Body & Soul1 min ago
Casting off the surly bonds of Earth...
41 Answers
When the time comes for me to make the transition from this life to the next I shall probably be alone and, despite my bluster here, quite frightened.
I take solace from the thought that there is a God. Why would AB atheists seek to deny me that crumb of comfort?
I take solace from the thought that there is a God. Why would AB atheists seek to deny me that crumb of comfort?
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to be honest Sandy, I'm a little envious that you have that kind of belief that you would be going to a better place, to maybe be with lost loved ones etc. I just don't believe that but like it when loved ones do. My grandad is 100% atheist but I think he does hold some hope that there is another place where he can be with my nan again, at least I hope he does. I think that's how I'll be, not necessarily expecting anything, but having an ounce of hope to cling on to!
Many people faced with being incarcerated for only a few days without their usual amenities or contact with others would find this situation 'Hellish'. Within Tibetan Buddhism there is a meditation retreat which lasts for 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 hours, at its most arduous form this takes place in a mountain cave. Simple food is brought near to the entrance, but the bringer is never seen nor contacted. I have met a very high ranking Lama, now in his seventies, who has done this retreat, THREE times. As I said; everything depends on the mind.
Yes hell can exist on earth . I live in a beautiful quiet village of only 360 people, with a non-existent crime rate. The Sunday before last at 10pm a 27 year old mother of two children aged 3 and 5, in a fit of temper, stabbed her husband through the heart with a kitchen knife, killing him outright. It seems the children will have to go into care. She is in prison awaiting trail. I think she is in hell. http://www.thebuddhis...he_Wheel_of_Life.html
Sandy – Your post was a very interesting one and I fell quite humbled by the positive responses you received from both the believers and non-believers alike.
As others have said, we atheists are a much maligned bunch. I know of few atheists who, in the presence of a religious person whose life was in danger, would bring up the subject of religion and/or god. To do so would be callous and unnecessary. The often lively debates on this section of AB are completely voluntary and as such, people from both side of the camp (and those on the fence) air their views in an effort to help their theological / secularist sparring partners understand the issues. Even if we ultimately fail to agree, I believe that as a result of these debates we are all better educated and more understanding of one another.
No one is trying to deny you comfort in your belief. That simple fact of the matter is, no one knows what happens to us when we kick the proverbial bucket. If you're right then you'll continue your existence in one form or another. If I'm right, I'll never know as I will cease to exist However, take comfort in this – if you're wrong and there is no afterlife, you'll never know anyway. If I'm wrong then, boy, am I in for a shock! ;-)
As others have said, we atheists are a much maligned bunch. I know of few atheists who, in the presence of a religious person whose life was in danger, would bring up the subject of religion and/or god. To do so would be callous and unnecessary. The often lively debates on this section of AB are completely voluntary and as such, people from both side of the camp (and those on the fence) air their views in an effort to help their theological / secularist sparring partners understand the issues. Even if we ultimately fail to agree, I believe that as a result of these debates we are all better educated and more understanding of one another.
No one is trying to deny you comfort in your belief. That simple fact of the matter is, no one knows what happens to us when we kick the proverbial bucket. If you're right then you'll continue your existence in one form or another. If I'm right, I'll never know as I will cease to exist However, take comfort in this – if you're wrong and there is no afterlife, you'll never know anyway. If I'm wrong then, boy, am I in for a shock! ;-)
You may not have intended it sandy, but the title to your question nearly replicates the opening line of this rather ancient poem in praise of flight... most pilot's know if by heart (or at least a few lines):
High Flight
by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.
And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space...
...put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
High Flight
by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.
And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space...
...put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Clanad - “... The high untrespassed sanctity of space...put out my hand, and touched the face of God...”
Since 'space' is the invisible transition between atmosphere and vacuum and is generally accepted to be 62 miles above sea level, that must have been one hell of an aircraft that John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was flying!
;-)
Since 'space' is the invisible transition between atmosphere and vacuum and is generally accepted to be 62 miles above sea level, that must have been one hell of an aircraft that John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was flying!
;-)
Another on the joys of flight.
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.
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