Freethought & Rationalism Archive

jojo-sa · 01-23-2002, 05:35 AM

Atheist say this is the only time we have and when we dead its over?

I would like to know, if this is the case what reason would an atheist, who is really suffering and having a hard time with this life, use for not just ending it all by killing himself and going into the darkness of death???

YodaTuna · 01-23-2002, 06:21 AM

Well why wouldn't a theist kill him/herself? I mean they do think there is an afterlife, might as well get there as soon as possible right? Especially if it's so much better than our lives now.

An atheist on the other hand would understand this is our only life and if we kill ourselves, that's it, no more, might as well live it while you can.

scarmig · 01-23-2002, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jojo-sa:
Atheist say this is the only time we have and when we dead its over?

Yup.

I would like to know, if this is the case what reason would an atheist, who is really suffering and having a hard time with this life, use for not just ending it all by killing himself and going into the darkness of death???

What reason? That's very personal and invidual. There is no atheistic universal inspiration to live. We each find it in ourselves. Some have goals, some have sheer determination, some just want to see what happens next. Some want to procreate, some what to "win" whatever game they play. The inspiration for life is as unique as every individual, regardless of religious persuasion.

The same is true of theists. They all have their own reasons for living.

Bree · 01-23-2002, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jojo-sa:

Atheist say this is the only time we have and when we dead its over?

I would like to know, if this is the case what reason would an atheist, who is really suffering and having a hard time with this life, use for not just ending it all by killing himself and going into the darkness of death???

Just to re-iterate what others have said - what stops a theist from committing suicide?

In my opinion (if you want to take the rather simplistic view stated above, which is fine) theism promotes suicide - because if you are "really suffering" and want to end it all (and if you are truly saved) then you will get your final reward in Heaven.

Unless you're Catholic - in that case, nothing but Purgatory for you.

FreeToThink · 01-23-2002, 07:26 AM

Theist say this is not the only time we have and when we dead its time for fun.

I would like to know, if this is the case what reason would a theist, who is really suffering and having a hard time with this life, use for not just ending it all by killing himself and going into the party time of heaven???

Nice strawman there.

01-23-2002, 08:00 AM

Suicide is an intuit urge because we are divided with our own self between the ego awareness and the soul of the animal man. The only reason it is wrong is because a change of vision is needed to resolve the conflict between these two identites. Since our ego awareness is only an illusion it should never have the right to kill the animal man but should kill the ego instead and so set free the animal man (Christ).

scigirl · 01-23-2002, 08:11 AM

I think many times suicide is a symptom of a larger disease called "depression." This disease is irrespective of your religious beliefs--it can afflict the believers and the non-believers. In these cases, the suicide thoughts are not necessarily rational, and therefore cannot be explained by the person's beliefs.

I think there are people who rationally decide to commit suicide. These instances are no doubt influenced by culture or beliefs. In Japan, isn't it more of an honor to kill yourself than to live a dishonerable life?

I don't think a belief (or lack of belief) in an afterlife affects suicide rates all that much. More likely, it's cultural values, upbringing,and of course clinical depression.

scigirl

Jamie_L · 01-23-2002, 08:12 AM

Are you freekin' nuts?

As someone who does not believe in life after death, I am terrified, absolutely TERRIFIED of death. Existing is all I am. I do not want to not exist. I can barely even handle serious thought about death without having a panic attack.

Are you serious? You think lack of belief in an afterlife ENCOURAGES suicide?

After Sept 11, does anyone think religion helps discourage throwing your life away?

Jamie

scigirl · 01-23-2002, 08:25 AM

Weird--

I just posted that thing about depression, and my WEBMD thing had an article on it. Maybe there is a god. . . . Just kiddin'!

Quote:

Who Gets Depression
As many as 20% of Americans (approximately 54 million) will develop major depression at some point during their lifetime. More likely to occur in those who have a family history of the disease, depression affects people of all ages and is also common in children and adolescents. Women are twice as likely to be depressed as men.

