I have questions

[kawaii_cupcake]

I think I may be becoming an atheist, but I was wondering something.  If we do not have a "soul", then what part of us is our "esssence".  Because aren't our brains their own fuctioning organisms?  Also, I'm really scared at the idea of not existing after death.  Really scared.  It makes me feel miserable everyday.  I don't know how to cope with it.  Does anyone have any tips on how to fully accept this, and not be scared anymore?  Thank you.

[curiosityandthecat]

Simply being scared of something isn't a reason to believe it's not true.  

The "essence" we have is our consciousness. It's our ability to think about our own existence, think about our thoughts about our own existence, etc, ad infinitum. It's what makes us unique. Note: unique does not mean special.

The best way to deal with the fear of not existing after death is to "exist" as perfectly and as much as you can while you're here. Ever read "Instantes" by Jorge Luis Borges?

Instantes (Instants)
     
     If I were able to live my life anew,
In the next I would try to commit more errors.
I would not try to be so perfect, I would relax more.
I would be more foolish than I've been,
In fact, I would take few things seriously.
I would be less hygienic.
I would run more risks,
take more vacations,
contemplate more sunsets,
climb more mountains, swim more rivers.
I would go to more places where I've never been,
I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans,
I would have more real problems and less imaginary ones.

I was one of those people that lived sensibly
and prolifically each minute of his life;
Of course I had moments of happiness.
If I could go back I would try
to have only good moments.

Because if you didn't know, of that is life made:
only of moments; Don't lose the now.

I was one of those that never
went anywhere without a thermometer,
a hot-water bottle,
an umbrella, and a parachute;
If I could live again, I would travel lighter.

If I could live again,
I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring
and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends.
I would take more cart rides,
contemplate more dawns,
and play with more children,
If I had another life ahead of me.

But already you see, I am 85,
and I know that I am dying.

Words to live by. Literally.

[Whitney]

I think I may be becoming an atheist, but I was wondering something.  If we do not have a "soul", then what part of us is our "esssence".  Because aren't our brains their own fuctioning organisms?

Brains aren't separate from our bodies.  Our personalities, or essense, is part of our brain's function.  I think it is very obvious that our personalities are connected to our brain function because if something damages or affects the brain it can easily change our personalities.  If there was a soul then we shouldn't expect brain damage to be able to affect it....right?

Also, I'm really scared at the idea of not existing after death.  Really scared.  It makes me feel miserable everyday.  I don't know how to cope with it.  Does anyone have any tips on how to fully accept this, and not be scared anymore

Look it it this way, if you stop existing after death then you won't be around to be scared.

[PipeBox]

Edit: opted to remove the Youtube video just for now, I can probably type it in my own words later.

Beyond that, I can tell you that you'll never be aware that you're dead.  Death and you cannot coexist, if death is present, you are not.  Dying doesn't hurt (how you've come to that point, however, might, but we hope it does not), you'll never realize you've done it, you'll never regret things you could have done nor will you be subject to infinite darkness.  You won't be able to perceive or think anything, no awareness, no consciousness, not even a sense of being asleep.  I imagine it's akin to just switching off.  You'll be exactly as aware as you were before you were born.

I was afraid of death until I truly grasped that.  I'm in no hurry to die, as I enjoy being aware and being a denizen of this world, but the fact that it's all going to end some day doesn't bother me, because I won't be able to be bothered in the post-mortem.  Indeed, it's become something of a sort of relief.  If we had optional mortality, I'd eventually have to kill myself or opt to be killed, and I'm not sure if I'd be totally cool with that.  And I can also tell myself when I really, REALLY frack up that it won't matter at all in 300 years.

I sincerely hope this helps you

[Kylyssa]

I had a bit of my brain removed after it swelled due to a skull fracture.  I was changed.  My personality, my memory, who I was - all changed.  As a person who has suffered a head injury I can tell you that the physical brain is where "you" are located.  You are your brain and body.  

