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Bradski
Guest
I wondered how much it was going to hurt and who was going to tell the kids.
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minkymurph
Guest
Yep. :yup:
This is my big issue with death. It’s not death itself but the process of dying, and my kids will hurt. They are also still young enough to still need me.
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DaveBj
Guest
That is precisely the way I feel about it. Right now I want to keep living, because my wife is in poor health, and if I were to die first, it would really inconvenience her and the other people who would then have to take care of her. If she predeceases me (which is likely), I will continue to live my life, go to the gym and work out, ride my bike, play my music, etc., but if I contract something, I won’t be going to any extraordinary lengths to fight it off and continue living this life. Within the southern evangelical Protestant culture in which I live, it is almost amusing how much people talk and sing about going to heaven, but then they fight like crazy to keep living, if they get sick.
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CHRISTINE77
Guest
But at some point you will not feel good about living any more. Your health will deteriorate and all your friends will be dead or dying. I don’t think everyone fights to live when they know their time has come. That is the fault of the heath care system, putting false hope into people and draining their wealth in the process.
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Samwise21
Guest
Depends on what day of the week you ask me. For me, it’s as much of a struggle to overcome fear of death as much as it is to overcome doubt. Doubt may be faith trying to strengthen itself, the only opposite of faith being no faith at all, but every now and then the subject of death crosses my mind and I either start dwelling on uncertainty or nihilism. And it doesn’t necessarily pertain to myself, but also people I care about like my parents, my siblings, my friends and such. Some days it doesn’t even cross my mind, but other days it’s like something trying to swallow me whole.
Every time I have these moments, I repeat what the father of the possessed boy said to Christ: “I do believe, Lord: help my unbelief.” Sometimes the thoughts go away and later they come back. But I refuse to give in. I refuse to fall into depression over that stuff again. I already was on the verge of despair once, but I still pray. I still hope.
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MaryT777
Guest
However we see suicide among people, and at an alarming rate among our teens.That wasn’t supposed to be a real post, lolI guess I clicked submit.
But, I have a hard time believing so many people wouldn’t fear death if they were put into a situation of real danger. The human will to live is enormously powerful, and the innate response to its jeopardy is equally powerful.
Some people are not afraid of death but do so by their own hand. These people are obviously not afraid of death.
Not to put a grim outlook on the thread but I have lost two people two suicide that had spent years trying to get out of the loop of suicidal feelings one from depression, one from dipolar disease and failed to do so and eventually did take their lives
Mary.
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Robert_Sock
Guest
TAKEN FROM THE JEWISH TANYA
True, the body remains abominable and loathsome, and as the Zohar says, it is called “a serpent’s skin,” since the essential character of the animal soul has not been transformed to good, so that it might be absorbed into the realm of holiness.
TAKEN FROM THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
Living on earth is truly a misery. The more a man desires spiritual life, the more bitter the present becomes to him, because he understands better and sees more clearly the defects, the corruption of human nature. To eat and drink, to watch and sleep, to rest, to labor, and to be bound by other human necessities is certainly a great misery and affliction to the devout man, who would gladly be released from them and be free from all sin. Truly, the inner man is greatly burdened in this world by the necessities of the body, and for this reason the Prophet prayed that he might be as free from them as possible, when he said: “From my necessities, O Lord, deliver me.”
Both have a sharp criticism of the human body. Thus, I believe that we need to make special note of this. In the World to Come, we are supposed to have glorified, spiritual bodies. The older I get, and the more I look to the riches of Heaven, the more I want to go today. Heaven already exists!!! All we have to do is to get there! Take me today!
True, the body remains abominable and loathsome, and as the Zohar says, it is called “a serpent’s skin,” since the essential character of the animal soul has not been transformed to good, so that it might be absorbed into the realm of holiness.
TAKEN FROM THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
Living on earth is truly a misery. The more a man desires spiritual life, the more bitter the present becomes to him, because he understands better and sees more clearly the defects, the corruption of human nature. To eat and drink, to watch and sleep, to rest, to labor, and to be bound by other human necessities is certainly a great misery and affliction to the devout man, who would gladly be released from them and be free from all sin. Truly, the inner man is greatly burdened in this world by the necessities of the body, and for this reason the Prophet prayed that he might be as free from them as possible, when he said: “From my necessities, O Lord, deliver me.”
Both have a sharp criticism of the human body. Thus, I believe that we need to make special note of this. In the World to Come, we are supposed to have glorified, spiritual bodies. The older I get, and the more I look to the riches of Heaven, the more I want to go today. Heaven already exists!!! All we have to do is to get there! Take me today!
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ANV
Guest
I desire being taken to non existence equally the same as your desires for heaven. In all cases life on earth is temporary.
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Pat_Albertson
Guest
No, and I will probably end up in hell, but I do not see myself as having the strength, energy, money and other resources necessary to avoid it, thus I am fairly resigned to this possibility. I could literally end up in hell for the lack of $20 or so. And yes, getting into heaven is about money. It may not have been in the past, but it is now.
