Why are people okay with this?

[GrownupGirl]

Why is it that most people are okay with not existing before they were born but are frightened at the thought of no longer existing after death? I have no memory or knowledge of a "before" life, so that must mean there is no "after" life, either.

But then again, the thought that *this* is the only life we get is pretty depressing.

 

[Bolletje]

I’m not frightened of no longer existing after death. To me it’s a soothing thought.

 

[Progster]

People are not frightened of not existing before birth because it's not something they have to face in the future, not a transition they have to make.

I admit that I'm a total coward when it comes to death. The whole thing terrifies me. I can't understand how some people, even non-religious people who don't believe in an afterlife, who are terminally ill and know that they are going to die soon, can be so calm and accepting of it. I'm hoping that mind and body somehow protect you from the fear when death is imminent.

 

[Major Tom]

As humans, we are ever consuming and always craving more. Thus, there has to be more after this life. I think it's a one shot deal myself and it makes me glad. I don't want to live eternally or be reincarnated, but knowing my bad luck, I'll probably have to face those things...

 

[Mary Anne]

I DO have memories of past lives....how I got them is beyond me. Very specific times and places, and have even met one person who instantly knew me also from said specific time frames. So it’s truly weird, and I just wonder where the heck I will wind up after death!

I am exhausted at my age, and hope I get a nice long vacation/rest before winding up in the next life. (Please let me have success, all my needs met, an occupation I am passionate about, and live in unspoiled nature). It would be comforting to know for sure, I can be just dead, and be done with it all. Truly comforting to feel like I am done!

The last thing I would want it to spend eternity on a cloud with a bunch of others I did not enjoy being with. Can I please have my own universe for me, nature, and animals? No interference with neighbors, god telling me what to do, etc. Heaven as taught to me in Catholic school never sounded enjoyable whatsoever.

Since I have already lived “hell” multiple times on earth starting from early childhood, I would probably feel like thats a normal day. Yikes, huh?

 

[Cogitatio]

Surely you cant be worried about not existing before you were born. There was no entity capable of regret as you had not been born. Regret and fear must be emotions only living entities are capable of. Its not the gaining of extra life (before birth) that makes sense to me, its the loss of life and an end that is what I regret. Not wanting to live forever is probably true, but longer than 3 score years and 10 would be nice.

As my favourite philosopher said 'Cogito ergo sum' I think therefore I am. So when you are not in being, there is nothing to think and therefore no emotion to feel because there is simply nothing.

 

[VJCJ0628]

Because People are eternal beings, And Many subconsciously, know there is going to be some type of judgment, some to fear, some to fierce denial, some to anger, some to repentance, very few have no emotional response, except maybe the young you think death is far from them

I don't think animals contemplate death or afterlife.

 

[Aaron Agassi]

All sophistry of terror management notwithstanding: That death, nonexistence, is without suffering, remains entirely subjective. Whereas the harm of death, the destruction and personal loss of everything, of conscious existence itself, is objectively real. However, one must first exist in order to come to such harm as death. Moreover, like all values, the value of life itself, first and foremost, of survival at all, that value, like all values, cannot be reducible to pure logic. And of course, the afterlife, reincarnation, etc., is all fairy tales.

Know more at: Project Kriosgrad

 

[AloneNotLonely]

Dying is for losers. I plan to live forever.

In a more romantic way: There are things I still don't know. There are places I still haven't seen. There are cats I still haven't cuddled. The fear of death is not fear of death itself, but the fear of not being able to experience what is to come. In one way I am lucky to have been born in a time where I can take a plane to anywhere on the globe, in the other way I am unlucky to have been born in a time where I can't take a ship to another planet, solar system or galaxy.

 

[Pats]

I do believe in God and I believe there's a heaven and hell. And I know that when my spirit leaves this imperfect body I will no longer feel any pain, physical or emotional. Heaven is not floating around in the sky - the bible says Jesus has gone to prepare a place and talks about a new heaven and new earth and I think it's going to be beautiful.
I think those who appear calm facing death is looking forward to that better life and many people fear death and do everything they can to live longer and hang onto this life. My doctor gets mad at me because I won't go for all these preventative tests. I try to explain there's no reason to. If I have cancer I'm not going to do anything about it to prolong this life so why even know. When it's my time, it's my time.

 

[texkag]

Why is it that most people are okay with not existing before they were born but are frightened at the thought of no longer existing after death? I have no memory or knowledge of a "before" life, so that must mean there is no "after" life, either.

But then again, the thought that *this* is the only life we get is pretty depressing.

Consider this, your mind is part of a continuum that has no beginning and no end. You can’t remember anything before birth because the process is so traumatic. The good news is this, everything you do now can affect, positively as well as negatively, what happens after this life. You have the power to change what’s happening now and what can happen in the future. I’m not being flippant. I’m not suggesting that it’s easy, only that it’s possible. That’s a basic description of the Buddhist view. It is fundamentally hopeful, and when I’m in the dark hole, it keeps me going; always searching for the light. I offer this as a posssible avenue of exploration.

