Don't Fear the Reaper

Today, I'm going to address one of the more pathetic arguments against atheism. I've heard a number of people start with the question: "Aren't you afraid of what happens when you die?" Then they follow it up with an argument to try and show how atheists have a fatalistic worldview, thereby making the theistic view on death superior.

My answer is always no. Why? Let's start with two undeniable truths. 1) Everyone who ever lives dies. 2) Nobody really knows what happens to our consciousness after we die. How does this alleviate fear of death? Well, it's really not meant to alleviate fear but rather to encourage people not to fixate on death.

The objection I usually get at this point is that a religious belief in an afterlife gives people comfort, especially when loved ones die. However, I question how a fairy tale about a life after death really brings comfort. Sure, it might help a person not worry so much, but it can also cause two major problems.

Deep down, many theists aren't sure if their view on the afterlife is correct or if there even is life after death. This fosters a feeling of unknown and helplessness that can spawn an even greater fear of being wrong. People like this become so worried about their death that they fail to live life to its fullest.

On the other side of the coin, we see theists who are certain of their righteous place in the afterlife. They become so concerned with making it to the next life that they don't care about the harm they cause in this life. For example, look at the belief in the Rapture amongst fundamentalist Christians. They're happy to go to war in the Middle East and bring on global warming because they believe it will hasten the return of Jesus. They don't care about the damage they cause in this life. These are the people who need the seed of doubt. What happens when their savior doesn't come. What kind of world will they have doomed their children to live in?

Now, I'm not saying we need to ignore death and pretend like it doesn't happen. What I'm saying is enjoy life and do what you can to leave the world a better place than you found it. No one knows what happens to our minds after death, and worrying about it or making up fairy tales about it won't change reality.

I like to think of the quote from Braveheart: "Every man dies. Not every man really lives."

So when the end comes, be able to say that you've really lived, and don't worry about what happens next because it will come whether you've make up fantasies about it or not.

Now, if I'm completely wrong and there is a god, why should me believing in him make a difference? If trying to make the world a better place is not enough to get in a god's good graces, then he is not a god worth believing in.