Do Atheists.......?

Question:Fear death? I mean if they believe we just die and dont have an afterlife or get re-encarnated, do you think they feel scared of just ending?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Fear death? I mean if they believe we just die and dont have an afterlife or get re-encarnated, do you think they feel scared of just ending?

I am an atheist, and I have a hard time believing that anyone who is sane doesn't fear death, whether they believe in God or not. I think for an atheist it is probably even harder because we don't have the false comfort of believing in an afterlife. Think of how hard it is to lose your car, or a favorite piece of jewelry. How about a pet. Let alone a loved person. What an enormous amount of grief. When you die, you're losing yourself. Everything single thing you ever loved, thought, or did. What could be more tragic than that? Mortality is the greatest human tragedy. Just look at all the art that focuses on this, as a way of trying to explain and cope.

I can't speak for the Vast Atheist Conspiracy, only me. (I forgot to pay my dues this month).

I'm not particularly afraid of dying. I don't especially want to die any time soon, of course, and I'd rather go in a quiet, peaceful, painfree manner. If the situation was right, I may do it by my own hand, or in some form of physician-assisted manner. But I won't know if that's necessary until the time comes near. I hope it's 30-40 years from now, at least!

I don't believe in an afterlife or reincarnation. I figure that a whole lot of people have done it before me, so I'll manage it somehow when the time comes. But I don't have any hopes or fears of missing out on a heaven, or landing in a hell.

I'm more agnostic, but I still have most of the same viewpoints.

I can't speak for all atheists, but I don't really concern myself with that. Once we're dead, we won't really be able to conciously perceive how disappointing the lack of afterlife is. Everyone dies, and I've never had a hard time excepting that it will happen to me, too. Perhaps when I'm older, I'll fear it more...

I can only speak for myself (me, atheist), but no, I don't fear death. It doesn't make much sense to fear it. Now dying is a different matter and I can only hope to go peacefully in my sleep. :)

I don't fear what comes after death, i fear the actual process. I mean will it be painful, slow...

Anyone can say, "I am not afraid of Death!". Death is the end, but, the physical; act of dying, to get to death, is where the questions come up. If you choose to believe in an "After Life" or "Re-incarnation" or, "Nothingness" so be it. I think that a lot of us would want "just one more breath" and the idea of our life "passing before our eyes" may be an attempt of our "computer" (brain) scrolling thru the memory banks looking for a solution or a memory to hang on to, to "deny", that we are going to die. We find comfort thinking that someone we loved "passed peacefully in their sleep", but, some of us won't have that luxury. There are accidents, death at the hands of others and illness. Maybe the atheist doesn't have to fear persecution for religious beliefs, but, the idea of leaving loved ones behind and so many things not done would make us all afraid.

Ceasing to exist is no big deal because you would have no time to regret it or reflect back on your death. Pain and suffering come from thought, and when thought ceases, you don't experience those emotions. Is a rock sad that it's not alive?

I was religious before I was atheist. I was afraid of death in both states of belief.

Actually, I was more afraid when I was religious (Christian). One false step, and my perpetual soul was damned to hell.

I am an atheist, and since we don't have any special creed or anything to live by (like the bible or religious teachings) all I can do is speak for myself, and my own feelings.

I do not fear death. Of course I don't want to see it happen any time soon.

I would be more worried about those that I leave behind, my family and friends.

And not all atheist believe that there is nothing after we die. Being an atheist means more that we don't believe in a divine deity, or guiding force in the universe. Some still think that our intelligence lives on (call it the soul I guess).

I don't believe in any God or afterlife and don't fear death. I think it's sort of comforting that death is final. Life can be fun at times, but it's also full of suffering and difficulty, and it deserves to end. Immortality would be a curse.

Well most of us, believer or atheist, fear death. It's only natural to. Quite frankly, I think anyone who _doesn't_ fear death at some level has something wrong with them. Look at the types of people who don't fear death: kamikaze pilots, suicide bombers, extreme religious fanatics, certain cult members (Heaven's Gate, Aum Shin Rykyo, Peoples' Temple to name a few), etc.

For atheists, the fact that there is no afterlife means that we must make the most of this life in the here & now. We should strive to live life to the fullest because while we'll all die eventually, it's the journey that counts.

Personally as an atheist, I fear death as much as the next person, but I don't let myself be preoccupied by that fear. And I actually fear the dying process more than death itself, having had some relatives who died of cancer. But I focus on my life. I figure if I live the fullest life that I can, then that will be one fewer regret I'll have at the end.