Joanne Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 No. Honestly, the idea of an eternity praising God doesn't interest me, even as a "believer." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 :iagree: Life in itself is a beautiful reward, not something to be done correctly so you can get your real reward later on. No, not to be lived to get a later reward. That's just a bonus. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I used to believe that when you died, that was it. I no longer believe that, but I am not a Christian. However, when I did believe it, it didn't depress me. My basic thoughts were, "Do the best I can while I am here to make the world a better place, and when I die I'll be dead and won't know it or care." Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 No. Honestly, the idea of an eternity praising God doesn't interest me, even as a "believer." Me either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwg Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 and you have no hope for life beyond your years on earth, does the thought of dying and that being "it" overwhelm you? I'm not trying to be rude at all. I guess it's just that the thought of death with no hope for anything beyond that just depresses me totally. I just wonder how those who have that belief feel about the finality of it all. Thanks for any input. Yeah, it does me. It makes me very very sad. I wish I could believe that eventually we would all end up together....and even if I go first I could hang out and watch over them :lol: So I don't dwell on it much b/c really what can I do? I can't make a heaven. And I can't make myself believe in one :glare: Just too much for me. It is interesting to read that others do not feel that way at all. I will have to go back and reread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 No, it doesn't worry me. If you really believe that death is the end, then it's not frightening: you live, then you stop living. When you are dead you have no consciousness, so there's nothing to be afraid of. I don't have a spiritual bone in my body - I can't imagine belief in an afterlife. I like Epicurus's take on it ‘Thus that which is the most awful of evils, death, is nothing to us, since when we exist there is no death, and when there is death we do not exist.’ I can imagine a belief in an afterlife however. I know someone quite well who left his large, varied and vibrant extended family's agnosticism behind to embrace faith, after 30 years of depression, anxiety, and emotional misery. I don't know that he is that much happier, but he has something to cling to: the idea there is a next life where he won't feel so bad. It is very sad, IMO, but it not that uncommon, so I therefore believe there are people who believe in an afterlife, and therefore can imagine a belief in it. (But for myself, no, and I would fear for my sanity if I, sans a spiritual bone, started thinking it. I believe I've have myself checked for temporal lobe epilepsy. :lol:). To quote a Roman, rather than a Greek: I am human, and therefore nothing human is alien to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I like Epicurus's take on it ‘Thus that which is the most awful of evils, death, is nothing to us, since when we exist there is no death, and when there is death we do not exist.’ I can imagine a belief in an afterlife however. I know someone quite well who left his large, varied and vibrant extended family's agnosticism behind to embrace faith, after 30 years of depression, anxiety, and emotional misery. I don't know that he is that much happier, but he has something to cling to: the idea there is a next life where he won't feel so bad. It is very sad, IMO, but it not that uncommon, so I therefore believe there are people who believe in an afterlife, and therefore can imagine a belief in it. (But for myself, no, and I would fear for my sanity if I, sans a spiritual bone, started thinking it. I believe I've have myself checked for temporal lobe epilepsy. :lol:). To quote a Roman, rather than a Greek: I am human, and therefore nothing human is alien to me. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 Thanks for all the responses. Interesting reading! And as a bonus, I've never started a thread that got this long!! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLVD Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 and you have no hope for life beyond your years on earth, does the thought of dying and that being "it" overwhelm you? I'm not trying to be rude at all. I guess it's just that the thought of death with no hope for anything beyond that just depresses me totally. I just wonder how those who have that belief feel about the finality of it all. Thanks for any input. Nope In fact, it makes me feel peaceful. I'd feel a whole lot more stressed out if I had to worry about the heaven/hell thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 It doesn't overwhelm me, although I spent some time stressing out about it as a child. Do I want to die? Certainly not. I'm sure I'll be extremely upset about it when it comes time, although I'll keep a stiff upper lip for the family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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