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Do Atheists have different funerals to religious people?

pgj2015

I was baptized catholic but do not believe in god, and never go to mass, if I get married it will not be in a church, If I have kids they won't be baptized. also I don't want a priest talking at my funeral so can you bypass the whole church funeral bit most people seem to go through?

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wokingvoter

deeduck48 wrote: »

Most Atheists or non religious friends would be planning cremation, as i will, i dont get the hundreds of people coming to say goodbye, yet wouldnt have seen the person in yrs? A young man in our locality was killed in a horrific crash, a few yrs ago, and i heard a woman in a local shop, bragging that they qued outside his family home for 3hrs (!!!) to pay respect, and had great craic!!!!!!

Most of the people attending the funeral are goingin order to offer condolences and support to the bereaved, they might be friends, work colleagues, team mates etc
In Ireland it's not required to be a personal friend/ family member of the deceased. Its cultural and traditional and almost obligatory to make some kind of acknowledgment of the fact that your friend/colleague/teammate has been bereaved
I know that almost the exact opposite reaction is the norm elsewhere, in particular in the UK

deeduck48

i was 9 when my 21yr cousin died in an accident. I remember very well, my , uncle coming to our house crying, wondering why prople thought theyd want hundreds of people showing up at their house, and then standing in the yard, having a great laugh, afterwards, They were heartbroken, and wanted privacy but were expected to appreciate the intrusion.Thousands of people came to the funeral, most having no idea who he was.
im irish, and i dont get it.
When i heard the woman bragging about the mighty craic they had, they were outside his *house* , for *3* hrs, messing and having the craic?? his sister who was in the crash too, was badly injured , and was inside the house. I actually think its disrespectful, to go to someones house, when the family are in shock and greiving. Go and support them a few weeks later, bring them a hot dinner, they will still be greiving, and still need support. To answer the original question, most atheist friends i know, ourselves included, have said they want a small , private ceremony, preferebaly cremation.

karma_

When I die they can shove me into a Hessian sack and chuck me into a ditch for all I'll care.

wokingvoter

karma_ wrote: »

When I die they can shove me into a Hessian sack and chuck me into a ditch for all I'll care.

Your loved ones will care though. That's the thing

dd972

In short, yes, they get eternal oblivion / purgatory

we get to jam with Hendrix and kickabout with Cryuff

//thread :pac:

feargale

deeduck48 wrote: »

Most Atheists or non religious friends would be planning cremation, as i will, i dont get the hundreds of people coming to say goodbye, yet wouldnt have seen the person in yrs?

In fact they may not know the deceased at all. But they may be very close to a relative of the deceased, and may wish to express sympathy. I can only suggest that when you go you put a sign outside the door saying " no mourners or mna caoine please."

deeduck48 wrote: »

A young man in our locality was killed in a horrific crash, a few yrs ago, and i heard a woman in a local shop, bragging that they qued outside his family home for 3hrs (!!!) tuo pay respect, and had great craic!!!!!!

I suppose she should have shed bitter tears and complained that she was bored. Would the craic have consisted of standing in the queue with neighbours and reminiscing?

Oh my! Christians can be so judgemental, can't they? What do you think??????

Samsgirl

murpho999 wrote: »

That's the way it should be for everyone.
Communion and confirmation should only be for adults too.

Adults would still get the money and bouncy castle, yeah?

Turtle_

feargale wrote: »

In fact they may not know the deceased at all. But they may be very close to a relative of the deceased, and may wish to express sympathy. I can only suggest that when you go you put a sign outside the door saying " no mourners or mna caoine please."

I suppose she should have shed bitter tears and complained that she was bored. Would the craic have consisted of standing in the queue with neighbours and reminiscing?

Oh my! Christians can be so judgemental, can't they? What do you think??????

She shouldn't have been there in the first place.
That poor family, they'd just lost their son and then had all those people descend on them when talking to people they barely know is the last thing they'd want to do.

TerrorFirmer

These kinda of discussions always make me ponder the ultimate absurdity of life and suddenly I find myself sliding towards a state of mind which says that everything we do is fundamentally pointless....

Life really is the ultimate mystery. I really don't like the idea of donating my body to science....something about the thought of my future self laid out cold on a table being inspected on a purely scientific level, all my memories, hopes, dreams, aspirations and emotions just accounting for, and meaning, absolutely nothing is immensely disturbing to me.

I'm not really religious either but sometimes you do just have to pause for a moment to take it all in and ask - how did it come to this? Why I am here today? What does it all mean?

Overall, though, once I'm dead it won't matter to the person I used to be, so I'd be happy for my remains to be laid to rest in whatever way offered the most comfort to people....

Asaiah

Zen65 wrote: »

Atheists do not believe that the universe sprang from nothing. We just refrain from joining the dots by inventing a perpetual god, as there is no evidence to support that theory.

I've lived a life which has been broadly very happy and privileged. I hope that when I die my family will respect my wishes not to try join the dots of my life and death at my funeral by suggesting that my existence was planned by a god who loved me enough to bestow a good life on me, but didn't share that love with others of my species whose lives have been pure misery. For that reason alone I abhor the sermons at religious ceremonies.

