A Funeral for Faithless persons

Firstly, perhaps just a semantic quibble but, what exactly would a "faithless" be???

Second, I fail to see why a funerary ritual would be any different for a person that doesn't believe in fantastical entities as opposed to one that does. The particular ritual is always one prescribed by the cultural brethren of the deceased, having little, if anything to do with any purported invisible creatures....

 

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Theists seem to have various notions about the personalities, beliefs, & general behavior of atheists.

Atheists seem to have various notions about the personalities, beliefs, & general behavior of theists.

In the USA, most (probably all) atheists have friends, relatives, coworkers, classmates, et cetera who are theists. Most theists have few (if any) friends, relatives, et cetera who are atheists.

On the basis of the above, it would seem that atheists have a better understanding of theists than vice versa.

 

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There's a contradiction in here.
You don't believe in god, neither does he... so neither rest nor peace enter the equation.
He's just dead.

So clearly you believe in something, don't you?
Or is it that old platitudes merely pop into your head without you paying due consideration to what they actually mean?

Like an atheist saying "oh god that hurts" when he stubs his toe, I suppose. I've been known to do that myself.

 

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Well we won't know until we ask. Indians are highly invested in ritual and I have never seen a funeral devoid of religious accoutrement but it seems like dying/mourning as an atheist can be a lonely business. But then it seems living as an atheist is a lonely business too and if it weren't for Christmas a lot of families might never see each other.

 

Well in atheism it is not just the passing of their physical form. It is the end to their existence. They are from the point of their death. Non-existent.

My observation is why would they have sentimentality or any other emotions. It serves no survival purpose. If someone has ceased to exists then they are no longer of any survival benefit to the group so the time spend investing emotional energy such as sentimentality detracts from their main goal which is survival.


People who spend weeks in mourning are not as productive as others. If the main motivator of human evolution is survival then such emotions would have never evolved. When as person dies is should be to others as if that person never existed at all. Emotional investment in others is only of use if they are alive to offer mutual support. Once they are dead then they are useless to you.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

They remain as a memory in the mind of the living.

As for the rest Adstar, are you deliberately using an inaccurate understanding of atheism, or do you genuinely think that to not hold a belief in God also entails being emotionless? Since when does atheism equate to holding memory as valueless? Even dogs pine when one of their pack dies. It comes from forming a relationship... not from a belief in God.

 

So you fake your emotions then? This is typical theistic stupidity.

 

Lol. How very logical and darwinian of you!

 

More to the point, you won't know until you attend to the answers -

to the real questions, which are not about the "faithless", eh?

 

I still fail to see the point.
There's nothing that says a ritual cannot be performed by an individual....

 

Adstar is like the Jesus of atheists. He's such a pure one.

 

Natural burial and memorialization is quickly gaining acceptance from all walks of life, and death. The Green Burial Council is actively working to promote conservation burial like The Ramsey Creek Preserve in Westminster, SC. Conservation burial is intended to preserve important green spaces from future development. For the cremation minded there is the idea of Eternal Reefs. Becoming part of a reef system that preserves and protects the marine environment. Between Eternal Reefs and COnservation Burial you have the surf and turf of the natural burial movement in the US. Eternal Reefs has more than 6300 fans on Facebook. eternalreefs.com facebook.com/eternalreefs greenburial.org
Thanks, George

 

Natural burial and memorialization is quickly gaining acceptance from all walks of life, and death. The Green Burial Council is actively working to promote conservation burial like The Ramsey Creek Preserve in Westminster, SC. Conservation burial is intended to preserve important green spaces from future development. For the cremation minded there is the idea of Eternal Reefs. Becoming part of a reef system that preserves and protects the marine environment. Between Eternal Reefs and Conservation Burial you have the surf and turf of the natural burial movement in the US. Eternal Reefs has more than 6300 fans on Facebook. eternalreefs.com facebook.com/eternalreefs greenburial.org
Thanks, George

 

There are a lot of 'companies' that offer atheist funerals but I can assure you that when we die, none of us are going to care in the slightest what kind of funeral we have. We'll be dead. A funeral is for the living, so whatever funeral they decide on giving your corpse, it won't concern you in the least.

 

I'd like to go out in a large blaze with a brass band playing me out.

 

I don't want a funeral at all... What a waste of money.

Just cremate me, and scatter me.

 

Thats true.

 

faithful or not, i've attended funerals where the minister used the situation for an opportunity to preach, and i thought that was really disrespectful.

 

I want people to dance on my grave and sing a medley of Boney M's greatest hits


"Ra Ra Rasputin, Russia's greatest love machine............!"