Cause of Depression
Depression may be due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, a reaction to some stressful life event -- such as the death of a loved one or even giving birth to a child -- or both. For reasons not yet known, depression often occurs with other medical problems such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and heart disease.

LOL--then I did a search on webMD for "religion and suicide" and got two articles on schizophrenia! That's funny (sort of).

<a href="http://my.webmd.com/content/asset/adam_disease_suicide" target="_blank">webMD on suicide:</a>

Quote:

Suicidal behaviors can accompany many emotional disturbances, including depression, schizophrenia, and other psychotic illnesses. In fact, more than 90% of all suicides are related to an emotional or psychiatric illness. Suicidal behaviors occur as a response to a situation that the person views as overwhelming, such as social isolation, death of a loved one, emotional trauma, serious physical illness, growing old, unemployment or financial problems, guilt feelings, drug abuse, and alcohol abuse.

Also check out <a href="http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1680.50549" target="_blank">Who Gets Depressed?</a>

For you theists who would like to believe that religious beliefs protect you from suicide--think again.

For you non-theists who would like to believe that having no beliefs in the afterlife protects you from suicidal thought--think again. Any of us who frequent the FPF lately know that is simply not true.

No group is immune from depression. Blaming each other for this serious disease is going to get us nowhere.

scigirl

emotional · 01-23-2002, 08:38 AM

By the same logic:

Why eat? You know what happens to the food later!

ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI...

01-23-2002, 05:35 AM	#1
jojo-sa Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: europe Posts: 111	atheism encourage suicide?? Atheist say this is the only time we have and when we dead its over? I would like to know, if this is the case what reason would an atheist, who is really suffering and having a hard time with this life, use for not just ending it all by killing himself and going into the darkness of death???

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01-23-2002, 06:21 AM	#2
YodaTuna Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Cloquet, MN Posts: 79	Well why wouldn't a theist kill him/herself? I mean they do think there is an afterlife, might as well get there as soon as possible right? Especially if it's so much better than our lives now. An atheist on the other hand would understand this is our only life and if we kill ourselves, that's it, no more, might as well live it while you can.

01-23-2002, 07:26 AM	#5
FreeToThink Regular Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Florida Posts: 167	Theist say this is not the only time we have and when we dead its time for fun. I would like to know, if this is the case what reason would a theist, who is really suffering and having a hard time with this life, use for not just ending it all by killing himself and going into the party time of heaven??? Nice strawman there.

01-23-2002, 08:00 AM	#6
Amos Guest Posts: n/a	Suicide is an intuit urge because we are divided with our own self between the ego awareness and the soul of the animal man. The only reason it is wrong is because a change of vision is needed to resolve the conflict between these two identites. Since our ego awareness is only an illusion it should never have the right to kill the animal man but should kill the ego instead and so set free the animal man (Christ).

01-23-2002, 08:11 AM	#7
scigirl Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Seattle Posts: 4,261	I think many times suicide is a symptom of a larger disease called "depression." This disease is irrespective of your religious beliefs--it can afflict the believers and the non-believers. In these cases, the suicide thoughts are not necessarily rational, and therefore cannot be explained by the person's beliefs. I think there are people who rationally decide to commit suicide. These instances are no doubt influenced by culture or beliefs. In Japan, isn't it more of an honor to kill yourself than to live a dishonerable life? I don't think a belief (or lack of belief) in an afterlife affects suicide rates all that much. More likely, it's cultural values, upbringing,and of course clinical depression. scigirl

01-23-2002, 08:12 AM	#8
Jamie_L Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: U.S. Posts: 2,565	Are you freekin' nuts? As someone who does not believe in life after death, I am terrified, absolutely TERRIFIED of death. Existing is all I am. I do not want to not exist. I can barely even handle serious thought about death without having a panic attack. Are you serious? You think lack of belief in an afterlife ENCOURAGES suicide? After Sept 11, does anyone think religion helps discourage throwing your life away? Jamie

01-23-2002, 08:38 AM	#10
emotional Banned Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Boxing ring of HaShem, Jesus and Allah Posts: 1,945	By the same logic: Why eat? You know what happens to the food later! ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI...

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