The whole 'If God exists than why do bad things happen' arguement is the myth that athiests perpetuate about what we Christians believe. We don't believe in a God that wants everyone to be happy, we believe in a world that is cold and harsh. In fact it's an evil world and bad things will happen. However if you believe in Jesus your soul will live eternal in happiness. We were safe in the beginning but we cut ourselves off from that by rejecting God and choosing to know Good and Evil ourselves, so now we live in a world where bad things happen to people. Mankind chose to go it alone without God, this is what Christians believe. Not some idea of God that is like a vending machine for happiness.

Hannibelle Smeeeth

Its mad thinking about your body and what will happen to it. Ive always kept myself to myself so the thoughts of some one doing as they will with my body (medical science wise

) sounds awful! Even though i wont be here to know it.

They can absolutely extract every usable organ and help anyone they can, but...dont mess with me!!! :pac:

I dont really care what happens to me funeral or remains wise, but at the same time, your body is your prized possession. You spend your entire life trying to protect it, so its understandable you'd want a say in what happens to it after you're done. Like you still have control over it.

Its up to the people who will be mourning me (if any :pac: ) and whatever makes it easier for them really.

In answer to the op though :pac: I was at an athiest funeral in Mount Jerome. A ceremony not too different to the religious kind, just without the prayers. I think the body was cremated and ashes scattered, but Im not sure because I skipped that part

BizzyC

Asaiah wrote: »

The whole 'If God exists than why do bad things happen' arguement is the myth that athiests perpetuate about what we Christians believe. We don't believe in a God that wants everyone to be happy, we believe in a world that is cold and harsh. In fact it's an evil world and bad things will happen. However if you believe in Jesus your soul will live eternal in happiness. We were safe in the beginning but we cut ourselves off from that by rejecting God and choosing to know Good and Evil ourselves, so now we live in a world where bad things happen to people. Mankind chose to go it alone without God, this is what Christians believe. Not some idea of God that is like a vending machine for happiness.

That's what you believe.
I know plenty of Christians who will disagree with a lot of the above.

Asaiah

BizzyC wrote: »

That's what you believe.
I know plenty of Christians who will disagree with a lot of the above.

You know Christians that disagree that we fell from grace by eating the fruit of knowledge of good and evil (First book of the Bible)? They would be at odds with mainstream doctrine if that's the case, each to their own.

feargale

Turtle_ wrote: »

She shouldn't have been there in the first place.
That poor family, they'd just lost their son and then had all those people descend on them when talking to people they barely know is the last thing they'd want to do.

That would be your choice. How do you know that the family's choice was to deviate from the practice that has been traditional from time immemorial? Did you ever see the words "house private " included in a death notice?

Mark Tapley

Asaiah wrote: »

The whole 'If God exists than why do bad things happen' arguement is the myth that athiests perpetuate about what we Christians believe. We don't believe in a God that wants everyone to be happy, we believe in a world that is cold and harsh. In fact it's an evil world and bad things will happen. However if you believe in Jesus your soul will live eternal in happiness. We were safe in the beginning but we cut ourselves off from that by rejecting God and choosing to know Good and Evil ourselves, so now we live in a world where bad things happen to people. Mankind chose to go it alone without God, this is what Christians believe. Not some idea of God that is like a vending machine for happiness.

A lot of atheists were brought up as Catholics and are aware of what Christians believe. Your God is like a man who says he beats his wife for her own good. I would rather rot than spend eternity worshipping a psychotic despot.

galljga1

Asaiah wrote: »

You know Christians that disagree that we fell from grace by eating the fruit of knowledge of good and evil (First book of the Bible)? They would be at odds with mainstream doctrine if that's the case, each to their own.

Oh dear oh dear.

Discodog

My body is going to the Med students. I would love the urban myth to be true & have them sneak me out to the pub. When they have all finished then my ashes can go in Galway Bay.

Zen65

Asaiah wrote: »

The whole 'If God exists than why do bad things happen' arguement is the myth that athiests perpetuate about what we Christians believe. We don't believe in a God that wants everyone to be happy, we believe in a world that is cold and harsh. In fact it's an evil world and bad things will happen. However if you believe in Jesus your soul will live eternal in happiness. We were safe in the beginning but we cut ourselves off from that by rejecting God and choosing to know Good and Evil ourselves, so now we live in a world where bad things happen to people. Mankind chose to go it alone without God, this is what Christians believe. Not some idea of God that is like a vending machine for happiness.

He sounds delightful, your god. It must be a great relief to people who believe in him that, should their child fall victim to some incurable, excruciating illness, that this suffering is being inflicted by a god who's still pissed at something an imaginary man and woman did millennia previously in the nice garden he made for them. Surely a god of such greatness deserves your unfaltering loyalty and love?

Yes, they'll be singing his praises for his mercy and kindness when they have to bury the poor child.

FutureGuy

Harvest my shiny organs, burn the rest and throw the ashes somewhere nice.

That'll be me.

teemxxts

It's utterly irrelevant. I'm just dead meat. Gone, finished, no more. When Mother died my lack of fate was challenged. I wanted her to live on looking down on me benignly. But all she ever was is six foot down buried. That is the tradegy of life and all our fates.

So bury me, burn me or mount me on a dartboard. I care nothing because my existence will have ended.