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Originally Posted by N.T.M.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a great speller. In fact a lot of things I post I have to check. Nothing to hide.
1.) Good argument, however my opinion actually coincides with this. Although now that I look at it closer I should have been more specific. The fear of death is inherent in people, and when I mentioned that it could be transcended, I meant that you can rest fine with the idea. Now obviously this doesn't negate feelings (fears, etc.) associated with the dying process. |
This is not what you said. You said you could overcome the fear of death ("transcend" it, whatever) because you are a higher-functioning rational being. That would indeed imply negating feelings associated with the dying process.
Using a different example, that'd be like saying that "transcending the fear of pain" doesn't negate feelings (fears, etc.) associated with the hurting process.
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2.) Clever, but a misinterpretation. You’re confusing not fearing death with showing no regard for your life.
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Except it is not a confusion. If you are promised eternal life and happiness and all that jazz after death, and you do not fear death, then you have no reason to prefer life which naturally contains elements of unhappiness. The only reasons you could have for maintaining a regard for your safety are 1) if there was a chance you would not go to Heaven (either by fear of God's punishment or by a doubt of Heaven's existence) or 2) if you, for whatever reason, feared death (which vaguely implies the first part of reason 1).
If you have a problem with this analysis, I recommend you solidly define "fear of death" before telling me that I'm confusing anything.