Death and the Present Moment

Reality of death is central to religion and its denial to religion. Without death faith based religion would be unthinkable.

From the point of view of the faithful, atheism is the mere assertion of death. Atheists appear to be a death cult since they’re the only people who admit that death is real.

Every other view leaves the question open or asserts that death is an allusion. The good people, the people who believe the right things about an iron age war god, get everything they want after they die.

Every thing that is annomoulous or accidental gets sorted out in the end. There is no reasonable likelihood of that happening. The gospel of atheism, The essential news, the good news of Atheism is that nothing happens after death. There is nothing to worry about, nothing to fear.

After you die you are returned to that nothingness you were before you were born. This proposition is very hard to understand. Most people mistake nothing for something. In the case of death many people imagine a case of eternal silent darkness which does sound a little boring.

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Imightberiding
Thanks for this one. Sam Harris is an extremely intelligent man & it’s always a pleasure to listen & learn from him. Although not quite as cutting as Hitch, Dr. Harris can & often does have his own moments of brilliant humour.
http://www.facebook.com/temy.beal Temy Beal
This is absolutely one of the best talks I ever heard, by Sam or anyone else. Sometimes truths are very uncomfortable. For myself, I value truth, to whatever extent I can perceive it, above all else. Many years ago I made up my own motto about it: “I would rather hear the single worst truth in the universe than ten thousand beautiful lies.” – Me
misterkel
Vlatko,
thanks for the site. I love it.
I’m not angry at atheism – just ‘New Atheism.’ I find it hubristic and condescending. I find that the accusation you leveled at me – me ‘right’ atheism ‘wrong’ is the essential critique I level at atheism. Atheism links itself to skepticism, yet what atheism espouses is not skepticism. It is science worship. Science, according to new atheism, is the one and only form of correct understanding of the world.
(I wasn’t referring to the talk – just the description – you were right to call me out on that. I should have been more clear).
These are the comments I was responding to:
[Atheists] – are the only people who admit that death is real.
Every other view leaves the question open or asserts that death is an allusion [sic]. After you die you are returned to that nothingness you were before you were born. This proposition is very hard to understand.
‘No one else admits death is real but atheists’ – they are the brave ones. I find the cult of new atheism to be very haughty and self-congratulatory. ‘Every other view leaves the question open or asserts…’ – really? you have checked out every other view? You fully understand the doctrines of mystical Islam, including the ultimate reality of God alone wherein the self has no substantive existence and thus ceases at the time of union with God? You understand Tawhid, Tashbih, and Tanzih? Of course, atheism understands this – it always understands everything because of its science. Only atheism can do this because only science is capable of understanding reality. That’s the consistent message of atheism.
‘proposition is hard to understand…’ – so of course, only atheists can get it. They always get it right and in strict accordance with reality and no one else can ever understand. This is what I hear atheists saying, though phrased in a more ‘objective’ way, because atheism is, of course, the only objective way of looking at the world.
I object to the arrogance.
again thanks for all your hard work – I’m a big fan.
btw, I am a Buddhist as you may have guessed and have been a meditator for 20 years. It’s another beef I have with neuro-scientific atheists. They want to claim that atheism means not believing in any non-material reality, but atheism means not believing in God. I can believe in anything else I want, but no belief in gods or God is the meaning of the word. I can (and do) call myself atheist while still believing in reincarnation and other spiritual realities. There is no contradiction. However, the atheist thought police try to say that people must believe in a certain way – strict physicalism – or they are not atheists. I don’t accept this and I also believe it pushes away many people without a belief in God.
cheers
k
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/about/ Vlatko
@misterkel,
You’re accusing atheism of not understanding Buddhism, and you claim to understand Buddhism very well.
In short Atheism -Wrong, You – Right.
Meditation is just a technique that is very efficient for “sharpening” your awareness. Sam was just telling you to use it from time to time in order to escape from the everyday thought train of coloring the past and projecting into the future. And that is true, and more important experimentally proven. Meditation can and will increase your awareness and focus in your everyday life.
As far as I can recall he never mentioned Buddhism (maybe I’m wrong), and never elaborated the philosophy of that religion in particular. What you wrote is just your product, not atheistic, nor Sam’s.
But if you want to talk about it, Buddhism is indeed nihilist, and has many, many common elements with the Atheism. Sure it is not Atheism as a whole, but it is the only religion that touches upon anti-theism.
Anyhow, what is important is that from the Buddhist perspective Christianity is completely wrong and false, not in a hostile way but in essential and conceptual one, and you’re cleverly trying to present those two distinct religions as somewhat similar regarding death. Correct me if I’m wrong.
The main Buddhist goal is enlightenment and entering death with maximum awareness, in order to break the cycle of reincarnation, known as samsara, and morphing into the vast sea of “collective consciousnesses.” There is no God, there is no afterlife, there is only hard mind training, nothing more.
On the other hand, Christianity core concepts are the God, the sin and the preparation for the afterlife. If there was no sin, there would be no repentance, no forgiveness, no God, no paradise, no hell, no afterlife, no Christianity.
The most important time for Buddhists is HERE and NOW, and for the Christians is the AFTERLIFE. Buddhists do not make difference between GOOD and BAD, but Christians without GOOD and BAD wouldn’t be Christians in the first place.
However you want to look at it, I think you’re just angry at Atheism, even when it talks about exercises used in a religion different than Christianity. I would say you despise it. I’m not sure why, though.
misterkel
Again – Buddhism (an atheistic religion, i.e. NO GOD) is falsely represented. Death is REAL, it comes without warning. The time of death is uncertain. – the 3rd reminder to practice. All of the practitioner’s life is preparing for death. And rebirth does not abnegate death. Nor is it a doctrine to soothe people that they will not disappear. Endless rebirth is seen as suffering. It is a horrible fate and Buddhism tries to get people beyond the cycle of rebirth.
Atheism is so arrogant in thinking it understands everything about all other beliefs, but these ridiculous pronouncements the going to nothingness is hard to understand.
Spare me the condescension of atheists. They make no effort whatsoever to understand a religion from within and pretend to understand it from without. Hint – called a straw man.
brainst0rm
mindful meditation, more like hypnosis, why not just call it what it is. I agree with much of what he has to say regarding religion and how it takes advantage of mans wishful desire for their to be “something” after death. But the reason I chose to comment here is, I disagree that “mindful meditation” will be the solution or even a productive act.
If your hungry, and/or living in poor conditions, and working at foxconn(the company that provides apple with some of their hardware components), mindful meditation will make you feel better, but your reality is still sh1t. Basic human needs are still not met.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/about/ Vlatko
Thanks a lot. I like it too.
The full screen option is there. Play the video, hover with you mouse onto it, the bar with the controls at the bottom will appear, click the option/button for the full screen.
Or the easier method. Play the video, click on the video screen, press F on your keyboard.
wald0
@ Vlatko-
Great site man, i have spent hours on here already and I love it. I noticed though that the option for full screen is not available on many docs. If you click on the “watch on youtube” button and go to youtube the full screen button comes back. That’s what i have been doing but it gets a little frustrating at times. Can you bring the full screen button back, please?