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Coping With Death as an Atheist?
Neil Black
Member #7,867
October 2006
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kazzmir said:

What would $RELIGIOUS_DIETY do in such a case?

Depends on the deity. Cryopreservation isn't immortality, so I'd assume that $RELIGIOUS_DIETY would look at it in a way similar to other life-extending medical techniques.

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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decepto
Member #7,102
April 2006
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without any science to back it up

Oh please. Which scientifically developed process is used to cool organs while they are en-route between the deceased and those on the operating table?

The length of time an organ can be preserved and successfully transplanted into a patient is getting longer and longer. This field is intrinsically bound to cryopreservation.

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Boom!

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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If I was going to be "cryopreserved" I would want to do so while I'm in my twenties, not after I'm declared legally dead, an old man waiting to die in the first damn place. :-X In other words, they should make it possible to cryopreserve yourself now and pay it off when they revive resurrect you.[1] 8-)

References

  1. No sooner than 300 years after the date of freezing or it's free.
Neil Black
Member #7,867
October 2006
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bamccaig said:

In other words, they should make it possible to cryopreserve yourself now and pay it off when they revive you.

Drop some money in a savings account or whatever, let it accrue interest, then revive you once you're worth enough to pay them (and live with moderate wealth). Is good plan, no?

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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Drop some money in a savings account or whatever, let it accrue interest, then revive you once you're worth enough to pay them (and live with moderate wealth). Is good plan, no?

It sounds like a good plan, but I'm sure somebody involved (likely the bank) would pull some fine print out of its ass. :-/

Jonatan Hedborg
Member #4,886
July 2004
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decepto said:

Oh please. Which scientifically developed process is used to cool organs while they are en-route between the deceased and those on the operating table?

The length of time an organ can be preserved and successfully transplanted into a patient is getting longer and longer. This field is intrinsically bound to cryopreservation.

There is a large difference in keeping something cold, and keeping something in "cryopreservation" ;) About 200 degrees c of difference.

decepto
Member #7,102
April 2006
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here is a large difference in keeping something cold, and keeping something in "cryopreservation" About 200 degrees c of difference.

Agreed. But I think it's a mistake to write off cryopreservation as an unscientific pipe dream.

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Boom!

relay01
Member #6,988
March 2006
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As an atheist, I was often more concerned with the point of living then what happens after death.

_____________________________________

gnolam
Member #2,030
March 2002
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Argh! I can't stand it anymore. It's spelled "deity", people. :P

[EDIT]

decepto said:

However, given a choice of being worm food versus an infinitesimally small possibility of resurrection, I'll choose the latter.

I dub your argument "Pascal's Freezer".

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Neil Black
Member #7,867
October 2006
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gnolam said:

Argh! I can't stand it anymore. It's spelled "deity", people. :P

Thanks. I was too lazy to point it out.

Arthur Kalliokoski
Second in Command
February 2005
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You're largely discussing this in the view of people who are consumed with the fear of death from day to day. The OP said "what if I were on my death bed", which implies the immediate emotional overload of knowing you're going to die Real Soon Now. Knocking on Death's door, then looking him in the eye when he answers it is quite scary.

I'd suppose that if there's something "larger than yourself", such as you're in the process of giving up your life for a loved one, or maybe even dying for your country (as long as it makes sense) would make it acceptable. People with a deep religious belief could benefit from this as well.

[EDIT]
The "larger than yourself" preoccupation simply substitutes one fear for another (greater fear of having your wife/child die than yourself). Much like the reason you want a cigarette right after sex is that you wanted the cigarette beforehand, but horniness overwhelmed it to being unnoticeable.

They all watch too much MSNBC... they get ideas.

CGamesPlay
Member #2,559
July 2002
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I remember the days you were a normal person, and BAF was a little baby. :'(

;D

Billybob said:

How do you think an atheist should cope with death, if one regrets how one lived his or her life?

Stop having regrets. Not when you're dying, but stop having them right now. Is regret always the direct result of a mistake? A missed opportunity is just the mistake of not taking a risk. Mistakes are to be learned from, not relived. As an atheist, you're free from the threat of purgatory or of not getting into heaven, so you're free to make mistakes and live with the consequences happily.

--
Tomasu: Every time you read this: hugging!

Ryan Patterson - <http://cgamesplay.com/>

decepto
Member #7,102
April 2006
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video

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Boom!

LennyLen
Member #5,313
December 2004
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I died once already, so I don't really worry about it.

Mark Oates
Member #1,146
March 2001
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Nobody responded to my comment! :-/

I thought it was brilliant! Some of my best work! ;D

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Arthur Kalliokoski
Second in Command
February 2005
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Here's a comment...

A distraught widow was informed by the mortician that her deceased husband had a massive erection, so huge they couldn't close the casket. When asked what they should do about it, she replied "Cut it off and shove it up his ass!". At the viewing, she seemed to notice a small tear forming at the corner of his eye. She tells him "See, you bastard! I told you it hurt!". :o

They all watch too much MSNBC... they get ideas.

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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blargmob
Member #8,356
February 2007
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Nobody responded to my comment!

I'll respond to your comment ;)

---
"No amount of prayer would have produced the computers you use to spread your nonsense." Arthur Kalliokoski

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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Quote:

Nobody responded to my comment!

I'll respond to your comment

I won't!

-----sig:
“Programs should be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.” - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
"Political Correctness is fascism disguised as manners" --George Carlin

blargmob
Member #8,356
February 2007
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Quote:
Quote:

Nobody responded to my comment!

I'll respond to your comment

I won't!

{"name":"lolwut.jpg","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/2\/f\/2fe7518bd7b59363971add760a0fc197.jpg","w":533,"h":594,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/2\/f\/2fe7518bd7b59363971add760a0fc197"}lolwut.jpg

---
"No amount of prayer would have produced the computers you use to spread your nonsense." Arthur Kalliokoski

Billybob
Member #3,136
January 2003

This thread started with Socrates and ended with a pear...

Evert said:

How does not being an atheist help? It's not like you get to do any of the things you didn't do after death just because you believe in a god, and similarly you don't get to undo things that you're not proud of. So why exactly does being a theist or an atheist make a difference here?

Very good point. I suppose that it is a commonly promoted idea that, if you convert to Christianity (to make a particular example) on your death bed, you are "saved" and that mysterious act of being "saved" washes away your regret.

But you are right; in what way does admitting there is a God save oneself from what one has done or not done? I can't think of an answer to that question.

I think I might side with that pear. He seems to know what's going on.

Arthur Kalliokoski
Second in Command
February 2005
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Christians get to wonder what comes next.

They all watch too much MSNBC... they get ideas.

Johan Halmén
Member #1,550
September 2001

It's not like an atheist would answer "kill a bunch of kittens" just because he's going to be dead the next day.

But I'm afraid too many people think that way. I could imagine school killers being atheists. I could also imagine school killers being believers, who have lost their faith. And maybe some of them haven't lost their faith, but they have some weird thought of fighting a holy war. We know that school massacres usually end in the shooter shooting himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Years of thorough research have revealed that what people find beautiful about the Mandelbrot set is not the set itself, but all the rest.

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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Christians get to wonder what comes next.

video

We play the blaming game, yes I mind, it's not your turn?

-----sig:
“Programs should be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.” - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
"Political Correctness is fascism disguised as manners" --George Carlin

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