Twenty-one years ago, I could run, play bass guitar and keyboard, and speak three foreign languages.  After one traumatic brain injury I could no longer walk, speak or read ANY language fluently, and bass guitar only taunts me when I try to play. I learned to touch-type in high school and I was pretty good at it.  Now, I can only hunt and peck.  My right hand still does fine but my left has gone completely retarded and this applies to piano and keyboard as well.  My memory was very good, now it is not and my ability to put events in my life in chronological order is barely existent.  I have to use logic to determine what happened when.  Not only are my various skills compromised but my personality has changed.  

I've re-learned walking and I can now read, write and speak English fluently but I do it like a new person.  An immortal soul (if there were such a thing) wouldn't likely be affected by a few grams of brain tissue more or less, but a person surely is.    

My brain is me.  Your brain is you.  Be careful with your head.

[Kylyssa]

As to the dying part, you're going to die so it's a waste of time to fear it.  Whether or not you are afraid you'll die anyway so you might as well skip the fear bit.

I know that is a lot harder than it sounds.  Just keep in mind that you feel nothing whatsoever when you don't exist.  Nothing is nothing to fear.

[Kiros]

I think I may be becoming an atheist, but I was wondering something.  If we do not have a "soul", then what part of us is our "esssence".  Because aren't our brains their own fuctioning organisms?  Also, I'm really scared at the idea of not existing after death.  Really scared.  It makes me feel miserable everyday.  I don't know how to cope with it.  Does anyone have any tips on how to fully accept this, and not be scared anymore?  Thank you.

The "soul" is really just the "mind." Your personality, your attitude, your desires, and such are all part of your brain.

Honestly, I was just like you about the whole "death" thing. Like seriously, I would lie in bed at night frightened of the thought. In fact, I still don't like it, yet in my own way, I've come to terms with it. But, the medical/science fields are advancing everyday. Some people think that this generation may be able to live quite a long life (100+ years). By then, I'm sure that you'll be okay with it. I know I will be. Until then, don't worry about it. Live life.

[gwyn428]

I think I may be becoming an atheist,

Why?

If we do not have a "soul", then what part of us is our "esssence".  Because aren't our brains their own fuctioning organisms?

All of these people who replied to you are right about the brain. Mind, hence self, is a material phenomenon.

Also, I'm really scared at the idea of not existing after death.

This may just be your instinct to survive.

Does anyone have any tips on how to fully accept this, and not be scared anymore?  Thank you.

I accept the fact that I will die and thus no longer be subject to the things that I do not like about life. Also, I will not have to continue living in a world where people are apparently trying to make it worse off.

Can you guess what happened when I acknowledged the fact that I will die and totally cease to exist? I smiled and felt a joyful motivation to enjoy this life.  

[kawaii_cupcake]

Thank you for your replies.  I'm still kind of scared, but I'm sure I will come to terms with it eventually.

I really have been pondering lots of questions lately.  It has been what has had me questioning my prior faith, and the fact that I have come to believe that christians are close minded, "holier than thou", jerks, ad the fact that christianity is just unrealistic.

My questions are basically, if there is a god, who created him or her?  If a big bang created the universe, than what was there before the big bang?  If it was just an empty void, where did this void come from?  How was it created?  

I only wish I could talk to Stephen Hawking.  I know he would probably know the answers to these questions.

[G.ENIGMA]

Thank you for your replies.  I'm still kind of scared, but I'm sure I will come to terms with it eventually.

I really have been pondering lots of questions lately.  It has been what has had me questioning my prior faith, and the fact that I have come to believe that christians are close minded, "holier than thou", jerks, ad the fact that christianity is just unrealistic.

My questions are basically, if there is a god, who created him or her?  If a big bang created the universe, than what was there before the big bang?  If it was just an empty void, where did this void come from?  How was it created?  

I only wish I could talk to Stephen Hawking.  I know he would probably know the answers to these questions.

Well in a way there are lots of gods and their all created by the human (and perhaps alien mind).

I mean, for example, your a balloonist and you come across a very happy civilisation who has never seen / met / or even knew that people like you existed and this lost civilisation still believe that the world is flat and if they venture outside of the valley or whatever that they will fall off the edge.

