This is really off-topic and it deals with mortality, so I suppose it belongs here. Fear of death- that instinctive instinct you have to keep yourself alive is what keeps you alive. I for the most part have overcome this fear and have little to no problem doing it. Now for the mods, I am properly medicated etc... this is not a threat but my thoughts... no actions intended but other people's thoughts. If Heaven is all that they say it is, then why are you wasting your time living? There would logically have to be an advantage to living over dying- something that's fuzzy to me. I have no problem downing 200 pills with whiskey and offing myself, but what advantage am I giving up??? I'm going to Heaven- what's better than that?!! Why do we choose to live?
Normal religious people choose to live because they don't believe their own favorite fairy tales about heaven and paradise. Religious fanatics willingly sacrifice themselves because they are the true believers. Normal atheists choose to live because this is the only existence they believe in. So they try to make the best of it. Crazy atheists simply don't care. They'll kill others and themselves without a second thought.
Why choose to live? Don't know. Why take my meds? Because I can't function without them. But why not OD- or eat a bullet tomorrow? Why live???
Good question. I guess the best answer is that it's not the destination that matters, but the journey.
Well, I like to trust that little voice in my head. It helps me when in doubt. Why do I live? Because I'm bored. I don't believe in heaven or Hell for that matter, but if I die, and nothing happens, then I'm going to be bored. So I keep living, try to have a little fun before I kick the bucket.
Living isn't the choice - that happens pretty much automatically. In general terms, not living would require a specific choice and isn't actually particularly easy to do, not least because we have a whole collection of instincts and emotion against it. The only "reason" for those instincts is that if we didn't have them, our species wouldn't survive so we wouldn't be here to discuss why do.
Most religions treat suicide as a mortal sin and you automatically go to hell for it, especially the Catholics. Why do I choose to live though? Because I am enjoying life. I am ambitious and have a lot of things I wish to accomplish before I die. I won't lie, I certainly have had suicidal thoughts before, especially when I am down and depressed, but I know that they will always pass and they do. I don't really believe in a heaven or a hell. I like to think that when I die my soul will return to the Earth for a time and then I will be reborn into a new human life perhaps in another part of the world and I will experience a whole new life (this is just wishful thinking really, I have no evidence to support it). So yeah...I like who I am now, although I want to change a few things about myself and I also want to leave my mark on this world and that is with my writing, my novel and my stories.
Why not? What is wrong with just enjoying the ride and shuffling off this mortal coil when it is time? Ahh! But thinking gets in the way, doesn't it? I have been where you are. Medicated and stuck beneath a mountain of thought. Their is no easy answer, doing your best to enjoy the roller coaster is about all anyone can do. If they say otherwise they are lying.
"Why choose to live?" That's a question we will all have to answer if we live long enough. By then it may be too late. As it says in Sirach 41:1-4 (CEB) = How bitter, death, is the thought of you to those who are at peace among their possessions, to those who aren’t anxiously distracted, who prosper at everything and still have the strength to enjoy good food. [SUP]2 [/SUP]Your sentence looks good, death, to a person who is needy and lacks strength, who is extremely old and anxious about everything, who is not compliant and whose endurance has failed. [SUP]3 [/SUP]Don’t fear death’s judgment; remember those who came before you and those who will come after you. [SUP]4 [/SUP]This is the Lord’s judgment for all beings: Why should you reject the good pleasure of the Most High? Whether ten or one hundred or one thousand years, there’s no arguing about life in the grave.
Why do you assume that there is such a thing as a soul? Our minds are a product of our brains. When the brain is gone, we are gone.
That's silly and illogical. Most religions give an extra 100 points for believers who get whacked for pushing the faith. Consider Daniel in the lion's den. He didn't get eaten but he gained status for being there. The early Christians were looked upon as worthy martyrs because they died in the arenas. As it says in Revelation 6:9-11 (CEV) = [SUP]9 [/SUP]When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of everyone who had been killed for speaking God’s message and telling about their faith. [SUP]10 [/SUP]They shouted, “Master, you are holy and faithful! How long will it be before you judge and punish the people of this earth who killed us?” [SUP]11 [/SUP]Then each of those who had been killed was given a white robe and told to rest for a little while. They had to wait until the complete number of the Lord’s other servants and followers would be killed. Muslims are promised 72 virgins and an express ticket to paradise if they die on a jihad suicide mission. The bottom line is that the person is dead regardless of the reason he died. So why should he get extra credit for dying for religious instead of for personal reasons? It's always possible to get someone to kill you for religious reasons if you are creative. But in either case it's still suicide.
