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Why a lonely atheist with a worst life quality fears death so much?

Shia Islam

Quran and Ahlul-Bayt a.s.
Premium Member
So this atheist has nothing in life to worth living for..
So Why He/She fears death so much?

Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!
 

Darkstorn

This shows how unique i am.
So this muslim has nothing in life to worth living for..
So Why He/She fears death so much?

Is the inner mind of muslims telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!

Maybe?

But yeah, your argument is pretty weak on its own merits. First you invent a premise, then a hypothetical person who doesn't exist, and then use that to come to a conclusion? Not very sound logic i'm afraid. You can't stand on your own two feet.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
So this atheist has nothing in life to worth living for..
So Why He/She fears death so much?

Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!
Which atheist?
What bad deeds?

Anyway, even the most miserable humans still have that fundamental drive to live.
Fearing death makes sense for us heathens who don't believe in the afterlife.
But I wonder about believers who know that Heaven awaits them....why fear a death which is better than life?
 

Kelly of the Phoenix

Well-Known Member
So Why He/She fears death so much?
Why do people who believe in an afterlife fear death? I actually had a great aunt fear she would suffocate in the coffin, so clearly she didn't understand how death worked. You'd think "going home to Jesus" as you hear often in the Bible Belt would be something to look forward to.

Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!
Is that why people who believe in an afterlife fear death?

Anyway, even the most miserable humans still have that fundamental drive to live.
Yeah, I mean I suffer from chronic depression and am often suicidal, but I have crap to do. If you can't get something done right ... :p
 

jonathan180iq

Well-Known Member
Atheists don't get to comfort themselves with the delusion that they'll be magically transported to a mythical paradise when they die. They have to confront death for what it is - the end.

That's scary. I don't care who you are.
 

HonestJoe

Well-Known Member
So this atheist has nothing in life to worth living for..

So Why He/She fears death so much?

Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!
I can’t speak for anyone else but I have no fear of being dead. Even if I’m wrong about there being nothing after it, it’ll be an interesting experience and there’s still a 50-50 chance of it being a positive one for me (just like everyone else ;) ). Fear of the process of dying is perfectly rational given my knowledge and experience of how unpleasant it can be. When people talk about “fear of death”, it’s not often clear which aspect they’re talking about.

I also know of atheists (and also theists) who seek the right to assisted suicide at the point they do see nothing to live for. They clearly have no fear of being dead since they’re seeking to accelerate the timing, their concern is entirely about the process of dying and making that as smooth and painless as possible.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
So this atheist has nothing in life to worth living for..
So Why He/She fears death so much?
Maybe this hypothetical atheist sees value in his or her life that you don't.

Even if things are bad now, dying means there's no hope for them to improve in the future.

Also, even if this hypothetical atheist really has nothing to live for, dying can be a painful, awful experience.

Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!
Is the inner mind of people who fear dark basements telling them that there really are monsters down there?
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
So this atheist has nothing in life to worth living for..
So Why He/She fears death so much?

Fairly good question. It seems to be a biological instinct, but that is a bit tentative.

Then again, human beings are just not very likely to be in that situation you describe.


Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!
No. That would be silly and illogical.
 

pearl

Well-Known Member
What follows death is the unknown, and a journey we must take alone. And it is the unpleasantness of the body shutting down, it can be a lengthy process, your kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place as one wants it over but fearful and unsure of what follows. Believers have an edge "fear not, I go before you".
 

columbus

yawn <ignore> yawn
Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!
Here in the real world there aren't that many real nontheist people. Most people who are nontheist just don't talk about it, generally.

I used to volunteer at a hospice for dying AIDS patients. These people had every reason to want the release that death brought. The disease is disfiguring, excruciating, and was(at the time) untreatable. The few medications that helped with the symptoms were almost as bad as the illness.
People had strange responses to the problem. Clinging to life, while hating almost every moment of it and knowing that there was no hope of real improvement. It didn't matter much what they believed about religion as far as I could tell.

I think it's just totally ingrained in our instinctive mental process. Billions of years of evolution have made us to stay alive at all costs(mostly). That's our default belief, overcoming it requires a huge conscious effort.
Why do people who believe in an afterlife fear death?
This is much more irrational to me than an atheist fearing death. If someone believes that death doesn't exist, but is a portal to Heaven, why put off death?
Maybe they know in their hearts that those teachings from religion seem unlikely at best?

Fear of the process of dying is perfectly rational given my knowledge and experience of how unpleasant it can be. When people talk about “fear of death”, it’s not often clear which aspect they’re talking about.
This is a biggie.
The afterlife I have Faith in is quite excellent for everyone. From aborted babies to me to Donald Trump. But it will be the same whenever I get there, so I am in no hurry. And I expect the process of becoming dead to be very painful and I am not looking forward to that.

Tom
 

Jumi

Well-Known Member
Loneliness and misery seems to be the most important factor? Atheism doesn't seem to cause increase of fear of death.
 

FearGod

Freedom Of Mind
So this atheist has nothing in life to worth living for..
So Why He/She fears death so much?

Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!

Fearing death is natural regardless of people's beliefs.
 

4consideration

*
Premium Member
So this atheist has nothing in life to worth living for..
So Why He/She fears death so much?

Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!
I don't consider myself an atheist, but I see no reason to decide they have nothing to live for. I know atheists that seem to have a very fine quality of life.

I don't know for sure what you are basing that assumption on. If in your thinking not believing in an after-life equates to nothing worth living for now, that leads me to think what you are living for is dying. Is that all you have to live for -- death?
 

McBell

Resident Sourpuss
So this atheist has nothing in life to worth living for..
So Why He/She fears death so much?

Is the inner mind of atheists telling them to fear the results of their bad deed that they have committed during their lives?!!
seems to me you present a paradox.
What fear is there of death if there is honestly, truly, "nothing to live for"?

interesting how so many suicides are because the one committing suicide felt there honestly, truly was nothing to live for.

Which makes one wonder what it is your imaginary atheist has to live for that they fear losing.
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
Fearing death is natural regardless of people's beliefs.
Actually no, it is not. Not by a long shot.

I don't think it is even all that frequent except in societies that have the bad habit of teaching themselves to fear some form of afterlife hell.

Now wanting to live, that is nearly universal. And probably has more than a fair bit of a biological or neurological component.

In a nutshell, biological beings that do not feel a compulsion to survive are not likely to have offspring. That is actually natural selection at work.
 

YmirGF

Bodhisattva in Recovery
Fearing death is natural regardless of people's beliefs.
I agree, to an extent, @FearGod
For me, as I become older, it isn't death itself that I actually fear... what I worry about (not much, but a bit) is a long and lingering illness and then finally dying. I'd much rather be a bug on the windshield of life and get it all over as quickly and as painlessly as possible. Besides, it's not like it's the first time I've ever died, LOL. After a few billion turns at the wheel the fear tends to subside.
 

McBell

Resident Sourpuss
I agree, to an extent, @FearGod
For me, as I become older, it isn't death itself that I actually fear... what I worry about (not much, but a bit) is a long and lingering illness and then finally dying. I'd much rather be a bug on the windshield of life and get it all over as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
on a side note....
What was the last thing on the bugs mind when it hit the windshield?
It's ***.

Your post brought that to mind.
 
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