Like Judas, it would be better had I had never been born, but I nevertheless continue my probably futile useless struggles. I am confused, stupid, depressed, in constant physical pain, fat, diabetic, sinful and slothful, as well being repulsively poor. Most of my struggles have about avoiding homelessness, although at present I’m struggling to afford gasoline. And again today, I skipped church because it would have taken too much gas. And no, I needed to go to confession but didn’t, so even if I had gone to church, I wouldn’t have been able to take communion.
And I think I am probably in a state of mortal sin, but that’s fairly par for the course.
Like Judas, it would be better had I had never been born, but I nevertheless continue my probably futile useless struggles. I am confused, stupid, depressed, in constant physical pain, fat, diabetic, sinful and slothful, as well being repulsively poor. Most of my struggles have about avoiding homelessness, although at present I’m struggling to afford gasoline. And again today, I skipped church because it would have taken too much gas. And no, I needed to go to confession but didn’t, so even if I had gone to church, I wouldn’t have been able to take communion.
And I think I am probably in a state of mortal sin, but that’s fairly par for the course.
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ANV
Guest
Why would you think you’re probably going Hell, hopefully things go better with your struggles, it’s definitely better for everyone to never have been.No, and I will probably end up in hell, but I do not see myself as having the strength, energy, money and other resources necessary to avoid it, thus I am fairly resigned to this possibility. I could literally end up in hell for the lack of $20 or so. And yes, getting into heaven is about money. It may not have been in the past, but it is now.
Like Judas, it would be better had I had never been born, but I nevertheless continue my probably futile useless struggles. I am confused, stupid, depressed, in constant physical pain, fat, diabetic, sinful and slothful, as well being repulsively poor. Most of my struggles have about avoiding homelessness, although at present I’m struggling to afford gasoline. And again today, I skipped church because it would have taken too much gas. And no, I needed to go to confession but didn’t, so even if I had gone to church, I wouldn’t have been able to take communion.
And I think I am probably in a state of mortal sin, but that’s fairly par for the course.
That would be really terrible.I’m already there.I fear a long drawn out painful death.
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PelagiathePenit
Guest
Yes. I do.
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tonyrey
Guest
It is unrealistic to think we will probably end up in hell. Only God knows our ultimate destiny.No, and I will probably end up in hell, but I do not see myself as having the strength, energy, money and other resources necessary to avoid it, thus I am fairly resigned to this possibility. I could literally end up in hell for the lack of $20 or so. And yes, getting into heaven is about money. It may not have been in the past, but it is now.
Like Judas, it would be better had I had never been born, but I nevertheless continue my probably futile useless struggles. I am confused, stupid, depressed, in constant physical pain, fat, diabetic, sinful and slothful, as well being repulsively poor. Most of my struggles have about avoiding homelessness, although at present I’m struggling to afford gasoline. And again today, I skipped church because it would have taken too much gas. And no, I needed to go to confession but didn’t, so even if I had gone to church, I wouldn’t have been able to take communion.
And I think I am probably in a state of mortal sin, but that’s fairly par for the course.
“getting into heaven is about money” is sheer nonsense! In fact the less money we have the more likely we are to be liberated from pride, vanity and selfishness:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."
We are the ones who decide whether to live for ourselves or for others. Hell is not a punishment inflicted by God but the inevitable outcome of a lust for power and independence.
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GEddie
Guest
- Who do you think controls Heaven? Why would He be swayed by the currencies of Earth?
Now here I have to say -1. There is nothing per se admirable about poverty; one can be in need and for that reason become monumentally selfish. Consider Scarlett in Gone With the Wind:. If she had to “lie, cheat and steal”, she was never going to “be hungry again.”
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meltzerboy
New member
I think it is only human to have at least some fear of death or the dying process or both, even if you have faith. We are only human. The trick is, I suppose, not to let the fear of death or dying prevent you from living, not to be so obsessed by the fear that you give up on everything and lapse into an existential depression. There are some people who are more afraid to live than to die. And then there is also the fear of growing old and feeble (and feeble-minded): that is not such a comforting thought either. Neither is the thought of the death of loved ones, or one’s own death which results in bringing pain and suffering to loved ones. But these are all thoughts that, I believe, we all think about from time to time. Our faith, whatever it may be, should give us some comfort, however, that our lives are not in vain and that we are headed, literally, in the right direction.
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tonyrey
Guest
Irrefutable! The faith of the atheist is based on sheer negativity…
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tonyrey
Guest
Being liberated from pride, vanity and selfishness doesn’t ensure that we won’t become liars, cheaters and thieves! And if we do because of extreme poverty there are extenuating circumstances…
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GEddie
Guest
Of course, extreme need is a (most likely **mitigating) **circumstance!
I was just taking issue with the idea that poverty was per se admirable or “liberating.”
One can be poor and proud; sermons in the High Middle Ages, when the vast majority were poor, preached hard against pride.
One can be poor and vain. Vanity is a state of mind, not a matter of how much money one spends.
One can certainly be poor and selfish.
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