by Cold Steel 50 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Whether you're a former JW, or active JW, or some other religion, or atheist, what do you say? Do you fear death and, whether yes, no, or I don't know, why? Have changed religious views changed your view of death?
Also, for those who have left, do you still believe the soul sleeping doctrine taught by many Adventist sects?
My aunt scared the hell out of my grandmother by telling her that when she died she would return to the grave...even if not forever.
Thanks.
Death is only fearful when God is involved. When it is seen as the inevitability it truly is, and you realise you're not missing out on anything ... what's left to fear?
As an atheist, no, I don’t fear death. There is no way of knowing what happens after we die. We can hope and think and dream of great things that may happen after we die. We truly have no idea what really happens when we die. I hope I am wrong and something wonderful happens after we die, but until we experience it, we really don’t know what happens. I don’t fear nothingness. I am star dust and I will return to star dust when I die.
I hate spiders.
I had a huge list of things I wanted to do in "paradise." What a con that was.
Like what? Does this mean at one time you were looking forward to being in Paradise? Didn't you worry that any terrestrial existence might bring with it eventual boredom? I went to Oahu, Hawaii, for one semester in the 70s. Looked forward to it, too. But after three months, though I definitely loved the island life, I could see where being there two years would have driven me CRAZY! I began missing things I never thought I would miss. So let's ramp us Paradise to perfect weather, no bugs, no sunburns, no sharks, no dust, no death, no aging. Let's also ramp up the timeframe from 75 years of maximum age to trillions and trillions of years (that being only a fraction of eternity).
After 500 years how enthusiastic will you be? How about a thousand? Five thousand? Or how about a mere trillion years? (Yes, I say "mere" because a trillion years, or 25 trillion years, is just a small bump in the road when it comes to eternity.)
Jehovah's Witnesses so casually refer to eternity in Paradise that it makes me wonder if they really can conceptualize what eternity really is.
Mere trillion years. Ha. I like the point you make. I don't want to die, but who does. I do not fear death. I did before because I didn't want to wake up and not be married to my wife. Or never get married again, or never have kids as JW teach. I now just think of death as the same thing that has happened to every other person who has ever lived. It's part of the whole picture. It's what makes us live now and enjoy life.
Cold Steel, I heard your same reasoning from the early twenty somethings to thirty-five year olds. Now that time has past, I went to meet a few friends who told me in 1980 "I could never live forever, life would get boring" and now they are in their low 70s and their viewpoint has done the classic 180 degree turn.
Not once did any of these men say "I am now ready to die", most laughed when I asked them "Do you remember when you said you wanted to die by the time you hit 50 years old and you said to me "Kill Me, If I Ever Hit 60!". Everyone of these men is rich, has kids and grandchildren and very happy, the group wish they could become 30 again and live another 50-100 years or until they get bored. Since most of them are very educated and have scientic minds, I will never believe they could get bored even if they lived to be 500 years old. They are always studying, learning, researching, two great botanist, one of the group is going back to school to teach.
From your response to Lois, you must be no older then thirty-five. I think if there is something beyond this world, our minds won't be bored or needing the constant bombardment of social media or entertainment devices glued to the youth's faces I see today. I hope the Force of the Universe will leave the Kim Kardashians, OctoMoms, Honey-BoBoos and E Movie stars out of my Universe.
I think everyone fears death, the depths of everyone's fears differ due to faith or hope in a reward in the after-life or confidence you are just going into non-existence or "Star Dust" for eternity. I will return to the state of meta-energy, the force that pushed the Universe into action, I can hope at least!
Nope don't fear dying - it's they how part. I don't want to be stabbed 50 times or tortured to death - that would just be horrid. As for the actual dying part - no, no fear at all. I'm not too concerned about what happens afterwards .... I don't think anything does happen or that we are aware. It's not a huge thing for me at all.
Cold-Steel, did you see the X-Files episode on the "Star Children"?
The rational part of my brain says nothing to fear, everything dies but the emotional side says imagine saying my last goodbye to my children and grandchildren. I have faced death numerous times and on each occasion my children and how much I love them was my final thought.
I can't believe anyone who has truly faced death hasn't tasted fear. Sadly I have known people who were in denial of their imminent death due to illness. They died badly....
