Why IME are agnostics less afraid of death than the devout?

[Vegeta6163]

In my experiences agnostics and atheists are not as afraid of death than the ones that believe in a religion. Why is that?
Im an agnostic and Im not really afraid of death cause I have no idea what could happen. But atheists believe there is nothing afterwards wouldnt they be afraid to die? I've talked to religous people but they seem more afraid. Why when they believe eternal paradise is theirs ?

Is this the same with anyone else ?

[kapsi]

Well you can go to hell too. And nonexistance can be ultimate heaven

[Vegeta6163]

yeah Im not saying that I cant Im just saying I dont know for sure so I dont see much of a point worrying about it.

[rimpelcut]

probable because their wussy nature forced them to take up a religion.

[mr_shadow]

IF we´re talking christians, maybe their afraid of hell?

Or its fear of death that makes them religious to start with.

Think im gonna start a "are you aftraid of death" poll

[Vegeta6163]

Good idea! But why would you be afraid of death if your a christian wouldnt you be saved and all that rubbish?

[Kineas]

It's not really just agnostics, or atheists. More like everyone and anyone who doesn't believe in the existance of an afterlife.
Funnily, it just so happens that every religion promises that there'll be some sort of life after death in one way or another. Heaven, hell, or otherwise. Thus the "devout", or anyone who subscribes to a religion would believe in an afterlife.

Now that we've sorted that out, isn't it rather clear that people who expect death to be an "eternal dreamless sleep" to be less afraid as compared to people who actually expect something to happen after death? Namely, the fear of the unfamilar.
More importantly, the people who aren't sure about what kind of afterlife they'll experience would be the most afraid. (Or the people who're sure they're landing in hell)

[therealultimatepower]

Just paranoia and ignorance. These are probably the same people that dug bombshelters and filled them wil granola bars for Y2K. I am confident that when we die it's that eternal dreamless sleep Kineas was talking about. An eternal afterlife would be Hell for me either way. And there's too many contradictions in it.
1) Living forever sucks. In Heaven or Hell, why would you want to live forever? Think about it, if you know someone annoying, you'd be stuck with them for eternity if hanging out with you is their idea of Heaven. I know plenty of people I would not want to be stuck with for even 10 minutes.

2) Say you and your friend are 10 years old and your friend suddenly dies but you live on until 90. If you meet in the afterlife, would your friend still be 10? Would you be 90? What age are you in the afterlife? And what about aborted fetuses? Do they go to Heaven as fetuses, without the ability to mature?

3) You can't be in two places at once. You exist because you are a thinking being that thinks it exists. Many of us have family members and friends. I'm sure we are on several Heaven wishlists. Now how can we fulfill all their needs? What if our parents want us when we were babies? What if our friends want us when we're 21? What if our friends at the old folks home want us at 95? What if we are destined to Hell yet a friend wants you in Heaven? Does that override God's mandate?

This would suggest that there are multiple versions of us. The point is, there can only be one you. Every other one is just a simulacrum. It's the same principle as clones. You can make many representations of yourself, but you are the alpha model. So is Heaven just a farce? Is it all deception?

[slimscane]

hmm, I am a Christian and I am not afraid of death in the slightest. Like others have said, one reason why other Christians might be afraid to die is that they think they are going to Hell, so in other words, guilt. They feel guilt and think that they are not living in a way that would lead them to be worthy enough to go to Heaven. Or maybe their faith is not strong, or they are confused, so they might be thinking that there may not be a Heaven, or anything, at all.

If I thought about it I would have to classify agnostics as confused curious people, they aren't sure what is out there or what will happen. So I feel as though if I were one I would be interested in finding out definitivly what was actually going on, so I would not be afraid of dying. That might just be my personal inquisitive nature, however, someone who care less about what exactly is true, and more about "well, it might be a really bad thing if I die", I could see an agnostic like that being really scared.

If I were an atheist, I probably would not be afraid either, or I could be, depending on how I look at it. In one way, it is not a bad thing. Ever one, every thing dies. It is a natural part of life. If it is my time to go, then so be it. Like every one else my body will be laid to rest, in one way or another, and I will join the ranks of everyone who died before me, my family, kings, queens, tyrants, scientists. Everyone is on the same level when you die. On the other hand, this is the only life that I get, the only chance I've got at "existance", and in that case, I need to stay alive for as long as human possible so that I can get as much as possible out of my blip in time while I still have the chance to be effected by it. One way of thinking leads me to afraid, the other, well, not so much.

