As an agnostic or theist, do you fear death? If so, why?
I don't fear death. I'm sort of sad about it as there is nothing afterwards, but death is basically easy, it's living a full and good life that is harder.
I guess that I am lucky. I am an old man and have had a full life, with real ups and downs. I am much nearer the end, and that is okay. I've had my shot
I don't fear death, but at times, imagining not existing anymore can bring on some anxiety. Hitchen's summed up my feelings, and probably most peoples feelings very well. "I do not especially like the idea that one day I shall be tapped on the shoulder and informed, not that the party is over but that it is most assuredly going on—only henceforth in my absence." Knowing that the universe will keep on doing its thing, and we won't be around to witness it, is what troubles me. But fear, no. Imagining that death isn't waiting for me makes me FAR more anxious. I can't imagine that religious people who find existing for all eternity as favorable, have really thought about it in more than just a passing thought kind of way. Existing forever would certainly be a real hell.
I actually was near death a few months ago. I came near to dying from bacterial sepsis from a tick bite. My internal organs were shutting down.
No, I don't fear death, but I'm very afraid of not living a full life while I'm alive. Dying totally sucks, though! lol
Several times in my life I have faced the possibility of death (in accidents and in medicals situations. Oddly in an auto accident, at the moment just before the crash, I felt utter peace.
About 7 years ago, I met with an old friend who had become and agnostic but I was still a Christian at the time. We were talking about heaven and hell and he said he didn't buy the idea of it being about good versus evil. I had just read The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis which prompted me to say, "What if it's about real versus unreal?" His response stunned me. He said, "That's okay, I have no fear of not existing." In that moment, I became painfully aware that I do fear not existing. It is still a very "heavy" thought to me. But I also recognize it as an irrational fear since, if subjective experience ends at the moment of death, I will be aware of nothing, so what is there to fear?
I don't like the idea of being gone forever and I hope that my death is a peaceful, rather than traumatic, one but I am not sure I would call it a fear. I desire no afterlife. To exist for an eternity, to me, would be Hell. Life has meaning because of its finality. Take that away, and you take away any meaning. I know that my energy, my atoms, will continue on, allowing other life forms to exit; and part of what was me will continue on in the DNA of my offspring and theirs. That is my eternity, and I am fine with it.
Simple answer is no, I have nothing to fear by passing, I aint going to heaven nor hell, my useful bits will be saved for others rest of me will go through the crem. We only get one shot at life so my answer is give it your best shot be you and never ever follow anything or anyone.
I am a Buddhist as well as an atheist, which makes my perspective a bit different than that of most atheists. I believe in reincarnation, so I don't fear the aspect of not going on, per se. I am afraid of death, because I am quite aware that lots of ways of dying are very painful.
I don't fear being dead but I do fear dying. “I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it." - Mark Twain
not death itself but a prolonged painful demise, absolutely
To me, dedicating your entire life to fearing death is the same as dedicating your entire life trying to find a way to stop the sun from rising; it's utterly pointless because it's inevitable no matter what you do. Whenever you focus so hard on death, you lose that much time you could've spent focusing on living.
Totally agree.
I don’t think it really has anything to do with what we believe in. I think it’s human nature to fear the unknown. We don’t know what’s on the other side. We can make speculations, but we have no hard evidence as to what’s there. So it’s just “natural” to fear death because it could be torment, it could be nothingness, or it could be reincarnation. But we just don’t know. For me, I’m a chronically ill/chronic pain patient. I think I’m kind of looking forward to the day I die, because that means that will be the end of my suffering.
I am a retired nurse, so I don't fear death. Death with extreme pain is seldom something people should have to cope with today. The expansion of the hospice movement is good. It helps people celebrate their life and come to terms with the end of their lives and relationships. If there is a God, I feel he will be there for us on the other side, and remember a man who wrote a book about his last years. A nun, recognizing his disbelief said to him, "Well then, you are in for a big surprise." I think people who fear death or punishment are more likely to have a difficult time, so as medical personnel or spiritual leaders, they should not feed this fear, but rather provide comfort both physically and spiritually. I personally do not expect any judgement of how good I am. Eternity spent singing praises and walking on golden streets does not sound like my kind of life. If it could be on my terms, with lots of books, instant knowledge and understanding, a nice pet or two, beautiful changing landscapes. I would take that. I would accept that kind of surprise, or not.
I believe in non-spiritual, non-conscious immortality and that is what I strive for. In other words, I want to change the ideas of people who live after me. I fear that I will not be able to and that I will die too soon to do that. I fear most methods of dying. Death itself is meaningless. Life is what gives death its meaning.
Like everyone else here, death is something that scares me. It should scare me as it's necessary to stay alive.
However, I seem to be the only one, so far, who thinks there is (the possibility of) something after death. I don't believe in God, but I do believe in science.
There have been numerous books and articles written by quantum physicists that hold the belief that time is actually an illusion which we experience because of our limited senses and knowledge of the Universe. There are also numerous dimensions we are incapable of experiencing in our current state.
I don't claim to have any answers, and death may well be nothingness, but just as I try and keep an open mind about life, I try to keep an open mind about death.
I am an atheist so, I don't know if my answer means much, but, here goes anyway.
I don't free death but, I choose to avoid it for as long as possible, life is just to damn interesting and I take joy from the total randomness of it. At the point where and if I see that my life is ending my last thoughts will beI am glad I lived.
Fuck yeah. There's no afterlife. It just goes black. Once I'm dead I won't feel afraid, but for now I'll stick with what I know: being here and shit.