Christopher Hitchens, the famous atheist, died of cancer. He said if he turned to the concept of god in his suffering, don't believe him.
The process of dying, for many people, involves a great deal of physical & psychological suffering. Do you think, in that situation, you would stay with your agnosticism or atheism, or would you turn to the supposed comfort of the concept of god?
Nope. Never. I know myself well enough to know I wouldn't do that under any circumstances.
I'd rather be dead than ever "turn to god" for ANY reason.
Hopefully, I'll be conscious enough in case anyone comes in with that garbage, so I can tell them to get the fuck out.
If anyone starts praying over me, I'm going to have real problem with it.
I don't even understand why anyone would find "comfort" in a delusion they know is completely non-existent.
Who knows? Maybe if anyone tries that garbage, it'll be enough for me to rally.
LOL
Well when my father was dying with cancer I did not pray nor did he want to be prayed for
@bradholland10 Exactly.
I'm very sorry for your loss. That must have been extremely difficult for you to endure.
For me, the bottom line is that no matter what we believe, and no matter what we do, we are ALL going to die.
I have accepted that eventuality. I'm really okay with it, and I intend to face
my own demise with as much dignity as the circumstances allow.
No. I have never believed and can never envisage ever turning to religion. I have gone through the loss of both my husband and my 42 year old son, and have never at any time felt the urge to turn to a mythical god for comfort.
I would probably not be crying unto the Lord for comfort, but unto the doctor with the morphine injection
Good choice. One drug is a lot more available & reliable than the other.
I agree with you. I found the Dr.s and nurses with the pain medication much quicker to relieve my pain and perform more beneficial surgeries at the time. I would still be in excruciating pain and in need of surgery if I had waited on God.
I would not. Although I am in no hurry to get there, I have no fear of death. It simply means I will be where I was before my parents conceived me.
You mean "nothing"! ?
@TimeOutForMe If "nothing"in this context means no longer having conscious existence, then yes.
Even if I were tempted, which god should I choose?
Pick a fun one. Laughter is the best medicine. I don’t know any fun gods but you can make up a fun one just as believers created their god.
@Lady-DebianLinux it'd probably be Bacchus then.
Died twice, both times it never occurred to me to ask anything of the Tooth Fairy.....not for one second!
I came into this world kicking and screaming while covered in someone else's blood and I have no problem with going out the same way...
Wait, what was the question?
That is a really good question. As the saying goes, "There are no atheists in a foxhole." A lot of the comments here assert that they would remain atheist. Personally, I am not sure. I'm not a huge fan of hypothetical questions. I don't think we can ever answer them 100% conclusively. We can take an educated guess as to how we would behave in hypothetical situations, but we surely do not know for certain.
I'm atheist and have endured what I regard as considerable suffering and can honestly say that in my suffering I prayed. I didn't believe anything could hear my prayers but I did just the same. I think anyone, regardless of how adamant they are to say they would never do so, if their fear and suffering is strong enough they would do anything to abate either. Even pray.
You are a wise man. No one knows what they would do in such asituation. Never say never
I'm going to describe some completely made up bullshit that I can see from my deathbed, then just before I die, give them a little smile and whisper...just kidding.
its only going to happen too me once so how do i know how i will be?
it would not be comfert but desperation
No I would not. I thought I was dieing and thought to my self ok this is not bad.
As a life long Atheist I always tell my family & friends that if I have a conversion on my death bed don’t believe it, the weakness of my illness has not only affected my body but my mind as well.
I found the concept of God very harmful to me and gave it up when my life was unbearably painful. I doubt dying would change my mind back.
What is even worse is that the final comfort we give to many animals, is often denied to humans because of the historical legacy of theism.
When your dog or cat is very sick & beyond hope of recovery, we can do the final act of love & "put them to sleep". Many say it's too bad we can't do that with people, but unfortunately health insurance companies & greedy relatives waiting for an inheritance would love it
@Remiforce Yes I know there are practical dangers as well, but I do think that such problems can be solved, the main reason is still the legacy of theism. I have spent a lot of time by death beds, mainly those of people with cancer, and I can tell you that the amount of unneeded suffering caused, is beyond all imagination. I can also tell you that the line put out by the medical people, that they can manage death well with drugs and give a good quality of death, is often just BS, they tell to relatives and themselves to make their own jobs endurable, the reality is that for the most part they fail completely in that.
@Remiforce
Death I have no problem with, and it is more than acceptable, but the dying is a different matter. I have witnessed people lying for hours in pain waiting for pain relief while medical staff were busy elsewhere, being forced to exert great effort for days on end to fight for breath by their bodies own reflexes, when they long since wanted it to be over, and lying for hours in their own shit thanks to a general lack of care. Not to mention the possible tedium of have nothing to do but stare at the ceiling for days after the power to communicate with others has gone. And that is is lucky few whose debility did not last for years.