So I guess there are two sides to each story; devout, agnostic, atheist, all of them can face death with determination, or fear based on how they live their lives, and how they view their lives.

[Nybarius]

In my experiences agnostics and atheists are not as afraid of death than the ones that believe in a religion. Why is that?
Im an agnostic and Im not really afraid of death cause I have no idea what could happen. But atheists believe there is nothing afterwards wouldnt they be afraid to die? I've talked to religous people but they seem more afraid. Why when they believe eternal paradise is theirs ?

Is this the same with anyone else ?

Perhaps this is because atheists/agnostics by and large aren't plagued by existential issues -- or rather, people who aren't plagued by existential issues become atheist / agnostic, since they have no need for a sugar-coating.

[Dionysus]

I'm not so sure this is true. Peoples' feelings toward death change as they age. If your experience is only with young atheists and agnostics and not the geriatric variety, perhaps you are in no position to comment.

I'm alright with death now, but will I if I'm 90?

[Nybarius]

I'm not alright with dying.

[Dionysus]

I was replying to the OPer who seems so sure in his assumptions. I guess I should have quoted it.

[whichdan]

I'm atheist and I don't fear death.. I think it deals with ones view on the world.

A religious person worries about what their afterlife will be.

Other people may worry the same, and about not getting to do things in life.

I think the overall fear is being unhappy when you die. I personally see heaven and hell as a reflection on your mood and life at the time of your death. If you were happy and content with life when you die, your last moments would be peaceful/happy, and therefore you "experienced" heaven. If you were depressed/something else, you experienced hell.

I believe people fear death less when they are happy and have completed what they want to in life, since they know that they've done all they want to and are content. People never content what's happening seem to fear it more, since they never complete anything that they want to.

Sort of a bad summary, but that's MHO.

[rimpelcut]

well did you ever face death wichdan?

[ThrawnReborn]

My mother is fairly religious, and isn't afraid of death at all. It's quite strange actually how little she's concerned by it. My father is slightly less religious (but still devout) and is certainly more afraid of death. I would say it is those who are religious yet have doubts or uncertainties in their faith that are afraid of death.

And, by the way, I'm not entirely convinced that religious people are more worried about death than agnostics or atheists. All we've seen so far are just people's personal opinions and anecdotes. That is hardly convincing evidence.

[GOD'S BITCH]

Religion...Athiests....does it really matter? No! Being athiest just means that you don't believe in a superior being. Thats it! Whether or not your afraid of death depends on your view of it. I'm not athiest nor am I a extremely devout person either, yet i have no fear of death. we're all gonna die sooner or later...life cyle...etc. People who realize this are probably less afraid of death. Other people who are conditioned to believe death as an evil thing...well, they're going to live thier life in fear of death.

[Beren]

All that the person who that started this thread said was "In my experience"... even if the handful of Christians that u kno are afraid of death (natural human instinct that transcends religion), these ppl do not represent the millions and billions (not sure of the exact #, prolly over 10^9 tho) of christians in the world.

However, Christians exalt in "dying for God" (not in a violent way like Muslim extremists) but in way that furthers the advance of Christianity... Maybe saving someone's life?

Some ppl like myself, not all Christians, do not want to die :P ... part of this mentality is the fear of dying before I can prove myself as a good Christian.
I guess this counts as fear of Hell...

In conclusion, death is a naturally frightening notion to human beings, not just christians.

[Trias]

People who say they don't fear death are simply lying. If not every of them, most of human beings, most of living beings fears death, and hangs on life as long as possible.

It's easy to say that "I don't fear death" crap before you face a life-death situation. It's easy to say that after you face a life-death situation. But in that situation, only thing you want is to be alive, trust me.

[Beren]

Tru that... and is ur avatar from a Stephen King book perchance?

[Trias]

Yeah, from the first book of the Dark Tower series, the Gunslinger. Another Stephen King fan, may you be?

[Raistlin-sama]

I find the thought of complete disappearance to be far more scary, than the thought of a continuation after death.

I guess I'm kind of agnostic, and I do fear death to a certain extent. The sheer fact that it is unavoidable (at least with current day technology) is frightening.

[Kitty]

I'm not afraid of death - or at least the afterlife. However, I've spent countless nights tossing in my bed worried that I'd die before I get a chance to do all things I want to do.