Then lets say you were then to live with them for a while and begin to share your knowledge ie: one of the children drown in a river and you give her/him the kiss of life which they knew nothing about.  

To cut a long story short, perhaps you would be clever enough to not tell them the truth (they are happy after all :hail: [/b]" while your with them.

Then lets say you leave, promising to return one day (but for whatever reason, never do) and they spend the next however many hundreds of years never meeting anyone like you again, surely you would become part of their folklore as a kind god or godess who came from the sky performed many miracles and left by going up into the sky again.

As for the big bang ... well thats not an easy question ... but I'm sure its not the last big bang the universe is going to see and the next one will happen just as naturally as a spark can make fire.

[VanReal]

I never had a fear of death so this was a hard thing to conquer when my son was little and developed it.  He spent months terrified of dying and used to cry himself to sleep.  I of course did not do the "afterlife" talk as I didn't believe it even then and tried many, many things that in hindsight were errors: "Everyone dies, your grandpa will die, I will die, we'll all die." That went over like a lead brick, and caused even more sadness because now he was scared for us all.  You just can't convince someone that something is not scary.

I then had a brain storm and went in one evening during his crying and explained that he didn't need to fear death because we would never die, we were vampires.  All that had to be done was for me to bite him and he'd never die.  What?  Yes, that is brilliant parenting.  I have to say thought he had a new fear of me sneaking in to bite him and never dying and that was the last I heard of him being scared of death.  It was easy to dismiss the vampire thing after that. (He always makes fun of me for that, although I have given him rights to that to use as he needs when he has kiddos )

I guess my point to the story, other than the fact that 20 year olds probably don't make the best parenting decisions, there is always going to be something to be scared of.  Being scared of it makes you think about it and try to find ways to rationalize that fear away. That is something that religion has always used to convince you of its truth, and to comfort you regarding the unknown or fear of the unknown. If you stop trying to make sense of it your fear will subside, even if it takes focusing on things that are much more influencual on your immediate life.  

Regardin your subsequent questions about "how it all started".  What kind of difference does it make to you on how things were created, evolved, occurred, etc.?  If there was absolute proof that the big bang was it would that really have an affect on your life as it is now.  Would you feel differently, think differently, behave differently?  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in things that this that we lose valuable time that we could be using to enjoy life.

[raptor1770]

My questions are basically, if there is a god, who created him or her?  If a big bang created the universe, than what was there before the big bang?  If it was just an empty void, where did this void come from?  How was it created?  

When I think about these questions, the first thing I admit to myself is that the real answer may be beyond the comprehension of my primitive mind, which is entirely plausible. I think that the point of the Big Bang is that there wasn't anything before it, as the definition of a beginning. Some may argue that you cannot have creation without reagents, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but all of this is based on the physics and science of the universe as we know it. There may indeed have existed something before the Big Bang that doesn't fit into the definition of quantum physics that shape our dimension. Some may say that this is all abstract mumbo-jumbo, to which I reply, "Yes a omnipotent old man is much more plausible." But in this lies the strength of my conviction against God, my ability to say "I don't know". If there is one thing that a man of God will not say, it is "I don't know" because the answer is always God. And if they already have the answer they know to be true, there is no reason for them to contemplate it further. This by the way is the reason that religion, unlike any other social construct, has not advanced beyond its original understanding of life, the universe and everything in it. So, while you should certainly think about these questions, the strength of rationalism and logic comes from the ability to admit ignorance of a thing. Only from that point can you begin the process of discovery. I hope that helps.

Regardin your subsequent questions about "how it all started".  What kind of difference does it make to you on how things were created, evolved, occurred, etc.?  If there was absolute proof that the big bang was it would that really have an affect on your life as it is now.  Would you feel differently, think differently, behave differently?  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in things that this that we lose valuable time that we could be using to enjoy life.

