(July 16, 2019 at 5:36 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:Well, my father died in prolonged manner from parkinson's derived dementia in very slow installments. He was a devout catholic. It was pretty cruel to watch.(July 16, 2019 at 5:10 pm)Brian37 Wrote: It is simply a false perception, a comforting lie, a placebo.
It is simply a comic book reflection of our evolutionary grouping, our desire to survive.
That's what it is, certainly. And you touched tangentially on what it provides - comfort. Is a comforting lie any less comforting because it isn't true?
There's a terrific story by Twain called 'Was It Heaven? Or Hell?' in which two elderly, devout sisters go against their faith to tell a series of lies to their niece and great-niece so neither will know the other one is dying. These lies serve no other purpose but to comfort two terminally ill people. Religion is much the same - false, but comforting. And I'd be the last person to deny anyone comfort.
Boru
There is no way on earth I would have engaged my atheism with his illness. He did not need that hassle. Not then. Not even when all of his regrets spilled out. It would have been cruel to do so.
Far better to ignore that elephant in the room.
I would rather that we parted in peace than in some pointless existential argument. And so we did.
That said, I did get to have a frank discussion with the man, not the father figure, before he totally lost it. He was racked with guilt. For things he thought he had done and would condemn him to hell. This was a man who was scrupulously honest all his life, and he was worried about hell. This from a man how raised 4 children all degreed and all experts in their various fields. At least I could address that strange guilt without being an atheist activist.
I have always said that he was not a gentleman, He was a gentle man. Subtle distinction. I miss him, the old bugger, but religion messed up his mind.
