Are you afraid of Death?

[Byzantine Prince]

Agreed. I believe in God, but I believe his greatest act is the choice not to. By not intervening, he gives us choice. Which makes us pretty unique creatures, in that we may choose to follow his will or not. Unlike animals, which are essentially pre-programmed automatons.

But yea. This definately opened my eyes as to how little I actually know. It solidified my belief that existential certainty is an arrogant impossibility. And even that perspective is, by the very nature of its content, uncertain.

I don't understand. If you believe that God exists that is a certainty for you. If you think that he might not then you are agnostic, and not a deist as you state. If you believe in God you should not be afraid at all. That's why I feel kind of bad about not being a Christian anymore.

The problem with the concept of death is we make a connection with time, which is itself unreal. Eventuality has it that one "moment" you cease to exist in a conscious way. This is not a moment however, because the very concept is intagible. Dying is the passing from being in this world into not being being in this world. It cannot be pinpointed in a moment. Perhaps you could say that it is an infinitely small moment(an infinitesimal).

[Kommodus]

If you believe that God exists that is a certainty for you.

Why does faith necessarily have to imply absolute certainty? Why can't it simply imply being convinced of something enough to act on it - that is, to trust it, or to "bet" on it?

No intellectual discipline that I know of can possibly promise absolute certainty - neither science, nor philosophy, nor history, nor any other. Yet that doesn't stop us from acting on our discoveries in those areas. Why? Because we have established certain principles with a degree of certainty (less than absolute) that we feel more or less comfortable with.

Suppose I say that I believe in God (which I do) to the point that I act on it (seek Him, trust Him, try to follow His will). Is my faith made false when I admit that I sometimes have doubts about anything and everything, and that I know nothing at all with absolute certainty? I prefer to think that makes me honest; even the strongest believers have doubts, sometimes frequently. Many thoughtful atheists will admit they sometimes doubt their own worldview - some have said as much in this very thread.

Certainty is something I don't think we as humans have been given, though some of us claim it for some reason. We have to take risks, acting on information that's less than perfect or complete. It's a little frightening, but it's also exciting and adventurous.

[scooter_the_shooter]

I dont get all the no answers! I bet if a gun was put to every ones head who said no, they would be pretty afraid of dying then

[Divinus Arma]

I dont get all the no answers! I bet if a gun was put to every ones head who said no, they would be pretty afraid of dying then

It's not death itself that is scary. It's the getting dead part that blows.

[GoreBag]

No. I've actually spent a lot of time thinking about this. I don't mind a messy death, either; if I'm going to snuff it, I'd might as well make someone clean up. A friend of mine said something to me on this subject, once: "There's no reason to be afraid of people. The worst they can do is kill you."

[doc_bean]

A friend of mine said something to me on this subject, once: "There's no reason to be afraid of people. The worst they can do is kill you."

Wow, does he have a limited imagination

Nope, if your death means more copies of your genes survive you are obeying a strategy of replicators.

As far as your genes are concerned if there is a choice between you or 3 of your siblings from the same parents, then your death will serve your genes better.

If you are beyond your reproductive years and it is your death or your childs then it will be your death that is more productive.

You while fertile and your death or 3 of your children... genes will do better if you die.

Depends on the person though, some people really aren't wired for the whole self sacrifice thing. A purely selfish tactic can be effective from a genetic point of view.
In the first case, it might be that you've inhereted genes your siblings have not, and therefor spreading YOUR genes would be more important to you. Also about 10% of all people isn't from the father they think, so putting yourself above your siblings would seem like a valid strategy.
In the second case, you're right of course, but your reproductve years go on for quiet a bit, especially if you're male. Most people would sacrifice themselves for their children if they were old and given the choice, some will not. Those are probably a special case of the next situation.
In the third case, if you're male, 3 children can easily be replaced from a biological POV. Some people concetrate on raising a limited number of children giving them everything they can (see all the 1 child families in Europe and in the last few decades) while some people (mostly men) concentrate on producing as many children as possible, not really caring about what happens to them. Both are valid survival strategies for your genes, so it is very uncertain what the best option in situation 3 would be, and what you will do by instinct.

Gotta love neo-darwinism

Perhaps you could say that it is an infinitely small moment(an infinitesimal).

It's a bit like space I guess, if it were infinitly devisable the turtle would never catch the hare, therefor there most be a lower limit to the amount of space that can be crossed.

[yesdachi]

I’m not afraid of death, I am afraid of how it would happen and the things I will leave behind unfinished or uncared for (family, friends, pets, my last savegame of MTW, etc.).

The afterlife sounds like a grand adventure, I have a coin in my pocket and my heart is ready for the scales!

[LeftEyeNine]

yesdachi, I am convinced that you are a hardcore MTW fan like me. Yeah, a savegame before seeing the Golden Horde would be an unfinished game, God bless MTW -a fully enjoyed one before death.