Deathbed

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Rose2020
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Deathbed

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Post by Rose2020 »

What will be your comfort on your deathbed? Logic, statistics, science and reason? Then utter blackness of nothing, or worse - there is worse.

Or the reassurance that as your eyes close to this world, they will surely open to heaven and glory, finally to joyously meet God. No more pain.

I have seen the deaths of Christian believers and they have been peaceful. I have also seen the deaths of atheists and they were terrified.

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Re: Deathbed

Post #2

Post by Tcg »

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Rose2020 wrote: Wed Apr 13, 2022 3:16 am What will be your comfort on your deathbed? Logic, statistics, science and reason? Then utter blackness of nothing, or worse - there is worse.

Or the reassurance that as your eyes close to this world, they will surely open to heaven and glory, finally to joyously meet God. No more pain.

I have seen the deaths of Christian believers and they have been peaceful. I have also seen the deaths of atheists and they were terrified.

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Re: Deathbed

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Post by Rose2020 »

Many apologies, I was not sure where to post this!

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Re: Deathbed

Post #4

Post by nobspeople »

Rose2020 wrote: Wed Apr 13, 2022 3:16 am What will be your comfort on your deathbed? Logic, statistics, science and reason? Then utter blackness of nothing, or worse - there is worse.

Or the reassurance that as your eyes close to this world, they will surely open to heaven and glory, finally to joyously meet God. No more pain.

I have seen the deaths of Christian believers and they have been peaceful. I have also seen the deaths of atheists and they were terrified.
I've seen A LOT of death in the past decade or so, both human and animal. I've seen a myriad of responses to impending death: fear, peace, indifference, anger, sadness, bravery...
While it's 'fun' to pick out instances to suit one's chosen lifestyle agenda, being honest is much more productive (though, arguably, a lot less fun at times).

No on can know how they will respond on their deathbed (or even if they'll have a knowing deathbed). Again, it's 'fun' to say "Ill do this!" or "I'll be like that!". But the truth in reality is, no one knows for sure how they will act or what they'll say at that time. Thinking one will is only pacifying their own insecurities and placating their nervousness IMO. But hey: if that's what it takes to make one happy, have at it! Who am I, or honesty, to stand in their way?
Last edited by nobspeople on Wed Apr 13, 2022 3:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Have a great, potentially godless, day!

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Re: Deathbed

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Post by Rose2020 »

Indeed. You have some good points.

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Re: Deathbed

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Post by nobspeople »

Rose2020 wrote: Wed Apr 13, 2022 12:36 pm Indeed. You have some good points.
Please understand: I'm not wanting to 'take away' anything from anyone in this regard. If it helps them cope with death, have at it. But from what I've seen and experienced, death and its coming elicits a myriad of responses - not all of which are predictable.
Have a great, potentially godless, day!

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Re: Deathbed

Post #7

Post by Diagoras »

Rose2020 wrote: Wed Apr 13, 2022 3:16 am What will be your comfort on your deathbed? Logic, statistics, science and reason?
Perhaps. If I know something about the efficacy and efficacy of the medication I might be using at the time, I'd be reassured that my end is more likely to be pain-free.

Then utter blackness of nothing, or worse - there is worse.
Nothing, as in the utter cessation of brain function, is what I expect will happen after death - and I'll have no way of experiencing it, of course.

What's the 'worse' that you are claiming may be in store for some of us? Are you alluding to Hell, perchance?

Or the reassurance that as your eyes close to this world, they will surely open to heaven and glory, finally to joyously meet God.
Such scant and unreliable evidence and logic as can be found for this eventuality suggests those reassurances and surety are misplaced.

No more pain.
Well, this point at least I can agree with. The nervous system which is responsible for communicating pain sensation stops functioning at death.

I have seen the deaths of Christian believers and they have been peaceful.
Glad to hear it. I have seen the death of a non-Christian which was also peaceful. Having some professional acquaintance with people who work in palliative care, I understand the importance of ensuring death is made as comfortable as possible for everyone, irregardless of religion.

I'm sure Muslims, Hindus and many other religious people experience peaceful deaths with a similar hope of some reward in an afterlife. Whatever helps them get through the end of their life, that's ok.

I have also seen the deaths of atheists and they were terrified.
To combine this with the point about peaceful Christian deaths above, it's not clear what relative sample sizes we're dealing with. Perhaps you're present at a lot of deaths - I don't know. Other independent observers may well record instances of terrified Christians and peaceful atheists. There will be typically over 50,000,000 deaths per year worldwide, of which a sizeable proportion will be 'expected' in the sense that the person dying will be 'on their deathbed' for some period of time. There's no opportunity to objectively measure the respective strengths of belief and levels of terror - which could then usefully be plotted to determine whether a correlation existed.

Atheists tend to be less preoccupied with death, in my experience. They're too busy living the one and only life they've got.

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