Discussion Is anyone else afraid of the afterlife?

[Untitled]

I'm an atheist and don't believe there is anything after death. I find it more plausible that the concept of hell was invented by people in positions of power to control their subordinates, rather than out of divine revelation.

And yet I'm still mortified of going to hell and being punished for commiting suicide or for leaving a hurtful suicide note (for people who deserve it).

I deeply believe that hell doesn't exist and I'm still scared of going there after I die. Does anyone feel the same? Anyone scared of hell even though they don't believe in it? (or reincarnation or whatever)

 

[Psilo]

Hell is just a conception from religion to dissuade people from killing themself.

And you know what? Religion was INVENTED from the most twisted human minds.

It's all bullshit, there nothing after death.

 

[LiveSlowDieFast]

I can relate, I'm also an atheist, but I also have these fears.

 

[Beyondajoke]

I know what you mean, I'm also an atheist, don't believe in any gods, afterlife or in any sort of fate or anything, yet I've got an idea that I'm somehow fated to ctb. These sorts of beliefs seem to be deep seated in us and come out in times of stress no matter how rational we think ourselves otherwise.

 

[OfficerK]

A few more decades in this life won't really make a difference in the long run if you have eternity in hell to look forward to. Delaying it for as long as possible would be preferable, but if hell exists, you're more or less equally fucked whether you decide to go now or you die in another way.

(Please don't interpret this as me encouraging you to go through with it.)

 

[Idorus]

I'm a full-blooded atheist and don't believe in anything after and as such: zero fear for death itself.

 

[David Richardson]

I feel the same way. Although I am agnostic and I don't believe in hell, I grew up in a religious family. CTB is very taboo, and is seen as a sin by many. Even teachers in my school used to say that people who take their own lives have to spend eternity watching people suffer. Although this is obviously made up, that image still terrifies me. Sometimes it is the only thing that stops me. This idea also makes many people in my home country associate desperate people with sins, which is horrible in my opinion.

 

[Worthless_nobody]

Yes I feel exactly the same! Atheist here too..was raised a christian and have had the fear of god and hell instilled in me since I was a little. And even though Im an atheist now I still sometimes fear this "hell" I was taught about. I just hope that I will have no conscience...no soul.. I want to cease to exist and become nothing again. My life is already "hell" on earth anyway

 

[BlackDragonof1989]

It's the main thing that keeps me from ending it, that and coming back because it's not my time or something and then I get disabilities >< <3 Though sometimes I feel very loved by the other side then other times I get all depressed <3

 

[Funkbunny]

The saying 'Hell on Earth' says it all to me. Nothing to be afraid of.

 

[EjNJddYC]

I'm a staunch atheist but grew up Christian and I'm having those fears as well. I guess that's what nearly two decades of indoctrination since birth will do to you.

IAnd yet I'm still mortified of going to hell and being punished for commiting suicide or for leaving a hurtful suicide note (for people who deserve it).

Please try not to leave the hurtful suicide note. Once you're gone, you won't be around to enjoy the revenge anyway, why cause meaningless hurt for those who are still around? You might end up creating unintended pain to others. What if you were to write it and then destroy it to achieve the catharsis you're looking for?

 

[wishfulthinking]

I'm also an atheist and I'm not afraid of the afterlife.

If there were a hell:
No hell could be worse than life.

 

[EjNJddYC]

If there were a hell:
No hell could be worse than life.

The depictions of hell I've heard certainly sound worse than life and I also have a very active imagination. I find I only get these fears when I think in depth about my final moments and trying to conceive of what not existing is like or means.

 

[Redt2go]

Not really tbqh

 

[EmotionlessWanderer]

There is really no proof that any religion written by us is an actual thing. If I'm wrong then sorry god if a book wasn't enough to get every human to follow you. You should have invited us to a party or gathering instead.

I agonistically believe that if there is an afterlife it's going to be the same for everyone regardless of belief or cause of death.

 

[ThisIsTheEnd]

Nah, the afterlife doesn't scare me, as all religion is bullshit anyway and was just created to keep the common people in line. There will be nothing after death.

 

[Johnnythefox]

All life on earth shares a common ancestor, so at what point in evolution did an afterlife get bestowed on the human species?
It's nonsense to think that there is some magical world awaiting you once you are deceased.