The thought of dying before I get a chance to become Senate Majority Leader/President of NOW/Secretary of State is enough to drive me to tears.

Or like, the thought of being diagnosed with cancer right after I get married with a 2-year-old child and not being able to watch him grow. :(

[batanga]

The thought of dying doesn´t frighten me.

Of course, I don´t want to die yet, but that doesn´t mean I´m afraid of it, right?

I don´t believe in afterlife of anykind. I just ceice(sp?) to exist. That´s good enough for me. It´s not like I´m gonna regret it.


And I´m something between an agnostic and an atheist.

[Leen]

I am a christian and I dont afraid of dying too even though I do afraid of going to hell if there is a hell. I dont want to die now though. Maybe after 75, I might plan to die but not now.

Also, can someone please explain what is agnostic?

[NeophyteNihilist]

^Agnosticism is the belief that there is not enough evidence to make any sort of definant conclusions about God, so they don't try to.

I'm agnostic, and I do fear death, but mainly just because its the end of life, not because its the beginning of the afterlife. In a world with hundreds of religions all of which contradict each other in some way how am I supposed to know exactly what rules to follow to earn a good afterlife (thats assuming there is an afterlife, and our actions here on Earth somehow affect it)? I'll do what I believe is right for me to do, and beyond that, the afterlife is outside of my control. It's kind of like being on a plane, sure I fear that the plane will crash, but I don't know enough about planes to prevent such a crash, so why worry about it.

Religious people, on the other hand, believe that they must follow a certain code of conduct in order to achieve a good afterlife, so they can clearly see everything they did thats preventing them from getting to heaven.

[Trias]

I have a religion style that between Islam and Deism, so I believe in God anyway, and I try to live a way of goodness, as far as I can do, and I fear death, but afterlife / or not afterlife doesn't worry me, if there is an afterlife, I'm trying to be a good person, and that's what I can do... also, what I do of course.

If there isn't an afterlife...

Well... I thought about it many times...

And, "Oblivion" isn't a thing to be feared of. Endless peace of being forgotten... It's as good as "Heaven", I think now.

[Sesha]

I think a more important question we can ask ourselves is, why is it that agnostics and the like are called confused and indecisive by a large number of both theists and atheists?

Anyway, I'm drifting between Agnosticism and non-denominational Christianity, but I don't fear death. The reason is simply because I don't really have anything to fear. Not because I'm counting on an afterlife, or anything like that, but because whatever happens, happens. There's nothing for me to be afraid of.

[Paracetamol Boy]

Maybe...I won't bring my own spirituality into this, but maybe it's because the devout had become so because of this fear of death, and even when they have a belief it still manifests as an underlying doubt. Whereas atheists aren't as afraid of the 'unknown' and therefore have no need of a belief and stay atheist.

[cygnus]

Just paranoia and ignorance. These are probably the same people that dug bombshelters and filled them wil granola bars for Y2K. I am confident that when we die it's that eternal dreamless sleep Kineas was talking about. An eternal afterlife would be Hell for me either way. And there's too many contradictions in it.
1) Living forever sucks. In Heaven or Hell, why would you want to live forever? Think about it, if you know someone annoying, you'd be stuck with them for eternity if hanging out with you is their idea of Heaven. I know plenty of people I would not want to be stuck with for even 10 minutes.

2) Say you and your friend are 10 years old and your friend suddenly dies but you live on until 90. If you meet in the afterlife, would your friend still be 10? Would you be 90? What age are you in the afterlife? And what about aborted fetuses? Do they go to Heaven as fetuses, without the ability to mature?

3) You can't be in two places at once. You exist because you are a thinking being that thinks it exists. Many of us have family members and friends. I'm sure we are on several Heaven wishlists. Now how can we fulfill all their needs? What if our parents want us when we were babies? What if our friends want us when we're 21? What if our friends at the old folks home want us at 95? What if we are destined to Hell yet a friend wants you in Heaven? Does that override God's mandate?

This would suggest that there are multiple versions of us. The point is, there can only be one you. Every other one is just a simulacrum. It's the same principle as clones. You can make many representations of yourself, but you are the alpha model. So is Heaven just a farce? Is it all deception?


hmmmm Evangelion much?

Who's afraid of death?

More people listed their worst fear as public speaking. Therefore, most people would rather die than speak in public. QED