Fear of Death

Do you think it's the fear of death that drives people in their spiritual pursuits ? I know that for me at around the age of fourteen I started to really focus on the fact that I would die someday, and that sounded like no fun. The idea of being snuffed out as if you had never been scared me. So I turned to religion, and spiritual writings to try and find a way out. I'm an old man now and Ive been through many different spiritual practices, and I have not found a way to stop the death of my body. I have started to feel though that maybe we never die, and the whole thing is an illusion, and we are all living eternity right now. The body falls off, but the soul continues on, and on forever in some form. Maybe in all forms you can find yourself. Maybe everything is you. No seperation only Unity with the universe.

Originally posted by buckky
Do you think it's the fear of death that drives people in their spiritual pursuits ? I know that for me at around the age of fourteen I started to really focus on the fact that I would die someday, and that sounded like no fun. The idea of being snuffed out as if you had never been scared me. So I turned to religion, and spiritual writings to try and find a w ...[text shortened]... ms you can find yourself. Maybe everything is you. No seperation only Unity with the universe.

I guess it probably contributes, but I reckon there are a lot of other reasons too. It's quite tempting, after all, the idea that one can understand the universe by studying just one book. Saves having to get your head around a lot of tricky maths too.

Originally posted by buckky
Do you think it's the fear of death that drives people in their spiritual pursuits ? I know that for me at around the age of fourteen I started to really focus on the fact that I would die someday, and that sounded like no fun. The idea of being snuffed out as if you had never been scared me. So I turned to religion, and spiritual writings to try and find a w ...[text shortened]... ms you can find yourself. Maybe everything is you. No seperation only Unity with the universe.

This is interesting. What a contrast. When I was about 14 years old I was certain I would never die. It wasn't until I was in my mid-thirties that I began to realise I would grow old and die. Today, at 57 years old, I am supremely confident, above all else that I know, that I will live again forever after I die.

Absolutely, positively, sure.

Originally posted by buckky
Do you think it's the fear of death that drives people in their spiritual pursuits ? I know that for me at around the age of fourteen I started to really focus on the fact that I would die someday, and that sounded like no fun. The idea of being snuffed out as if you had never been scared me. So I turned to religion, and spiritual writings to try and find a w ...[text shortened]... ms you can find yourself. Maybe everything is you. No seperation only Unity with the universe.

I don't have fear of death although I fear experiencing the pain and discomfort and suffering that many people experience at the end of their lives. I also don't want to be a burden to anyone. We have come a long way medically and socially in those areas.

After getting through the denial phase of dealing with my own mortality, I had bouts of dread and depression from time to time which I think are normal human reactions that can be handled in a healthy way. Now I usually just think it is disappointing, but there seems to be no better alternative. I mean, can you imagine the infinite boredom of immortality? Death gives vitality to life and energizes our search for meaning.

Originally posted by JS357
I don't have fear of death although I fear experiencing the pain and discomfort and suffering that many people experience at the end of their lives. I also don't want to be a burden to anyone. We have come a long way medically and socially in those areas.

After getting through the denial phase of dealing with my own mortality, I had bouts of dread and depre ...[text shortened]... ite boredom of immortality? Death gives vitality to life and energizes our search for meaning.

I've thought about that. What if someway I could go on forever, and never die. I'm already thinking it's a good deal that I'm at the end of the dance. I'm tired of trying to compete in a hurry up world that I seem to be farther removed from every day. I think there comes a time when your ready to lay your burden down and see what happens. I'm hopeing for a wonderful adventure with fresh eyes.

Death completes the circle. But until then your soul will strive to get back to it's origonal position.

Get right with God before it's too late. Read Kierkegaard's Training In Christianity, if you can't get passed the traditional, historical, religious institutionalization of Christ. Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy also proffers a Christianity divorced from 'mere belief' and uniquely marked by a partnering with the living Christ (being a contemporaneous relationship, to use Kierkegaard's terminology).

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

Originally posted by epiphinehas
Get right with God before it's too late. Read Kierkegaard's Training In Christianity, if you can't get passed the traditional, historical, religious institutionalization of Christ. Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy also proffers a Christianity divorced from 'mere belief' and uniquely marked by a partnering with the living Christ (bei the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

What does"through Me" mean to you? in practical,everyday situtations?

