my life.

One key moment for me was when I first saw "Our Town", at a time when I was spending my days working something like 14 hour days. I realized that I didn't want to have spent my life doing that, and I shifted gears completely. Since then, I've lived enough that if I were to die today, it would have been a really good life. Heck, if it were just what I've done this year, it would have been a good life.

When my father died several years later, I was able to console myself with the fact that he'd lived a complete life - fighting in the China-Burma-India theatre in WWII, leaving several wonderful children (my siblings, at least ). He no longer exists - but his influence on the world was great, and positive. That makes life worth living. I can say the same about my mother. What more could a person ask?

Answer 2

In some ways we do all live forever, it's just that humans can only see time going in one direction, as if we were going down a river and watching the scenery go past, when we have gone past it, it still continues to exist, but we only have it as a memory.
Imagine yourself as part of the scenery.
I never thought there was a heaven where I would continue living after physical death, despite many people telling me, I realised it wasn't true, so I guess I've never felt the loss that a former Christian might feel when realising that the heaven hell stuff was not literal. I suppose it's a bit like a personal bereavement, where you are both the bereaved and deceased.
Don't worry, I think you will find your own way of coping, and having lots of interesting thoughts in the process.

Answer 3

Not long and no it did not bother me. I did not and do not have a need to believe in an afterlife however.........After my brother died I had an experience.. I will call it a visitation. Now for someone who did not believe in the possibility of such things having this happen was unnerving to say the least. I also know of 3 or 4 level headed people who have had ''experiences'' too. I do not believe in a heaven or hell. I do know that we are energy. I also know that energy cannot be created or destroyed...it can only be changed. Beyond that I have to ideas, beliefs or needs.

Answer 4

I've dealt with it...but then I realized that living forever is over rated, what if the Christians are right and all non-believers go to Hell? Well, we get a lot of punishment, or what if the Christians are half-right, and we all go to Heaven, having to put up with all the annoying people for all eternity isn't my idea of something good...what if the ones who believe in reincarnation are right? Great...that means I have to go through school again? Point is...people make up things to try and comfort themselves (or scare themselves) into doing the right thing and that this life isn't the only one. I'm spiritual, I believe that when we die, our spirits, the things that make us unique from every other living thing (humans have a spirit as well as animals and plants) goes to either a place were we are are judged by our actions, not our beliefs, and those who are good, go to a good place, (Heaven, Valhalla, etc.) and those who are bad go to a bad place, (Hell, etc.) it has nothing to do with what you believe, but how you act in this life that counts...now does this belief in an afterlife makes me other than an Atheist? Who knows?

Answer 5

Christina, let me put a different spin on this.

In 2003 I went to war, taking with me the absolute knowledge that people die in war zones and I could be killed there. What bothered me was who would take care of my dogs. material things don't really matter to me, but I wanted my dogs to be okay.

I am a christian which means I put my faith in someone who lived 2000 years ago who claimed to be God. I do this because no one has ever lived like him, died like him or risen. The difference in me because of my friendship with him is profound.

Yet when you die, and i'm very aware I won't live forever here, I wonder about it. I have cataloged the effects of the dead and I don't like doing it. I have been to estate sales and I don't like it. We are digging through things that were important to someone and it is hard to fathom how vulture like we all are at our cores.

carl sagan took a great pleasure in knowing that we are an island in the great expanse of space. We can't reach the moon without a major expense and scientific effort, and we will certainly not reach the nearest star anytime soon. I have read his work, and it depressed me to no end.

If this is all we have, then why are we civil to one another. It should be get all you can, live as much as you can, make as much love to as many as you can, and everyone serves me!

if we only have maybe 70 years, who wants to be nice, get what you can, this is your only shot at anything. Then again why even think about getting anything. you won't know it when your gone and your heirs will fight over it all.

Christina, you are a spiritual being, and at some point all of eternity will open to you, you will see that there is an existance after this one. If Jesus wasn't real, you and I could not have this nice conversation.

if you want to email me you can, if you don't that too is your choice, but I hope you will search your soul carefully and ask yourself, if someone knew me really well, would they love me. If someone could know my heart would they love me.

Jesus knows your heart and loved you enough to die in your place to save you from eternal punishment in hell.

Answer 6

Yes, I have.

It's shock when ppl grow up to believe something that used to shape their whole lives and when you learn the truth, it is a lot to accept at first.

It's just something I know I must accept, so I have.
I don't know how long it took me to be comfortable with it, but I am.

Answer 7

I can't remember having lived before this life, so I never had any problems with my life coming to an end eventually. That's part of life, so to speak. I hope people will remember me as a nice and good guy when I'm dead, and I try to achieve that before I die. In the end, your legacy is your afterlife .

Answer 8

It's a strange feeling when the realisation first dawns on you that you will die and be non-existent. I have cancer and know that I have a limited lifespan. At first it was a shock but believe me, it didn't take very long at all to get used to the idea and get on with enjoying the life I am lucky enough to have.
The way I deal with it is - business as normal, good memories, no regrets. I am lucky enough to have friends and family that treat me as though life just goes on. We have a great time.

Answer 9

I've just accepted it - it doesn't bother me, but then I never bought into the religion thing anyway so i've never expected an afterlife

I don't think a fear of death is a good reason to believe in an afterlife - do you?

Answer 10

After I read (and eventually understood) Nietzsche.
There is part of from "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" were Zarathustra comforts a dying acrobat by explaining that there is no hell - so he has nothing to be afraid of from dying.
I was kind of sold by that. It lets you know that you should live your life as best as you feel (within moral limits), and not by the edict of religious power mongers, who use faith (and fear of damnation, being reincarnated as a worm etc.etc.etc....) as a way to control the common man.
If the all of the world were atheist it would soon sober up and become a more peaceful place.
No religious ferver, no suicide bombings...