What's scarier: Eternal life, or death?

[Lady March Hare]

Ah... a very deep conversation I stumble upon.

Well, let's see... though I am by no means wanting to die, I think eternal life would really be worse. Reasons why are reiteration: watching those around you die, watching the world you know and love warp and change. Plus there would be the added torture of never having someone who could completely connect with you on any level, no one who you could remember your childhood times with because they would all be dead and gone.

Dying can be scary, but it's not the worst thing that could happen to a girl. That's the way I see it, anyway. But of course that sounds dark and morbid... when I'm not, lol. I suppose this is a sort of conversation that really opens your eyes, huh..?  

[N K Cake]

Fairiee is perfectly correct. And death is a new thing to be experienced, you dont wanna live forever or you'll live in horrible pain.
It would open your eyes if you hadnt thought of it enough. I have I guess, there's not as much left for me to look about it.  

[FluteConcerto23]

Eternal life would be scarier. You would watch everyone you loved die, and all the places that held special memories change and disappear. The world would change around you, and you would have nothing left to love.  

[disliker of the mary sue]

I say it death is scarier. i do not want to cease to exist someday. but with imortality you have to watch every one you know die and you will eventually grow to be board with life.  

[black_wing_angel]

Ultra Sarah

I was talking about this briefly with a friend.

So what do you think would be scarier, having eternal life, or knowing that one day you will have to face death?

I honestly think the second one is scarier, I couldn't imagine a life without life!

Your thoughts?

It would be an even scarier thought that no matter how horrible life gets for you, it will not end, ever. And even when the earth is destroyed, you live on, that is when the REAL scary s**t starts.

Also, I'd rather die, and see what lies on the other side, than to live eternally, always wondering.  

[DracosPrinny]

I say eternal life is scarier. Wandering the earth, undying, watching the world crumble around you. Not to mention, what if it didn't come with eternal youth? And it's already been established that watching your loved ones die would just be horrible. And what about pain? Sure, all those bullets wouldn't kill you. Probably hurt like hell and make you WISH you were dead, though.

Death is just acceptable. It's natural, and a necessity to keep balance. Life without death is not life at all. Eventually it would become droll, boring, and very, very, lonely.  

[GVIL]

Enternal life would have to have a loop-hole
the body would still need its basic needs wouldn't it?
food, water, air.
and brain would still have to work as well. so a bullet to the cranium would have to put you down. or the lost of your head would end it too i would assume.
and exteme tempartures would still destroy the body wouldn't it?

i'm sure that death can still happen in enternal life, though it would be abit tougher.

death by ageing wouldn't be a problem though you would welcome death after a while i would assume.

But if those things i said weren't able to kill you then you would be the ideal person for exploration to places not even machines at this point could go.
you could explore space and new planets and perhaps find a new one that is sutible for human migration in dire situations.

i dunno, i don't find either one scary.  

[Matasoga]

What disturbing answers the first page bears...Allow me to share my thoughts as I did on another thread with a similar topic.

"I see immortality as terrible...If its wasted on the common idiot. Only those with brilliance, with unparalleled creativity, unbridaled genius, or something else that would better the world should ever have the option of living forever. Seeing eternal life handed out at frat parties, the GD, or churches would make me take my own life right now. I however, would like to live on, eternally. When I am all out of stories, all out of art, all out of ideas, and the world has nothing more to offer me, nor I it, I can sleep peacefully in my grave, but the world inspires me and new things are created every instant of every moment, of every second of every minute of every hour of every day. I will never throw it all away, if I had the choice. And to throw it away for what? Heaven? Hell? The more likely oblivion? Never. Not I. "
When I was very young, and I first learned that "old age," was a cause of death, I was horrified. My young mind reeled with the knowledge that all who were born would one day die. I have never been comfortable with my mortality, and I know that I never shall be...One might call my reaction mortiphobic, though I am loathe to use the term, as a "phobia," is an irrational fear; an affliction. Unless you are religiously afflicted, who, other than those with less to offer than I would not fear death?  

[dark_raez]

i think the basics have been pretty much covered.
to put it simply, both are scary to me, death because of the non existing factor and eternal life because of everyone elses mortality.
these are two of the things that scare me the most.

 

[o-OausflippenO-o]

I am a Cristian, and my religion's view of death is that if one has been saved by accepting Christ as their savior, then they go to Heaven, a place of eternal joy and peace and life. However, if one does not accept Christ, then they are sentenced to an eternity of death and torture in Hell (much to the grievance of the Lord).

Now, there are some days when I'm feeling terribly depressed and I just think of how wonderful it would be to just sink into oblivion with no afterlife. Just to float away and figuratively pop like a bubble in space and never have to feel or hurt again. (yeah. I get depressed. So what? I bet you do, too.)

However, since I know what death will be like because of my faith, it doesn't frighten me because I know what I'm gtting into.

Eternal life doesn't frighten me because I know what life is like, and therefore it has none of the "fear of the unknown" aspect about it. I would not enjoy it in the least, but it wouldn't frighten me.  

[heishi_rozu-chan]

I find neither of them frightening.

Eternal life would be my choice, but death is such a mysterious topic. If I chose eternal life, I would always be wondering, "Will I ever have a chance to die?".
Being somewhat suicidal, I am surprised by my choice, but I stick behind it. Eternal life would grant me the option of watching the world grow disasterously & to witness its ending, during which time I would supposedly die.  

[sirenxsong]

To be honest I'd have to say that eternal life is a more firghtening prospect for me. I mean think about it all your family and friends would pass away long before you would and any new friends you'd make would die to. I would probably start distancing myself from people and live like a hermit.

Death to me doesn't really seem so bad I mean just think of it as a reaalllyyy long sleep. It doesn't really scare me al that much  

[King Hoshi]

It wouldn't be scary to live forever, but it would be a sad fate. One would have to live on while the people he loves die gradually. You might feel so much pain, but you would live with it because you have to. You might fall in love, but your lover would die far too soon for you to live forever with him or her. I don't think anyone would want such a miserable fate.  

[Ryoruki]

eternal life would be the worst. it is because we know that one day we will die that we live life to the fullest; so without death, life itself would become meaningless.

of course that's in addition to watching everyone else around you constantly dying if they weren't eternal like you. What a dreary existence that would be.

i think that death isn't something to fear nor something to rush towards. But it is an important thing to realize that no matter who you are or what you do, one day you will die just like everyone else. When that time comes will you have done everything that you wished? it makes me think that the latin speaking people had it right with the phrase "Carpe Diem"