How Do You Get Over Death?

[Whateverist]

Now you have me intrigued.  Is there any name or description for where you stand regarding matters religious?

"Not an atheist" means "a theist."  Double negation does that.  That does not mean that Aoi Magi will accept what follows logically, but it is what it means to be "not an atheist."

Or it would if everyone used the terms as we do.  Hahahaha .. as if.

[Athene]

I'll admit it: death does scare me.  The idea of no longer having awareness or memories of anything is frightening to me.  I like being alive.  And while it's true that the bulk of existence happened without me, that's not really a comfort.  I didn't have myself to lose.  I wasn't moving from a state of awareness to nothing.

So, yeah, it's scary.  I can understand why theists cling to their beliefs in the face of logic.

I think most people are scared of death.... atheists, theists and everyone in between. One might think that theists would have much easier time with the issue of dying, particularly those who claim that they're absolutely 100% certain  they're going to Disneyworld when they're gone. Yet, they fight against the death as much as anyone else. Deep down, I think they know that lights out means lights out.

[Shuffle]

Not at all. He could well be an "Idon'tknowist".
You don't like it when theists tell you what your atheism involves. You should avoid the hypocrisy of dictating to another member their beliefs, and at the very least give them the chance to, you know, explain for themselves.
Seriously, don't be so patronizing. It's not only insulting to the subject, it shows you in your worst light to the audience.

All of us are "Idont'tknowist." That is called an agnostic. He is not talking about knowledge, he is talking about belief.

[robvalue]

Tedious stuff about definitions not really relevant to the conversation.

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Sure, "not an atheist" does mean "a theist", if we're using the standard definitions in the atheist community. I understand some people are not comfortable with those definitions and prefer to use their own. As long as we all agree on what we mean, all is well

I realized there are 5 levels of hell. Of atheism and theism, sorry. It can be put into a sliding scale. Check it out:

1: Gnostic theism- "I know God exists"

2: Agnostic theism- "I believe God exists, but I don't know for sure"

3: Agnostic weak atheism- "I don't believe God does or does not exist, I am undecided"

4: Agnostic strong atheism- "I believe God does not exist, but I don't know for sure"

5: Gnostic (strong) atheism- "I know God does not exist"

I think the uncomfortable part is number 3. Some people don't like being called an atheist here, because they see atheism as a positive stance against theism. But weak atheism is no such thing. Being unsure means you have not yet accepted the God claim, and so you are an atheist. If someone prefers to label themselves differently, then I respect that, but that doesn't change their actual position. By these definitions, no one can escape being an atheist or a theist. "I would classify you an atheist, but I will call you by whatever you are comfortable with and refer to that for the purposes of the discussion."

PS there are two other positions, which I would indicate belong in level 3:

-Ignostic atheism: "I need more information to be able to answer the question / The question is necessarily unanswerable"

-Default atheism (my own term, as opposed to cognitive atheism which applies to all other positions): "I have not considered the question at all because I've never been asked it or cannot comprehend it"

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[Pyrrho]

"Not an atheist" means "a theist."  Double negation does that.  That does not mean that Aoi Magi will accept what follows logically, but it is what it means to be "not an atheist."

Not at all. He could well be an "Idon'tknowist".

You don't like it when theists tell you what your atheism involves. You should avoid the hypocrisy of dictating to another member their beliefs, and at the very least give them the chance to, you know, explain for themselves.

Seriously, don't be so patronizing. It's not only insulting to the subject, it shows you in your worst light to the audience.

Did you not bother to read the last sentence in my post?  I specifically said that Aoi Magi may not accept what I was saying.  So you are just wrong in saying that I was dictating to another member their beliefs.  

That does not alter the fact that "atheism" means "not theism" and therefore "not atheism" means "not not theism" or in other words "theism."

[RobbyPants]

Anyway, how did you get over the thought of dying?

I try not to dwell on it much and enjoy the several decades I get on this planet.

[vodkafan]

Death is terminal. Nobody gets over it, so I am in the same boat as everybody else on the planet. It's fine.

[pgrimes15]

Whenever I find myself pondering my own inevitable demise, I think to myself "Yes, I will die oneday . . . . but not today", thrust the thought to the back of my mind, and crack open another beer.

Grimesy

[surreptitious57]

I made my peace with death last year and so it can come for me whenever it wants. I am an old
man of fifty one in the autumn or winter of my life. And fantastically alone with no real reason to
carry on living and so any day shall do. No one will miss me not even myself and that is just how
I want it to be. And I am a burden to the state so if I do go earlier rather than later all the better

A MIND IS LIKE A PARACHUTE : IT DOES NOT WORK UNLESS IT IS OPEN

[Qwraith]

Like others, I'm just pissed I won't get to see what happens to humanity.

On the plus side, you'll miss the inevitable demise of our species via nuclear/chemical war, economic/environmental disaster, or the takeover by A.I.

But I want to see that!




I just hope I don't die before we make first contact.