 

[WhiteRabbit]

I feel the same way TBH. 99% of me thinks "religion is preposterous" and then that 1% thinks "I'm totally going to end up in hell, right?"

I think it's mostly because it seems like every decision i've made recently has lead to disasterous consequences, so why would CTB be any different?

 

[Sickman75]

Where in the Bible did it mention hell being a place to go after death? Somebody show me what book or verse that is in. The scholars and theologists say hell isnt a place to go, but a feeling of separation from Christ after you have died.
I believe in Christ fully. Not that I have to because like many of you, I too could be an atheist or agnostic by my own choices. I believe in Christ because I know enough about Jesus, to safely say I'm a firm believer and follower of his works.
If this is all true then I ask this why would I choose some miserable place when I could have the absolute best,,,,? I don't know.
"Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven conscious of his fleeting time here"

 

[Logic]

I'm an atheist and don't believe there is anything after death. I find it more plausible that the concept of hell was invented by people in positions of power to control their subordinates, rather than out of divine revelation.

And yet I'm still mortified of going to hell and being punished for commiting suicide or for leaving a hurtful suicide note (for people who deserve it).

I deeply believe that hell doesn't exist and I'm still scared of going there after I die. Does anyone feel the same? Anyone scared of hell even though they don't believe in it? (or reincarnation or whatever)

Are you afraid of going to all the other hells of other religions? It's always seemed so Egotistical to me to think everything here in the universe is made for humans.

 

[itsallover]

Only reason behind religion is a fear of death. If we lived great lives as long as we wanted then we would be our own Gods. We wouldn't have to imagine ones in the clouds.

 

[Redt2go]

Only reason behind religion is a fear of death. If we lived great lives as long as we wanted then we would be our own Gods. We wouldn't have to imagine ones in the clouds.

Uhh if that were true then religion would say nothing comes after death instead of heaven or rebirth. Moot point

 

[itsallover]

Uhh if that were true then religion would say nothing comes after death instead of heaven or rebirth. Moot point

That's just how I feel about religion in general. I think most people go to church so bad shit doesn't happen to them.

 

[Redt2go]

That's just how I feel about religion in general. I think most people go to church so bad shit doesn't happen to them.

Everything nt people do is so that bad shit doesn't happen to them. Wearing seatbelts, using crosswalks, eating food, washing dishes...

 

[Sixfeetunder]

No. I don't think a loving God would send people to hell for eternity or reincarnate them to a worse life for ctb. (That doesn't sound loving to me. Anyone who'd do that is a major asshole).

If there is some God out there, I think I'd be in a happy place. Unless he's some sadistic asshole. But if there's a God, he's probably a sadist.

However, I think it's more likely that I just will enter eternal oblivion. I'm not afraid of that at all.

 

[FaceOf]

I am scared of afterlife, of life, of everything.
We don't remember anything before we came in this world so there is a chance that it's nothingness after too.
But religions, some things about astral worlds, reincarnation and etc makes me feel not good.

 

[bloomingdark]

I have the same feel even if i am 100% atheist and i grew up teachkng myself to get over those strong ideas they made in my head,its like almost something it makes feel weak and stupid because you may know its not true but then it gets qll the past in your head.

Whatever
Hell is in here

We are just animals and we get the same destiny
Pure darkness

 

[Redt2go]

My dog is going to heaven though...

 

[Memento Mori]

I have the same feel even if i am 100% atheist and i grew up teachkng myself to get over those strong ideas they made in my head,its like almost something it makes feel weak and stupid because you may know its not true but then it gets qll the past in your head.

That's called fear.^^
I'd say that it's your brain trying to convince you per survival instinct. It would be against our nature and sense of existing to see such joy in death that we rush to it.

If there really is something after death then it sure is something we won't except

 

[ShadowOfTheDay]

Yeah, it is a legitimate and perfectly natural fear, I think. As sentient beings, we are "hardwired" by evolution to evaluate all of our actions in terms of future rewards or punishment. Death is unique, though, in that there is no conscious "self" capable of either pain or pleasure, as these are demonstrably neurological states--in other words, they require a functional nervous system. So if the brain is dead, it doesn't make much sense to speak about mental states in general (e.g. pain or pleasure).