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RE: Why are Christians scared to die?
January 30, 2016 at 11:57 pm
(January 29, 2016 at 3:17 pm)Old Baby Wrote: In my 30+ years of Christianity, I never understood why Christians who were so confident in their eternal destiny would panic over illness and fight so hard to cling to life. I honestly believed that I would thank God if I ever contracted a terminal illness, because that would mean I was close to my eternal rewards. You would think that everyone would have felt that way -- that a cancer diagnosis would just mean that God has marked them either for a miracle or at very least a promotion to eternity.
Instead, I watched through the years as people immediately turned to science to save them (giving God credit of course) and going through the same chemo and radiation treatment as all those folks who didn't have heaven to look forward to. Then, if they died the brethren would say "The Lord healed them by taking them home to their glorified body" or if they recovered we would praise God for a miracle, even though the sick person was treated by doctors just like everyone else.
I have always thought about this. In some says I would think logically a person who murdered lots of Children should be seen as a very kind person in Christianity or Islam. They're sacrificing their own eternal happiness and at the same time guaranteeing the eternal happiness of several children's innocent souls.
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RE: Why are Christians scared to die?
February 1, 2016 at 12:39 am
(January 30, 2016 at 11:57 pm)paulpablo Wrote: (January 29, 2016 at 3:17 pm)Old Baby Wrote: In my 30+ years of Christianity, I never understood why Christians who were so confident in their eternal destiny would panic over illness and fight so hard to cling to life. I honestly believed that I would thank God if I ever contracted a terminal illness, because that would mean I was close to my eternal rewards. You would think that everyone would have felt that way -- that a cancer diagnosis would just mean that God has marked them either for a miracle or at very least a promotion to eternity.
Instead, I watched through the years as people immediately turned to science to save them (giving God credit of course) and going through the same chemo and radiation treatment as all those folks who didn't have heaven to look forward to. Then, if they died the brethren would say "The Lord healed them by taking them home to their glorified body" or if they recovered we would praise God for a miracle, even though the sick person was treated by doctors just like everyone else.
I have always thought about this. In some says I would think logically a person who murdered lots of Children should be seen as a very kind person in Christianity or Islam. They're sacrificing their own eternal happiness and at the same time guaranteeing the eternal happiness of several children's innocent souls. A hadith says that children buried alive end up in paradise. There's another teaching that says you shouldn't bury your children alive.
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RE: Why are Christians scared to die?
February 1, 2016 at 12:48 am
It is not that Christians are scared to die.
It is more appropriate to state that whoever created the Christian religion did so for the purpose of including an afterlife where one could live after bodily death.
After all, Christianity was created not long after Greek and Roman mythology, and neither of them had heaven for hell except for the gods.
It was Judaism that was the first assent from polytheism. Christianity followed, and then Islam. It is not strange that those three religions, so closely related in time, have gone the monotheism route.
Cultures of the times and how society relates to religion determines how and when new religions are born and when old religions die into mythology. It is the veritable evolution of religion.
There is a guarantee that Judaism, Christianity, Islam will not last much longer as religions. It is only a matter of time.
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RE: Why are Christians scared to die?
February 1, 2016 at 5:39 am
(This post was last modified: February 1, 2016 at 5:40 am by robvalue.)
I'm very sorry to hear you went through that Jorm, and I'm really glad you made it through and are still here with us 
You're right, you describe a situation where your whole being was pulling in the same direction. You truly believed it. If instead we see conflicted behaviour, with one part of the person pulling back against what the other part is claiming to be true, then it's pretty obvious there isn't a consensus going on within that person.
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RE: Why are Christians scared to die?
February 2, 2016 at 4:07 pm
You honestly wonder why any Christian would. If they are "saved" shouldnt they be looking forward to dying so they can sooner be in perfect happiness with Jesus?
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RE: Why are Christians scared to die?
February 3, 2016 at 11:10 am
(January 29, 2016 at 3:17 pm)Old Baby Wrote: In my 30+ years of Christianity, I never understood why Christians who were so confident in their eternal destiny would panic over illness and fight so hard to cling to life.
Because, like every other human on this planet, they evolved a sense of self-preservation. Or rather, it was evolved eons ago, and we've all inherited it.
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RE: Why are Christians scared to die?
February 3, 2016 at 11:15 am
(This post was last modified: February 3, 2016 at 11:15 am by robvalue.)
Yep, at least that contradiction is somewhat accounted for with liberal theists. For creationists, they have a much harder job explaining it to themselves. God gives them self preservation but also a huge reward for ignoring it. I'm sure they find a way...
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RE: Why are Christians scared to die?
February 3, 2016 at 11:17 am
(February 3, 2016 at 11:15 am)robvalue Wrote: Yep, at least that contradiction is somewhat accounted for with liberal theists. For creationists, they have a much harder job explaining it to themselves. But I'm sure they find a way...
Something something God's plan, something something fishers of men. Bonus points if suicide is considered a subset of murder, and that we don't have the moral authority to do so.
The actual reason is both that self preservation I mentioned, combined with the fact that if Christianity were interpreted as a death cult, there would have been no Christians for the last 1,850ish years.
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