Ecstasy at the moment of death?

I'm watching a fascinating atheist npr bbc special. The reporter sits with the terminal soon to be no longer londoner in a hospice. He asks "do you believe you will retain any consciousness after your passing". She placidly says no, no. But I hope to be the young girl again, and attain all those things I'd aspired for if even for a fleeting instant before death.

I had to sit for a moment to absorb the irony of a non afterlife.

That doesn't make sense if you think about it. Why would anyone just want a moment of pleasure and then they believe its lights out?

No disrespect to our atheist friends here, but why doesn't someone like this just say "let's get it over with - to hell if I get to cherish a fleeting fantasy of youth for one last moment".

It reminds me so much of how it is while we live. No matter how great things seem to be, no matter how wonderful we feel and confident that all is well, it all gets taken away in the end. It matters not in whether we enjoy a life of favor or just get to experience a few moments of happiness, death comes to us all.

I guess that is the difference between the faithful and those without it. I would just want it to end quickly so I could get on with the afterlife, and an atheist would grasp for one more moment of joy.

My point exactly Ben.
I was blown away at the apparent irony.

reply to post by jpm1602


it's not irony...
see, if it was irony she would have said something that would have implied the supernatural. she didn't. what she said could actually happen through simple neurology. her brain, just before she dies, could make her believe all of that...
brain chemistry can do powerful, powerful things

honestly, as an atheist, i have no problem with death. it's an end to a journey. there's no reason to believe in any sort of afterlife, it just seems to be a way for us to cope with questioning our own mortality.