Death: The Next Big Journey?

[pokedexfiller]

Recently, a family member of mine was put in the hospital. She is old and has lived her life. As sad as I am, I wonder what is going through her head right now.

So I want to know what you think death is. Are you scared of it? Do you think you cease to exist? Or do you accept it? Is a warm and inviting after a long, full life of love and happiness? Do you see it as the next big journey? The one so much better than this?

Personally, I am not afraid of death. I see it as something to be welcomed when the time comes- the end of this life and the beginning of a new, better one. For me, I won't be sad toleave this world with its wars and hatred. I will be sad for my loved ones. They must stay behind, thinking they are really still alive, when they haven't even begun to live.

Of course, not everyone has this opinion, and I'm not here to bash others opinions on the matter either. What you believe is what you believe and I respect that even if I don't agree with it. So what is death to you?

 

[kaiser soze]

While I trust your intentions, having been around the debate section too long I fear this will turn into a religious flame war.

 

[Mr. Reloaded]

I'm not afraid of death because it has to happen at some point but you never know when.

 

[PokemonLeagueChamp]

Death, put simply, is the thing life fights an endless, ultimately futile, war to avoid. It is a predator, preying primarily on the old, the weak, and the sick. That's the most secular way I can post it. Flamewars are too easily started in this section.

 

[Fused]

So I want to know what you think death is. Are you scared of it? Do you think you cease to exist? Or do you accept it? Is a warm and inviting after a long, full life of love and happiness? Do you see it as the next big journey? The one so much better than this?

Scared of death? No.

Scared of leaving, especially leaving behind loved ones? Yes. But that is life.

Do you cease to exist? Technically, yes. You are no longer alive in a physical manifestation. But going into a more spiritual, philosophical angle, its hard to say people cease to exist. Everything we do in our lives leaves a mark, a legacy so to speak, that might in some way keep us alive after were done living. Look at famous historical figures. Because of their contributions, people like George Washington, Leonardo da Vinci, benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King, Jr. are pretty much immortal - not in the strict physical sense, but in the sense that their actions to this day are still evident in our world.

But you don't have to be famous to leave a legacy. Our sentimental nature makes it possible for the memory of people to be preserved in photographs, song lyrics, even regular objects or family heirlooms. Graves and tombstones are another way to create a physical memorial of a dead person. So it is hard, for me personally, to say that when you die, you're completely gone.

While I trust your intentions, having been around the debate section too long I fear this will turn into a religious flame war.

Only if people are disrespectful to another's views.

I don't believe in heaven. But I grew up in a Catholic family, so it would be hard for me to mock another person's belief in heaven.

But I don't believe in a place or a journey after this life. To me, heaven seems like a prize almost that makes this life on Earth seem meaningless or, at the same time in a contradictive sense, puts too much importance on making the right decisions when you're alive. And that importance makes heaven seem cheap to me. It takes the fun out of living for me, to have to live a life that meets the ideals that have been ingrained in your life since you were a child.

I'm not afraid of death because it has to happen at some point but you never know when.

That's the scariest part of death - it can be anytime, anywhere; anything or anyone.

Death, put simply, is the thing life fights an endless, ultimately futile, war to avoid. It is a predator, preying primarily on the old, the weak, and the sick. That's the most secular way I can post it. Flamewars are too easily started in this section.

Why do you see it as a predator? If I were dying of a painful disease, I would welcome death with open arms. Human nature makes death seem like an antagonist. But is it really? I mean sure, there are some pretty horrific and gruesome ways to die. But what about those people who painlessly fall asleep and never wake up? That doesn't seem like an evil way to go.

I don't necessarily believe in predestination, but you can't fight or stop death. If it's meant to happen, it will happen. Human will can temporarily put death at bay, but in the end, death will eventually find you.

In summary, death is a powerful force that certainly triumphs over the mortality of all things. But I think it is the actions and ideals of mortal beings that outlive death.

Yes, I've been watching too much Harry Potter.

 

[CSolarstorm]

Ideal scenario: Souls exist and transcend the biological faculties we can trace our mortal identity to. Worst possible scenario: Oblivion.

I have to give the worst possible scenario some serious credit. I'm a chronic hospital patient. I've had a near death experience. Yeah, I am definately scared of death. I don't hate it, I would embrace it, but it's naive to say that death is no big thing if you haven't come close to it. Here are two experiences that have shaped my beliefs:

Spoiler: Exhibit A

I had trouble coming out of anathesia once after a surgery, and the nurses were afraid they were going to lose me. I was somewhat conscious - I could sort of see the nurses around me, but I saw this diorama in front of me of an mountain range that was drawn out of bright green lines against a jet black background. And concerning the concept of who and where I was - I thought I was sitting on grass between two tall people, who were staring at the mountains and talking about me a serious tone. This may have been before I was able to see the nurses. I later learned that bright green lines are normal to see when you're lacking oxygen.

Spoiler: Exhibit B

I had to lay down for an x-ray – but I can’t lay down on my back. My body is shaped for sitting. So the x-ray technician and my parents tried to force me to lay straight. First, things started to get very fuzzy, like my consciousness was waning, and then, nothing. (Although, I did have a vision of a girl riding a bicycle. No idea why.) It felt like an hour later when I came to, and I had to remember my name, why I was there, etc. It turned out that I blacked out and then had a seizure. And my brain still wasn’t running at full capacity a half hour later, because I played hangman with my parents afterwards, and forgot how to spell basic words.