I don't want to be rude but I think you may not have thought this all the way through. If there weren't people in the world who cared about how life was created, how it evolves and all the rest of it, we wouldn't have had many of the technological and subsequently social advances that we take for granted today. It is our intellectual curiosity that moves us forward as a species and I feel that Theology does its best to stifle that. So in that respect, I don't see how what you said is any different than that. Of course I may be mistaken so I'd like to hear your response to this before I draw any conclusions on the matter. I hope you havn't taken offense to what I've said as I am only trying to be clear.

[NearBr0ken]

I really have been pondering lots of questions lately.  It has been what has had me questioning my prior faith, and the fact that I have come to believe that christians are close minded, "holier than thou", jerks, ad the fact that christianity is just unrealistic.

What kind of people Christians are, good or bad, does not determine if their claims are true or false.  You must never confuse feeling or perception for accuracy.

My questions are basically, if there is a god, who created him or her?

You're on the right track.  Just keep thinking.

If a big bang created the universe, than what was there before the big bang?  If it was just an empty void, where did this void come from?  How was it created?

I only wish I could talk to Stephen Hawking.  I know he would probably know the answers to these questions.

One thing you must realize as a free thinker:  humanity does not know everything.  In fact, we know staggeringly little.  Just ask ANY astrophysicist.  With that in mind, stay humble.  It's a big universe and we're still figuring it out.

I know just enough about physics to get myself in trouble.

Basically, it's complicated.  Really complicated.  But just because it's complicated doesn't mean it's supernatural.  The Big Bang employs terms that you're not likely to here about in daily life, so it can sound confusing.  We're always refining our knowledge of the Big Bang, and there are currently several theories concerning "how it happened."  My advice to you is to keep up with cutting edge research in that area and don't immediately assume that the unknown is supernatural.  Keep Occam's Razor finely honed.

All the best.

[GodlessInND]

I think I may be becoming an atheist, but I was wondering something.  If we do not have a "soul", then what part of us is our "esssence".  Because aren't our brains their own fuctioning organisms?  Also, I'm really scared at the idea of not existing after death.  Really scared.  It makes me feel miserable everyday.  I don't know how to cope with it.  Does anyone have any tips on how to fully accept this, and not be scared anymore?  Thank you.

Every once in a while, I am gripped with a terrible anxiety concerning death.  I focus in on the transition between being and not-being, trying to imagine what that moment will be like:  will I be calm, will I suddenly "know" what's next, will I get a "preview" of what's next, what can possibly be next?  I try to imagine non-existence, which is an absolutely impossible task that only serves to further aggravate my anxiety.  Eventually, it passes, as I turn my attention back to work or whatever I was doing when the fear struck.  I know it will return, and I'm OK with that.  I like being reminded that this life is it--our one chance to be.  Do I hope that I get another chance?  Well, sure, who wouldn't.  Do I believe that I will?  No, not really, but I suppose it's possible, only because I (like most humans) am fully incapable of imagining anything other than being.  Rather than hanging over my head like a dark cloud, my mortality is a radiant energy that inspires me to be the best possible person:  to love as much as I can, to make life a little better for others as much as I can.  Thinking about my mortality helps me keep my life in check, to remember what's truly important in my life, and to constantly strive to remain true to what's important.

So, I can't tell you that one day you'll suddenly not be afraid anymore, but I can tell you that it's all up to you, how you choose to use your fear:  you can make it work for you, like I do, or you can let it consume you to the point where you totally lose sight of yourself.  Atheism is not a religion, and does not have any prescribed notions about "souls" and such.  You'll find that each atheist has a different outlook on death and what may or may not happen to us or our "essences" after we die.  My suggestion is to continue to think about it, continue to be a little scared by it even, but also use it to your advantage.

[NearBr0ken]

Rather than hanging over my head like a dark cloud, my mortality is a radiant energy that inspires me to be the best possible person:  to love as much as I can, to make life a little better for others as much as I can.  Thinking about my mortality helps me keep my life in check, to remember what's truly important in my life, and to constantly strive to remain true to what's important.

This is a wonderful point, and one of the many beautiful fascets of a naturalistic worldview.  Just as a full understanding of evolution gives you a new appreciation for nature, so a full grasp of mortality can make life that much richer.