My Grandmother's funeral was yesterday. She was 94, and a christian, and therefore my family and I have an apparently unusual outlook on death. There were no tears, and while unsaid, perhaps there was almost a hint of jealousy at her escaping the mortal coil.
It makes me a bit reflective. Everyone seems to have different views of death and what it means. Some believe in a heaven/hell afterlife. Some believe in reincarnation. Some believe you simply cease to be.
Perhaps it's the allure of the idea of immortality which draws so many in to the idea that there is an "afterlife". I know it's irrational, but I choose to believe in the concept. 70-120 years at best just doesn't seem like enough somehow. The less rational atheists that I have discussed this with all think that you "move on". As my own belief in such things is irrational I don't step on this idea of theirs, but it does seem interesting that many believe that a "soul" exists but a "God" does not.
Logically? I'm not sure. There is a law of logic I am well known for failing to use, involving the idea that there is no reason to believe in that which cannot be proven, or something like that. I see no solid reason to believe that anything we experience extends past that last electro-chemical reaction in the brain. Yet, I want there to be an afterlife. I want an "immortal soul". If for no other reason than to get to see what happens after I am gone from here.
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"death"taboo out of the inborn fear of 'absence"--absence from the secular affairs and all for which one strives for the whole lifetime.
ReplyDeleteThis life is the preparation for that last moment and the clearer and clearer knowledge of this topic.
Different attitudes towards death determine different choice of ways of life. A good understanding of the end of the journey at that critical moment can help in understanding of the process of this journey and in making plan for this journey.