1. A.M.Pine says:

    I really like this post…I, too, wouldn’t want to be on this fallen world forever. Didn’t Lewis say something along the lines about an intangible dissatisfaction because we truly aren’t made for this world?

  2. Jo Michelle says:

    The agony of immortality is also a commonly explored theme in speculative fiction.

    “She has won her heart’s desire; she has unwearying strength and endless days like a goddess. … All get what they want; they do not always like it.”

    That’s a pretty common plot point – the achievement of a Holy Grail, followed by the misery inflicted by that very thing. Because …

    “… each man kills the thing he loves,
    By each let this be heard,
    Some do it with a bitter look,
    Some with a flattering word,
    The coward does it with a kiss,
    The brave man with a sword!
    Some kill their love when they are young,
    And some when they are old;
    Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
    Some with the hands of Gold:
    The kindest use a knife, because
    The dead so soon grow cold.
    Some love too little, some too long,
    Some sell, and others buy;
    Some do the deed with many tears,
    And some without a sigh:
    For each man kills the thing he loves,
    Yet each man does not die.”

  3. Simply for the sale of argument (not because I disagree with the article at all, I completely understand where it’s coming from), if a person is a Christian, then the concept of the End Times must arise. I personally am quite skeptical that it will happen in quite the same way as depicted in Left Behind. Nevertheless, the bible is clear that, eventually, Christ will return and establish the New Heaven and the New Earth. I think it’s a fair assumption that, by that point, everyone will either have died, been raptured, or simply been glorified in some fashion. Regardless, if a person was able to attain true immortality by preventing aging, it would simply be until this world itself ran out of time and eternity began. Considering that pre-flood humans lived to be nearly one thousand years old, and even THAT much time is a mere vapor compared to eternity… I, for one, wouldn’t mind never aging a bit. Think of the books that could be written in that time… Just a thought!

  4. Autumn Grayson says:

    I don’t like the idea of dying, and death is sad, but many times people seem to forget that it is a necessity. Even atheists sometimes, who subscribe to a belief system that partially revolves around death (evolution) sometimes look at death as an injustice that God should be blamed for.

    But regardless of whether theism or atheism is true, death is necessary for our world to function, just as you said. Plants, animals, humans all have their chance to live, survive, and make something of themselves before their demise. The way things are now, life can’t come without death to sustain it. Obviously death is not something to rush toward, and it’s perfectly fair for us to try and delay it and keep other people safe. But I guess I just see death as something people shouldn’t blame God for, even regardless of what happens to people in the afterlife.

What do you think?