BDS

Fear, of course, is an utterly reasonable response, contrary to some posters here, but according to Prince Hamlet.

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.--

Alien Gurgey

Try it for 1 month. I did.

It wasn't fear of afterlife for me, but fear how my life would change if I stop believing and doing all the ritual nonsense.

Believe it or not, in 1 month my life was actually better. Way simpler, more focused and happier.

Philippe*

Let's reverse rethorics for fun.

Who are they ? Just men. Since how many years are they on Earth ?
Isn't it a shameful insult to make the loving and just creator such a monster ?

:huh:

Philippe

Biff the unclean

Hamlet is a fictional chracter who lives in a fictional world. A world where his dad's ghost is roaming around the castle. He should be afraid.
Harry Potter lives in a fictional world where he is beset by an evil wizard. He should be afraid too.

We, however, aren't fictional and we live in reality. In reality dead people are just that...dead. There's nobody there for anything bad to happen to. There's nothing real to be afraid of.

southernhybrid

What do you do next? Keep reading. Keep thinking. Keep praying if you think that helps. If this god that you fear exists, wouldn't he have the decency to help out one of his own children who is experiencing so much mental anquish and conflict?

Other than that, treat yourself to one of my favorite books written by an atheist. I am currently reading it for the second time. It's a life affirming book written by Carl Sagan, one of my favorite enlightened humans. It's Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. It's a delightful read and it might help you with some of your fears.

Mace

Thanks I'll be sure to look into it.

Mace

Sorry for the double post but I can't let this shit go!

Are there any Christians here that want to argue this? I want to hear both sides.

Matt the Medic

You have two choices (at least I think...I don't want to trap you in a false dichotomy).

First, you can use cognitive dissonance to give in to your fear and placate yourself in similar process to the Stockholm Syndrome.

Second, you can realize the injustice and immorality of a god damning you for earnestly seeking and thinking it is wrong to believe on fear alone.
From here, your options are open- Agnosticism, atheism, deism, or n other -ism's are at your gate.

For your reading stimulation may I ask that you devour this article on Stockholm Syndrome. A fun game can be played substituting 'god' for 'the hijacker, kidnapper, etc'.

http://www.mental-health-matters.com....php?artID=469

All the best,


intrepidation

Biff the unclean

Ya know Mace you are having trouble because you consider your faith based on fear. But if you'll take a close look at it you'll find that it's your fear that is based on faith.
Are you afraid that Dionysus will toss you into Tartarus where you'll be tortured by the Erinyes? No? Probably because you don't believe in them.

Jesus W. Vader

Getting people to dance to its tune out of fear is what Christianity is all about. The rest is just candy coating on a big pile of shit. Rule by fear is a cheap trick that everyone from the Bablylonians to GWB have found works quite well. Congratulate yourself on being close to getting out.