Should you be happy when people die?

Question

If you believe that when people die they go to heaven or some other peaceful place then why do we fear and mourn death. As long as you die peacefully, whats all the crying about? Is it a selfish emotion because you will not get to see the person anymore or is it because you really do not believe in all the heaven hype? So should'nt religious people be happy when a loved one dies?

And its just a question. Please don't rip me a new one. I am not even saying what my personal opinion is.

Answer 1

While I mourn the loss of a friend or family member, I rejoice that they are with the Lord...I think it's reasonable to have mixed feelings if you believe in Heaven.

Answer 2

In China, I think an abosulte majority people still believe in the Deaths' World--we call it "yin1 cao2 di4 fu3". There is a King, Yan2 Wang2, rules. People die, and they go to that world, waiting for their next life.
Ok, I won't tell the whole story here, too complicated and I would start to doubt if I'm being too superstitious.
My point is, although I also trust such world(place) exists, I still feel deep sorrow and I cry.
I lost my grandpa to pneumonia in 2003, then my cousin in a car crash in 2005, and my younger brother(my uncle's son) passed away in a car accident in 2006, then my uncle died of lung cancer in 2007...

I knew they just followed their fate and soon they would begin a new life--perhaps a much better and happier one. It seems that I SHOULD feel happy for them, and should NOT cry.
I did cry, however.
I never truly thought about why I would cry.
But now, if seriously think about it, to some extent, it saddens me because I know from the moment of their death that I've lost the chance forever to do good things for them.
They are dead, they won't need a hearing aid or a pair of new fancy shoes, they can't see the photos I took or hear my stories that I'd really love to share with them...
Nothing.
It's like, there's a "Doomed Wish List" that contains all the wishes you know you'll never able to realize.
Everytime someone you cares about dies, the List gets longer.

I never felt happy for a death.
Well, you may feel not that sad(esp. for religious people), but to me, it must be a,um, weirdo to feel "happy".

Answer 3

I think it's a varied answer. When you have a loved one that is suffering from a disease or has been seriously injured then death is almost a relief & in that sense gladdening because then they are no longer suffering. It seems a selfish response because it is relief that "it's all finally over". Watching someone suffer is worse, I think, then losing them. The permanence of them being gone is hard but I found that the weeks in the hospital feeling totally helpless truly horrible.

Sudden or unexpected death would bring a totally different reaction I think....thus the tears (although I think tears come as a physical reaction to the emotion of sadness and sense of loss).

I don't know if I answered your question the way you meant it but there you go......

Answer 4

The funeral, tears, etc are to hepl the grieving process. Grief is a form of stress that you feel when change occurs. Grief is a specific kind of stress that comes when we lose someone, some thing or even some situation. We all mourn loss and you might consider that selfish, but it is human. We are used to that person. We love that person. We enjoy seeing and talking with that person and even though they are in a better place, that does not mean we do not miss their company and presence. We would not want them to leave heaven to come back because they are truly better off, but that does not mean we do not have to adjust to the empty spot in our lives now that they are gone. Tears are a way to help us learn to accept what has happened and release some of this stress. It also helps release endorphans to help calm you down.

Answer 5

there is a time of bereavement when a loved one dies. It's sad to lose someone close with you, whether they go to heaven or not. some people fear death because they dont want to leave the living behind. And some people mourn death because they feel left behind by the deceased.

i think there is some relief in knowing the person who died was a Christian and went to heaven. that's a part of faith, though. none of us will ever be able to say where we go when we die, but if we have faith that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we will go to heaven when we die and that's where the ones we left behind can expect us to be.

We are only human, and grief and bereavement is an emotion that most of us commonly feel. it doesnt really have anything to do with where the deceased went or are going, it's the point that they're no longer here with us that makes us sad.

Answer 6

People cry as a result of the intense feelings of personal loss.

Jesus wept when Lazarus, his dear friend died. Even when he had the power to raise Lazarus, which he did a few minutes later.

I wept when by brother passed. He had cancer, was in pain, but managed to carry on in his usual goofy cheerful way no matter what. We were all getting ready to have one last get-together (we lived far apart) since we all knew his time was near, but he died before we got there.

Of course I cried. Eventually my rational mind came into play and I realized he was out of pain, and into a better place. He was a very faithful and hard working christian man. I was comforted by this knowledge, and was able to take that comfort and speak confidently and calmly at his funeral, and help to spread that comfort to others who needed it.

So, no, I wouldn't say we should be happy that someone dies, but we do gain great comfort from God when we have faith.

Answer 7

Depending on the circumstance of their death, i will be happy for a person dying peacefully and have gone to rest or better place because of the long suffering or complicated illness.

Answer 8

Well, I'm a Christian and I would be sad if my dad died because I wouldnt get to see them in such a long time.

Its like when your best friend in the whole wide world moves to a different school and you might never see them again...

Sometimes I picture that I wont be able to find my dad in Heaven when he dies when he is turning like over 100 or something over that.

xDD

I love my parents so muchh. Soz just had to say that. :]

Answer 9

Yes it is a "selfish" emotion, but it's our nature to cry when we miss someone. We miss seeing and talking to that person when they die, or they died young, or in an unexpected and tragic way. No matter if you believe in an afterlife or not, it will be sad. Those who believe in an afterlife try to convince themselves that the recently deceased person is in a better place, but it is still heartbreaking.

Answer 10

I am not religious.

When I lost my dear friend to cancer I was happy for her because the pain was gone. I knew that, at last, she had all the answers to all the questions that I have.

She did visit me in dreams and I saw her in my home a year later.

I felt very sad because I had lost a friend that I had loved for 34 years of my life.

She told me that animals go to a special meadow to wait for the ones who loved them. Those without homes were reincarnated back as animals.

She told me that I would find what I was looking for. That was 5 years ago. I guess no one is perfect.