If you do not believe in a god or an afterlife and that when you die it's all an unconscious/senseless black... why not kill oneself?
Kickballhead Thurs 09/10/08 07:55
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A better question would be: "If you are anticipating the perfect existence in the afterlife why not kill yourself now?"
And I alreay have the answer. Those who run their whole life in anticipation of the afterlife are already dead anyway.
For those of us who accept that life is the only time you get to have the power to change anything we relish the opportunity to participate.
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I guess the answer, whichever side of the fence you sit in terms of belief, is that our purpose in life is to live the life we have to the fullest. Neither side is in a particular rush to find out whether they were right or wrong all along about what lies beyond and are just content to carry on with whatever will be until inevitably finding out for sure.
Naomi again with her double edged sword swings it towards the perceived hypocrisy of those who believe in a heavenly afterlife taking advantage of advances in medical science to prolong life, yet will turn it again (tomorrow probably) to ridicule and bemoan those who decide to place their life in Gods hands (JWs etc) without medical help. Similarly in swinging the argument against believers in view of suicide, the argument presented suggests that Naomi would say that suicide is acceptable for non believers, because the non existent afterlife don’t matter a jot.
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Naomi seems to have this misconception that whoever believes in God, or after life is not allowed to seek medical attention as pointed out by Octavius as well. I can’t speak for others but my belief in God neither prohibits me approaching a doctor nor tells me to commit a suicide. In fact my belief tells me to look after my health for the benefit of myself as well as for the people who are around me and suicide is completely forbidden or even considered a sin.
I think it is a good question but looking at peoples posts I do think that question should be what is the purpose of life.
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Cause there's always something else to do.
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Kickballhead - think about that tree for a moment, and all the sheets of paper it's become since the tree died all those years ago. At some point that paper will rot away to dust. That dust may become part of another tree, an insect, even a drop of water that causes a reaction in another atom of dust to create another living thing, or a rock for something to grow from, or part of something that another person eats and is nourished by before becoming part of a sperm cell ... and so life goes.
My scientific details may somewhat askew, but the principle is fact. Every atom in the cosmos lives on, becomes something (or even someone) else - just not consciously, as far as I know.
And that's it really - we don't know what happens to our 'spirit' after death. Some get by on the belief that they will go to heaven or hell, some believe in purely physical and some, like me, remain open on the question. The truth remains, though, that we should be living life for life's sake and not with a constant view to what's at the end of it.
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Hello Kickballhead,
I do apologise for my confusing answer to your question; And the question you posed is an interesting although probably to many, mildly morbid one.
If anyone sees their life as a journey we experience the physical path from birth to death. Some people believe that once the body dies the spirit continues it's path to another non-physical level. The spirit being the eternal energy and creative force and the soul being the collector of experiences good and bad which have been known to pass on into other physical bodies.
Our thoughts as a child have no conception of afterlife or God, these are learnt or experienced usually by others giving us the information to discern our belief in later life, if we wish to.
If we did not believe in a God or afterlife then there is no reason why we should still not experience the physical time we have on this planet, good or bad.
Even a completely blind person who may curse God for his/her disability leading them to not believe in a deity still manages to want to enjoy their life.
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Octavius, a double-edged sword? Rather dramatic for what is merely an observation, I'd say.
Keyplus, Once again you have put words into my mouth and are gleefully jumping on other people's bandwagons, I see. Sadly for you, you always pick one with a wonky wheel. If you insist on continuing with your nonsense, you really will have to do better than that.
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