Dealing with Death as an Atheist

[downbeatplumb]

It appears to me that atheists feel the anxiety of death a little more than the average theist. I collaborated with many other artists to create something that illuminated this issue:>snip<. As atheists, I am interested to know how you are affected by and deal with the prospect of a definitive end to your existence. Any thoughts?

Moderator Notes: Please review our rules, specifically our 30/30 rule.

Theists can be convinced that hell awaits them for small sins.
This would be far more worrying than the nothing I expect.

I do not fear death.

Dying on the other hand....

[pocaracas]

It appears to me that atheists feel the anxiety of death a little more than the average theist. I collaborated with many other artists to create something that illuminated this issue:>snip<. As atheists, I am interested to know how you are affected by and deal with the prospect of a definitive end to your existence. Any thoughts?

Life will end. It is a given.
We tend to desire it to be endless, for we want to learn forever, to stay strong forever, to stay young forever... but old age comes and we come to admit that new generations must take their place and ours is to be swept away.
Each of us has a part to play in this immense machinery of life on Earth... and most will be relegated to forgetfulness and that realization can make it all seem pointless. Yet, each is part of the machine... that realization comes with the realization such a small part will mean little in the long run... but it can mean something in the short run.

Our genes go on, if we have children... our genes are our best bet at immortality.
Make it count!
...but don't overdo it.

[robvalue]

Agreed, I'd be a whole lot more worried if I thought there was any afterlife, let alone a possible one to punish me.

[Cephus]

Death is the natural end to life. I don't fear it at all. When it comes, it comes. There are way too many people out there so terrified of dying that they forget to try living.

[Angrboda]

I don't want to suffer in my passing. Beyond that, I'm tired of struggling. I've lived with depression and mental illness my whole life. It would be a relief to lay down and die peacefully. As to the death of those I love. I am at peace with it, though it will involve stressful change.

[Chad32]

I deal with death the same way as anyone else. I go through the grieving process, until I'm able to accept the fact that someone I care about is not coming back, and move on with my life. There's denial, depression, and acceptance. In recent deaths, I didn't go through any bargaining or anger stage. I seriously doubt that most theists don't go through any stages of grief.

[Faith No More]

Life can be a very bumpy ride, and I look forward to the fact that I will eventually be able to get off.

[Mudhammam]

Yeah, death sucks. I don't look forward to it and I can see why theism brings self-absorbed simpletons a small measure of comfort not available to the rest of us. But it's, as I said, a small measure.

[PhilosophicalZebra]

I think the idea that we will all die one day makes life seem so much more valuable and precious. I feel that the belief that there is an afterlife can potentially lead to more complacency and wastage of time in this life and prevent us from making the very most of the time that we have. Sure, I don't want to die, but how miraculously lucky are we all to have woken up into this world and so, as a result, I don't believe we have the right complain about the fact that it will end.

[Chad32]

Some people want to claim that life is worthless if it only lasts a little while, but that's the opposite of how we treat everything else around us. Things that are finite and few tend to have more value than things that are common and everlasting.