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Is it normal I'd do anything to be immortal and not die?
I'm Christian, but the fear of dying terrifies me and I would do anything to be immortal. Even if it meant doing unspeakable acts and utterly terrible things.
IIN?
This is something I don't understand about Christians. If you believe that paradise is waiting for you after you die, shouldn't death be the greatest, most exciting moment of your life? Shouldn't you be really looking forward to it?
I don't understand it either: surely christians would be looking forward to the afterlife with their imaginary friends?
My mum was like that: lifelong practising christian who towards the end of her life in her 80's kept saying she was ready to go and didn't understand why god didn't "take" her. I asked her (half-jokingly) one day why then, did she keep taking all her medications?
Her rigid beliefs had stopped her ever enjoying life anyway, poor old thing, that's the way she'd been brought up, but she did come out of her final coma to give my sister a beautiful peaceful smile before she died not long after.
Technically yes, and I wouldn't say just Christianity, I'd say all religions would be the same.
But they're not my beliefs and I don't want to take the chance.
Well no, not all religions. Some religions don't hold this belief. Also, I find that even with religions that do believe this, Christians seem to fear death at much higher rates. But putting that aside, you just said "But they're not my beliefs". A belief in eternal life through Christ is the cornerstone of any Christian denomination. So then, how are you Christian?
Be careful what you wish for.
What if "anti-aging" good looks is not included in the package? You'd be a very wrinkly 2,000 year old with rheumatoid arthritis and you wouldn't even know it because of the dementia
No. Being immortal is the worst thing that could ever happen.
Think about it. The first 200 years are great but you start to notice your friends and family dying pretty early. After a thousand years you've lived dozens of lives worth and are starting to have second thoughts.
After 1 000 000 years a cataclysmic event wiping out almost every kind of life on earth will very likely have happened. Everybody is dead. Except you.
And you know it hasn't even begun. You still have as much time left as when your life started.
I see what you're saying, but to me that sounds magical. I know my friends and family will die, and I'll be sad, but I'll make new friends. When that cataclysmic event happens, I hope by that time humanity would be able to travel the stars. I could go to new planets, meet new species, imagine the good I could do.
But it's not possible. That's why you should abandon those "what if"s and move on. Accept that we all share the same fate: death. Most don't like to think of their mortality, but it's best to come to terms with it and enjoy the time we have.
But we do have to die! It's pointless to agonise about something you can't change, it's a wonderful world, just enjoy it for as long as you can and accept one day, like everyone else, you'll no longer be here.
Living in a fantasy world is pointless, esp if it prevents you from enjoying what you do have
The tragedy in having such a worry is that you're probably wasting away the time you actually have to live.
A real Christian enjoys life to its fullest because he believes life is a gift of you. You're lacking respect for your God!
I used to have a fear of death but I got over it. When I think of my body being cremated and my ashes thrown into the ocean, and just riding that eternal wave forevermore, it just puts me at peace.
Make your peace with it. Once you stop thinking about death you can start thinking about life.
This is probably the best advice I've got so far on this post, how did you stop worrying about it?
Shift your focus: make up a list of what's good about being alive and when the fear of death comes into you mind, replace it with one or more things off the list.
Have you heard of neuro-plasticity? It's worth looking into for any negative thought patterns, because it proves that our thought patterns aren't fixed for ever, we can change them and change our lives.
It's not easy, particularly with long term ingrained patterns, but definitely worth it, I can vouch for that.
Here's a reassuring thought: afterlife or not, energy can never be destroyed.
Even if your body decomposes, detritivores and/or saprotrophs will recycle the energy and you will "live on" - through energy.
You clearly find comfort in Christian values. You also have been promised salvation thru Christ's resurrection. Now let's say there is a small chance that salvation won't happen. Shouldn't you do your best living your life so that your life experiences are closest to heaven here on earth that they can be? Shouldn't your soul be filled with goodness in the present?
(I am agnostic, by the way. I only object to religion as an institution. I respect your beliefs even though they are not the best for me.)
In a sense, being mortal is a blessing. Knowing we only have so many years to exist gives us a sense of urgency to reach the milestones we work or will work for. If we were immortal then living historical events and breakthroughs would be great. Then again the world would fall of its axis with the vast numbers of immortal humans it supports and our family trees would be an abysmal. Appreciate the time you've got; why dwell wondering about your demise?
Another christian hypocrite. Hi there.
Well, you sure seem to be wasting a lot of energy on fighting something that is 100% inevitable.
Dude, you like everybody else who has lived before you and all those who will come after, WILL DIE!
Add to that, that your religion has been lying to you your whole life, promising you 'eternal life' (how absolutely ridiculous is that thought) and you might want to wake up this very second and realize this is it. The one sure thing that you have been guarantied; this life. Stop wasting it dreaming/wishing for something you can never have; never!
Hypocrite? I am not being hypocritical, I've never forced my beliefs on others nor should anyone. I was raised with a Christian background, but the idea of death terrifies me.
But why does it terrify you when you've been promised (dishonestly in my opinion) that you can have eternal life?
I don't get it, I really don't get it: are you a christian or not? I think you have doubts deep down that there is no heaven or god or you wouldn't be so scared of death.
Or is there some reason you don't think you're worthy of the (false) eternal life you've been promised?
Hahaha u just have to love how atheists think.I have an atheist friend n he alwsys cracks me up.There's a line from some author that says atheists cant look for God in the same way a thief cant look for a policeman.
Anyway free will unto all.I am a christian,albeit a not so good one hehe.True, christians believe in the after life and so do most faiths but i'l only speak for the christians as i dont have enough knowledge on the other faiths to comment.I believe life is a precious gift from God,He specificaly tells one of 'em old testament guys think Abraham or Adam to go forth into the world and prosper or sme stuff like that.Commandment 6/7 says do not kill by extention do not kill yourself as well.And if God did not want us to fight to live He would not have bothered with creating plants that we get medicine from.Guys in the bible go around healing people even resurrecting lazarus at some point.All these and many more other examples tell me,tell christians that life is precious and so we must fight for it. In any case if i am wrong about God,and religion in general practicly spking all animals are biological programmed to fight to prolong their lives.
As for the guy who asked the original qn,dude stop wasting your energies on something inevitable.I dont think you have fully accepted the inevitability of death.Once you do you will realise that death actualy makes life beautiful.Good luck on that journey to realisation.cheers
Well im athiest and i think its odd you find death terrifying as a Christian, i mean i feel like thats half of the reason people are christian is because they cant handle death.
Listen everybody dies , all the religions people , that think they can live on earth forever ! You Better think again !
When you realize time isn't an actual thing you realize you never die because each moment exists on it's own frame and we are only perceiving them to go by in a way that makes sense to us.