 

[DanR]

Why is it that most people are okay with not existing before they were born but are frightened at the thought of no longer existing after death? I have no memory or knowledge of a "before" life, so that must mean there is no "after" life, either.

But then again, the thought that *this* is the only life we get is pretty depressing.

Deep down, in our heart of hearts, we all know that we (individually, I mean) have done wrong. This sense of right and wrong is built in, so we all have this ruler by which we automatically measure and judge our own behavior. We accuse ourselves or excuse ourselves, but we always analyze ourselves and others (“I’m not as bad as Hitler,” for instance.) We all know we haven’t done as well as we should have, and we know that doing badly should require punishment.

“It is appointed man once to die, and after this, the Judgement” haunts us and rings in our ears even if we claim we don’t believe it. Inside, we know it's true. We know the judgement is coming and that it will turn out badly for us, so we fear death.

We might tell ourselves ‘there is no judgment,’ ‘there is no afterlife,’ but when we do, our internal sense of justice tells us if that were true, Hitler and Pol Pot would have got away with it, so we know that can’t be the right answer.
Maybe you tell yourself you’re better than some others, and so the judgment will (magically) turn out ok. Or maybe you say “if my ‘good’ outweighs my ‘bad’ I’ll be ok.” But those are rules you made up yourself, and since you’re not the judge, you have no reason to think that works.

The trick is, that you must find out what the Judge requires of you. And here it is: “Therefore, you be perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” (Jesus said that.)
A tough order? Yes. Impossible? Yes, for you, and impossible for me too. But I believe God provided a way for us. It involves:
Turning from your bad behavior, as best as you know how
Turning toward God and letting Him rule your life, as best as you know how
Trusting that Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient to save you from that upcoming judgement.

 

[Bolletje]

@DanR its all well and good that you believe that, but you can’t claim it to be true for everyone. You can’t speak for others and claim to know what they do and don’t believe in, no matter how firm your beliefs.
I personally don’t believe in judgment or afterlife, but you won’t hear me claim that everyone knows this to be true, even if they claim something else.

 

[DanR]

@DanR its all well and good that you believe that, but you can’t claim it to be true for everyone. You can’t speak for others and claim to know what they do and don’t believe in, no matter how firm your beliefs.
I personally don’t believe in judgment or afterlife, but you won’t hear me claim that everyone knows this to be true, even if they claim something else.

Bolletje: Thanks for your comment.
And sorry, GrownupGirl that this post is getting a little off topic, but I feel it's important to answer this.

I believe that truth is exclusive; things are either true or false. That is, it’s either true for everyone or it’s false for everyone. We don’t get to pick and choose reality. We are impressed on the actual reality, whatever it is.

You don’t wish to acknowledge what your heart tells you, that’s your prerogative. But your denial doesn’t make it not there. Everyone feels guilt - the foreboding of the coming judgement (with the possible exception of "psychopaths," as I am told).

He offers you a gift, and you can accept it or reject it - forgiveness for what you've done. But, as Jesus said, “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than the Light, for their works were evil. For everyone practicing wickedness hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, that his works may not be exposed. But the one doing the truth comes to the Light, that his works may be revealed, that they exist, having been worked in God.”

There is a judgement coming, you can feel it. The consequences are eternal, but the cost is high: you must admit to God that you haven’t measured up and that you’ve offended Him. And it's true that some people just can’t bring themselves to that point.

God loves you, and He made a way for you to escape the consequences that you've earned (no judgement here, I’ve done some awful stuff too). You just have to be willing to have Him shine light on what you’ve done (not like a public light – just between you and Him – He’s not unkind).

Those are my beliefs.

 

[CMZ]

I believe we lived before we were born and are always ourselves. The Bible gives hints of this.

 

[VJCJ0628]

I believe we lived before we were born and are always ourselves. The Bible gives hints of this.

Where does the bible give hints of this?

 

[tree]

Reminder:

This forum is for anyone who wants to discuss religion.
This forum is not for debating religion, preaching to others
or talking down to others based on their religious beliefs.

 

[CMZ]

I intend to follow the rules of the forum regarding religious discussions.

I will point out that Jeremiah 1:5 is one example of such a hint. There are at least two more I can think of.

 

[VJCJ0628]

I intend to follow the rules of the forum regarding religious discussions.

I will point out that Jeremiah 1:5 is one example of such a hint. There are at least two more I can think of.

That speaks of foreknowledge this is spoken of a lot in the bible in regards to people in Romans 8:29 for example and also in regards to events acts 2:23 for example. there are many more this is Gods foreknowledge and in no way hints at reincarnation as events cant be reincarnated

 

[CMZ]

Well, I'm not speaking about reincarnation. We always retain our own identity. But I'll leave it at that.