Atheists and afterlives II (or, Death and Other Wounds)

Carl Sagan wrote, in The Demon-Haunted World,
My parents died years ago. I was very close to them. I still miss them terribly. I know I always will. I long to believe that their essence, their personalities, what I loved so much about them, are — really and truly — still in existence somewhere. I wouldn’t [...]

Atheists and afterlives I (or, Static Equals Unlife)

Personally, I would be delighted if there were a life after death, especially if it permitted me to continue to learn about this world and others, if it gave me a chance to discover how history turns out.
– Carl Sagan
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In Letters from the Earth, Mark Twain’s Satan tells his angel pals,
…the human being, like the [...]

My grandfather’s funeral (addendum to Atheism and death)

A story: my grandfather was not a particularly religious man. I don’t know, for sure, what he believed. But he definitely wasn’t much for church. That was my grandmother’s area.
He was technically Greek Catholic, and when he died, there was some ceremony or another with a Greek Catholic priest at the viewing. My grandmother wanted [...]

And still more follow up on atheists and death

I’m thinking aloud on this whole issue right now, so I hope you all will bear with me. It’s one of those really simple things that nonetheless seems like it’s actually very important, and while simple, is not noticed by most of us (myself included, most of the time).
We’re all the same in our reactions [...]

Atheists and Death

First off, go listen to Penn Jillette talking about atheism as solace.
Back? Good.
I have two thoughts about what atheism means for how we deal with death. Well, actually, I probably have more. These are the two I’m interested in right now.
I. What Penn Says
I think I’ve always been bothered by the standard responses that believing [...]