Do you cease to exist? Technically, yes. You are no longer alive in a physical manifestation. But going into a more spiritual, philosophical angle, its hard to say people cease to exist. Everything we do in our lives leaves a mark, a legacy so to speak, that might in some way keep us alive after were done living. Look at famous historical figures. Because of their contributions, people like George Washington, Leonardo da Vinci, benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King, Jr. are pretty much immortal - not in the strict physical sense, but in the sense that their actions to this day are still evident in our world.

But you don't have to be famous to leave a legacy. Our sentimental nature makes it possible for the memory of people to be preserved in photographs, song lyrics, even regular objects or family heirlooms. Graves and tombstones are another way to create a physical memorial of a dead person. So it is hard, for me personally, to say that when you die, you're completely gone.

I disagree...about all of this. First of all, let's examine the legacies of famous people. They are bastardized skeletons of the actual person's wishes. Consider Barack Obama evoking the name of Dr. King. Then realize Obama is managing more wars than any other President in U.S. history. He directly states wars are necessary for peace when Dr. King was explicitly nonviolent. Or take American Transcendentalists. Their sermons about self-reliance are mandatory lessons in public schools. And would Walt Disney want to be responsible for the current Disney Channel? Holding onto a famous person's legacy usually goes horribly wrong and their good name ends up twisted to the wishes of the currently living, for a good reason, because they're living, and therefore have serious priority over the dead.

And what happens to photographs, collections and family heirlooms? Someday, they end up in the dump. Because the next family member does not want to be responsible for hoarding the belongings of all previous family members that are completely out of context in their possession, and therefore alien. Gravestones last the longest - but who visits them after the second generation? After that, they are just names, and repeats of names. Most people don't get gravestones, anyway. They get stacked in drawers.

Yes, I've been watching too much Harry Potter.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. - Corinthians 15:26

The biblical verse found on the Potters' gravestone. The HP protagonists aren't hostile or fearful of death, but they aren't okay with it either.

 

[Sadib]

I don't believe in death after life. That doesn't even make any sense.

 

[ashhleeyy]

Not really, I mean when a portion of the brain is damaged, you lose specific functions one might generally associate with consciousness (like recognizing objects and people, memories, senses, etc.) so when someone dies and the entire brain shuts down, what reason do we have to assume that there might be any conscious function left for an afterlife?

 

[DittoDude]

I am not scared, as I know God is waiting for me.

 

[Kerosene]

I believe death is a break from life, a time of eternal rest. I'll accept death when I have lived my life and have no more things to do.

 

[Weez1990]

I'm Christian, so I believe there is something after death.

Those of you who don't believe in an afterlife, consider this-
Is being dead like being unborn? Think about it, they're both forms of non existence. It can't be that bad, since everyone has been in a state of non existence at some point. You just can't remember anything prior to being conceived in your mother's womb.

Not really, I mean when a portion of the brain is damaged, you lose specific functions one might generally associate with consciousness (like recognizing objects and people, memories, senses, etc.) so when someone dies and the entire brain shuts down, what reason do we have to assume that there might be any conscious function left for an afterlife?

Yes, the brain does die. But what about the soul?

 

[Sadib]

I'm Christian, so I believe there is something after death.

Those of you who don't believe in an afterlife, consider this-
Is being dead like being unborn? Think about it, they're both forms of non existence. It can't be that bad, since everyone has been in a state of non existence at some point. You just can't remember anything prior to being conceived in your mother's womb.


Yes, the brain does die. But what about the soul?

Do souls exist? Do minds exists?

This might be the start of a flame war.

 

[Zibdas]

Do souls exist? Do minds exists?

This might be the start of a flame war.

Good job, ol chap.

As a Christian as well, I think that there's something after death. But I wouldn't mind just ceasing to exist.

 

[CSolarstorm]

Not really, I mean when a portion of the brain is damaged, you lose specific functions one might generally associate with consciousness (like recognizing objects and people, memories, senses, etc.) so when someone dies and the entire brain shuts down, what reason do we have to assume that there might be any conscious function left for an afterlife?

This is pretty much exactly what I suspect. My mom suffered brain damage when I was young and, pretty much I came to know her as a different person after that. Often you can literally see someone's self changing or dissapearing before they die, and it sets an example. And if someone goes through multiple personas through their lifetime, which represents their soul?

 

[ChampionZ]

Whats the point of asking? You will figure out. We will never have solid proof, so why argue? No one knows for sure. At all. My beliefs are that there is something, im just not sure of what, afterwards. It only makes sense that there is something, even if its just a little bit of brain juice working, that does something with you after you die, like a dream. I am Christian, so I do believe in heaven, hell, etc. but I am not 100% sure. So why bother thinking about it? I will figure out later.

 

[legendarypokemonmaster]

"Just as a well spent day brings a happy sleep, a well spent life brings a happy death"
I am not afraid of death, and believe life continues afterwards, in some way or another.

There isn't really any reason to fear death, and fear won't really help you, rather just cause you anxiety.

 

[metagrody6]

Yes, the brain does die. But what about the soul?

Scientifically, souls are not real.

 

[Weez1990]

Scientifically, souls are not real.

How do you figure?

 

[Zibdas]

Can you prove anything scientifically about souls and the afterlife?

 

[kaiser soze]

Can you prove a negative?