Religion=Fear Of Dying- Why Atheism Terrifies People

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Fear not fellow future dead people.. Just keep drinking coffee and you'll live longer..
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-maximize-the-health-benefits-of-coffee/?google_editors_picks=true

[Mike Cl]

Fear not fellow future dead people.. Just keep drinking coffee and you'll live longer..
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-maximize-the-health-benefits-of-coffee/?google_editors_picks=true

Yes!  Love my coffee!!

[Feral Atheist]

 'Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.' - Karl Marx

[Conradine]

The thought of death is something that traveled with me for all my life. In the last year has become a bit obsessive.
I fear death a lot. And I don't trust wholeheartedly those who says they do not fear it at least a little.

[Givemeareason]

The thought of death is something that traveled with me for all my life. In the last year has become a bit obsessive.
I fear death a lot. And I don't trust wholeheartedly those who says they do not fear it at least a little.

I would like to address you but I need to know more about you.  Can you develop your profile more?

[drunkenshoe]

The thought of death is something that traveled with me for all my life. In the last year has become a bit obsessive.
I fear death a lot. And I don't trust wholeheartedly those who says they do not fear it at least a little.

Why is that? I am afraid of dying in pain; some bad disease or a horrible crime. Not death itself, because there is no such things as death itself. It's a moment that my body will stop functioning. I think you are confused about these two things. Dying and being dead. Why would I be afraid of being dead. I will perish, vanish...etc. I won't exist anymore. What is so scary about that? Yes, I don't want to die now. I'd ike to have a long healthy life like everyone. But I know I will die one day, and honestly, secretly I am very happy we die sooner or later and don't live forever. How horrible that would be if we lived forever.   

[SGOS]

I fear death a lot. And I don't trust wholeheartedly those who says they do not fear it at least a little.

Well, what can I say.  Don't believe us then.  Of course some atheists probably do fear death, just as some Christians might not.  But I'm guessing the dynamics used to arrive at that state are probably quite a bit different for atheists.  Death is the exact same state of being as pre-conception, and I have never worried one bit about what was happening to me before I was conceived.  In fact, from the beginning of time to my conception was but a blip, and then 13.7 billions later it was "Hi Mom.  Hi Pop,"  and I get to live for 80 years or so.  Then it will be back to another gazillion billion years that will pass like the first 13.7, and when time finally ends, I will not have had a single thought or regret, or even experienced the time necessary to experience a thought or regret.  But if you are a Christian, you will most likely burn in Hell, because there is only room for 34,000 people in Heaven, which probably seemed like a lot of people to the primitive goat herder that make that passage up.

[Conradine]

@Givemeareason: I sent you a message.

How horrible that would be if we lived forever.   

I politely disagree... and have some hopes about transhumanism. Anyway, I guess it's a matter of personal feelings.

@SGOS: I know these king of argomentations. All ok. Still, I don't think most people are completely ok and serene with the thought of death. It's kind of an universal fear. Anyway it's fully possible to die before that thought comes to the surface.

[Mike Cl]

@Givemeareason: I sent you a message.

I politely disagree... and have some hopes about transhumanism. Anyway, I guess it's a matter of personal feelings.

@SGOS: I know these king of argomentations. All ok. Still, I don't think most people are completely ok and serene with the thought of death. It's kind of an universal fear. Anyway it's fully possible to die before that thought comes to the surface.

How could you possibly 'know' that???  I do think that the fear of death is one of the major reasons people become religious.  But not all religious people fear death.  It is not universal.  Just because you feel that way does not mean all feel that way.  Just because you are human does not mean you know how all humans feel--or how they will act.  Each of us is unique.  I doubt that any feeling or moral or thought or emotion is universal.  Just because you fear death does not mean all humans do.  Being so judgmental really cuts you off from how others think and feel. 

Personally I feel the same way as Shoe--I fear being in pain, with no hope of recovery and not being able to die when and how I choose.  That is what I fear.

[Conradine]

How could you possibly 'know' that???

I mean that I already read and hear the argument "when death is present I am absent", yet I noticed that people still scream a lot seconds before the plane crash, so I suspect that, deep down, most people have at least an unconscious fear of death.

I doubt that any feeling or moral or thought or emotion is universal.

Many schools of psychology suspect that tanathophobia is common to all or to the vast majority of humans.
Anyway, I'm not 100% sure of this. I believe that some ( rare ) people have absolutely no fear of death. I simply think that these people are the exception.

[Unbeliever]

The thought of death is something that traveled with me for all my life. In the last year has become a bit obsessive.
I fear death a lot. And I don't trust wholeheartedly those who says they do not fear it at least a little.

Well, you were dead for billions of years before your conception and birth - did that bother you much?

[Mike Cl]

I mean that I already read and hear the argument "when death is present I am absent", yet I noticed that people still scream a lot seconds before the plane crash, so I suspect that, deep down, most people have at least an unconscious fear of death.


Many schools of psychology suspect that tanathophobia is common to all or to the vast majority of humans.
Anyway, I'm not 100% sure of this. I believe that some ( rare ) people have absolutely no fear of death. I simply think that these people are the exception.

Actually, it is not really all that important to you how I feel about death.  What is important is what do you feel about death.  If, indeed, you do suffer from tantathophobia, that would indicated you have a 'fear of death'--and when 'phobia' is attached then you need to seek professional help, since that would indicate that there is a bit of unreasoning fear involved.  As I have stated before, grief can play terrible tricks on your mind.  I can only wish you luck on your journey.

[Conradine]

I can't conceptualize the idea of non-existence. Can't figure how does it "feels" to "not feel".
Well, I guess i can't explain that any better.

[Conradine]

I can only wish you luck on your journey.

Thanks. I hope I'll be succesfull on my quest for eternal biological life.

[Givemeareason]

The thought of death is something that traveled with me for all my life. In the last year has become a bit obsessive.
I fear death a lot. And I don't trust wholeheartedly those who says they do not fear it at least a little.

I will assume you are athiest which means that you will have to deal with death a bit more directly.  But I am not sure what part of death that you fear.  Do you fear the approach of death which you are encountering now?  Do you fear the pain of death which I don't particularly encounter?  Do you fear the lingering death in which you may find yourself wishing you could just get it over with?  Do you fear the exact moment of death in which you may simply cease to exist?  For many the quality of life deteriorates to the point they are just happy to die?  Not knowing your circumstances makes it difficult to respond to.  But you are wise to confront your fear such that you might conquer it lest it conquer you.