Originally posted by buckky
I've thought about that. What if someway I could go on forever, and never die. I'm already thinking it's a good deal that I'm at the end of the dance. I'm tired of trying to compete in a hurry up world that I seem to be farther removed from every day. I think there comes a time when your ready to lay your burden down and see what happens. I'm hopeing for a wonderful adventure with fresh eyes.

There is a story in Hindu lore that an old woodcutter who was poor and was very depressed one day while carrying his load of wood from the forest,being tired of life,said to himself' Oh I am tired of this burden of life'. God of Death,Yamraj,appeared before him and said to him'all right let's go!'. The woodcutter was quite frightened yet collected his wits and said' Oh lord,you might have misunderstood me. I was referring to my burden of wood. Pl.help me in carrying that.' Jalaluddin Rumi,a muslim mystic,has composed a poem that says,in essence,'when was n't I dead'.

Originally posted by karoly aczel
What does"through Me" mean to you? in practical,everyday situtations?

It involves prayerfully seeking Christ's guidance throughout the day, in every aspect of your life. Deeper still, it involves partaking of the joy of Christ's spirit, through prayer and worship. In every way saturated with the presence of the living Christ.

Originally posted by epiphinehas
It involves prayerfully seeking Christ's guidance throughout the day, in every aspect of your life. Deeper still, it involves partaking of the joy of Christ's spirit, through prayer and worship. In every way saturated with the presence of the living Christ.

And you are sure that this is the "living Christ" and not just some other power?

Originally posted by karoly aczel
And you are sure that this is the "living Christ" and not just some other power?

Insofar as Christ is God, yes.

Originally posted by epiphinehas
Insofar as Christ is God, yes.

So if I were to say to you that I have experienced 'heightened levels of conciousness' several times, and one of these times a voice had identifeid itself as "buddha" that this voice could only be Jesus or the devil (trying to trick me, no doubt)?
You know where I am coming from?
(It is my understaning that people that spoke in tounges (say 100+ years ago) were judged by the church to be either influenced by the divine or by the devil and subsequently dealt with . This sort of thinking has endured and promoted by many christians today, even if the penalties aren't so harsh these days)

BTW thanks for indulging me and answering my questions promptly and simply 🙂

Originally posted by karoly aczel
So if I were to say to you that I have experienced 'heightened levels of conciousness' several times, and one of these times a voice had identifeid itself as "buddha" that this voice could only be Jesus or the devil (trying to trick me, no doubt)?
You know where I am coming from?
(It is my understaning that people that spoke in tounges (say 100+ year hese days)

BTW thanks for indulging me and answering my questions promptly and simply 🙂

Well, if a mysterious voice did identify itself as Buddha, I could tell you with confidence, according to Buddha's own teachings, that it wasn't really the Buddha's voice. 🙂

Human beings can convince themselves of a wide range of fantastic phenomena, when they aren't fooled outright. I tend not to trust these kinds of experiences, either in myself or others. I don't doubt that God is capable of communicating with us, it's just that there are more counterfeit occasions than real ones.

I've been convinced, in my heart of hearts, that Christianity is the truth, not just because it makes sense to me, but because of the profound enmity I once had toward it. That sounds counter-intuitive, but it was the very resistance to the gospel, my utter horror at surrender to it, that convinced me it had to be true. I recognized that coming to the truth was like coming to the gallows, in a way, except no one would force you to go there. You could turn away, and pretend it wasn't real, even when you knew deep down that it was, and that's exactly what I did for a while. But there's no rest except in Christ. Until the day I finally took the steps necessary to surrender and come to the truth, I didn't know peace.

Life, afterwards, becomes a process of learning how to follow hard after God and mature in the faith. That maturation process is a constant discovery of where God is working, and learning to discipline yourself for service. It is based on a growing familiarity with the move of His spirit, and a progressive growth in humility and malleability in response to His spirit. It isn't always smooth sailing, of course, but that's life—it's messy. God's grace is always sufficient.

Generally, Christians test the spirits against scripture in order to determine whether it is from God or not. Without fail, anything that is not from God will be revealed for what it is against the backdrop of the Holy Spirit inspired text. In this way we protect ourselves against counterfeit experiences. Because, without a doubt, there is an entire aspect of the spiritual world which has fallen into darkness, and the spiritual entities who dwell there would like nothing more than to deceive you and I.

Only the cross of Christ can cut through it. We either die upon it, or run from it. I pray that you, and anyone else reading this, might receive the grace to die upon it.