How do agnostics handle their own death?

set, you don't even deny the possibility of an omipotent, ominiscient, and benevolent being? in that case, i'd consider you agnostic. in any event, i don't think all atheists are as indifferent on the question of God's existence as you, but that's purely my conjecture.

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I'd stipulate that there are putative atheists who, in their ignorance, make a religion of "science," and proselytize their belief system. I don't consider them atheists. As for myself, i refer to the derivation of agnostic, from the Greek for without sensation. And i go further than that, to assert that no plausible definition has ever been presented me, and that therefore i have no reason to believe that there is a god. And, at all events, by my broader definition, everyone is without god, which is to say, atheist.

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Setanta wrote:

Do you suggest that there is a particular god in which atheists do not believe ? ! ? ! ?

Yer a laugh riot . . .

When I told the people of Northern Ireland that I was an atheist, a woman in the audience stood up and said, "Yes, but is it the God of the Catholics or the God of the Protestants in whom you don't believe?" -- Quentin Crisp

P

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squinney wrote:

How do agnostics handle their own death?

They aren't sure.

Yeah - not enough nonambiguous evidence to form an attitude.

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Setanta wrote:

How do agnostics (or atheists) handle their own deaths?

They keel over, and have nothing further to say on the subject.

I'm glad Set posted this, because it's all I can think of when I read the title to this thread.

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It's the first thing which occured to me.

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I think it was the second thought that occured to me, but the one that remains. I wish I could just slip in there and replace mortality with death.

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who the hell thinks about their impending death?
I certainly dont....and when it happens, I'll find out myself what comes after that.

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KiwiChic wrote:

who the hell thinks about their impending death?
I certainly dont....and when it happens, I'll find out myself what comes after that.

Oh, come now. Every adult has to contemplate their own end occasionally. The alternative is a buncha overgrown delinquents, living as if they'll never die. What kind of person never thinks about the legacy they'll leave; what kind of character would a person have who never considers the relative brevity of human life, and makes necessary adjustments in their priorities?

I shudder to think what this world would be like, if it were filled with people living with never a thought to this most basic of limitations.

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..probably because Im too busy living my life to contemplate the
end of it! everybody's priorities are there own, why should I give a damn about the legacy I leave, I wont be here will I, to care?
Nope I certainly dont think about it at all.

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I don't mean to be jerk, Kiwi, but what Snood said did ring true for me.

Especially when you have been exposed to a lot of death and sickness, the mind has a way of contemplating "hey, that's gonna be me one day! I wonder what it'll be like?!"

Not saying I encourage a morbid dwelling on the thought, but death is a part of living one's life.

cheers

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you arent the only one who has been touched by death or sickness through a loved one, but I still dont contemplate the end... thats just me, like it or not I couldnt care less Very Happy

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slkshock7 wrote:

Seems to me that religious folks would be comfortable with death, because they are confident of where they are going. Of course, they might be wrong, but they are confident.

You are making assumptions about religious folks being comfortable with death simply because they are confident of where they are going.

I work with a guy who is a fundamentalist Christian, and is the biggest man whore I've ever come across. He can't stay married because none of his wives could not handle his infidelities. He's on number four or five. He's bedded most of the women at work worth bedding. Hell, he's presently working on some twenty year old girl there at work. He's in his forties.

He believes in the "gnashing of teeth" and whatnot for the rest of eternity, and that he'll burn for his actions, and he's not repentant. You can't exactly say he's comfortable with death, it's more like he's kind of resigned to his fate.

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And i go further than that, to assert that no plausible definition has ever been presented me, and that therefore i have no reason to believe that there is a god.

Set- Now you have confused the hell out of me. I had been feeling very comfortable, after considering myself an atheist for most of my life, to plunk myself squarely in the agnostic camp. Now you come up with a definition that neatly fits into my original reason for perceiving myself as an atheist. Is this semantics, or have I always been on the right track?

Anyhow, at this point in time:

I don't know if there is a God.

There is absolutely no reason for me at this time to believe that indeed there is one.

I don't give a damn one way or the other.

At the moment of my death, if I go shiverin' and shakin' over the idea that God would be mad at me because of my lifelong blasphemy, can we chalk it up to the fact that at that point in time, my brain probably will not be running at peak efficiency???

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But confronting the God you've continually ignored only after you're dead seems like an extremely awkward position for one to be in.

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Instead of "with great interest", I'd say "with great trepidation" especially if I had no idea what was coming next.

slkshock7- I have no anticipation of confronting anybody or anything after I die. The only trepidation that I might have is fear of the dying process, if it is not a neat and clean affair, not the death itself.

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When I had a near miss a couple of years ago, I had a feeling of sorrow that it could all be coming to an end. I had no fear or worry about what would happen afterwards, as I was too concerned with tying up the loose ends of my own personal stuff, with the loved ones who would still be around when I had gone.

Personally, I follow the "worm food" chain of thought. I hope that one day they will dig a hole in the ground, fill it with a mixture of my ashes and a good soil based compost, and plant an oak tree as a marker for any remaining human that may want to come and remember me, either with love and fond memories....or just to pee on the trunk.

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Why should you give a damn about your legacy? No reason, unless by chance you give a damn about anyone besides yourself.

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snood wrote:

Why should you give a damn about your legacy? No reason, unless by chance you give a damn about anyone besides yourself.

I know that this was not directed to me, but I feel compelled to respond. I have done many things in my life that could be considered, "my legacy", but I am not going to fret about it at the time of my death.

I am certainly not looking for accolades, and nobody is going to erect a statue in my honor. If the positive things that I have done during my lifetime does not stand on its own, too bad for me.

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When it comes down to reality, either the theist or the atheist is correct.

Either there IS a God (polytheism being merely a variant of theism for this aspect of the discussion) , or there IS NOT a God.

Agnosticism shows it's own irrelevancy and uselessness as it's "I dunno" philosophy is replaced by certainty in one direction or the other.

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real life wrote:

Agnosticism shows it's own irrelevancy and uselessness as it's "I dunno" philosophy is replaced by certainty in one direction or the other.

as opposed to theists and atheists productively debating the merits of their respective positions?

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what about the diagnostics? surely they might have something to say

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How do agnostics handle their own death?

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