Funeral Arrangements With Atheists
Posted on: April 21, 2009 - 1:38pm
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Funeral Arrangements With Atheists
As a newbie to RRS, I wonder how members view their funeral arrangements... (death after all is a big part of life right?)
Mine: As I know I'm not going anywhere after this one lifetime, I left in my will and told my family, that they simply could do whatever they wanted with my remains, except for any kind of religious or cultish ceremony.
Even if they don't go by that little rule, in reality I think I won't really care.
Michel
My Blog: One Life
___________________________________________
"An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support."
John Buchan, 1875 - 1940
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I'm for cremation! Although I'd like any useful organs to be taken for other people's uses. My mom has this wonderful idea (though surely not unique) of planting a tree over the ashes. A sort of living tribute.
Some sort of celebration of life party would be neat, but of course I really wouldn't mind either way.
Double post
I always thought I'd get the organs harvested and then have the remains go to a medical school as a cadaver. I'd especially like to be plasticized and cut into thin sections. Alternatively, the Hunter S. Thompson blown out of a cannon thing works, too.
"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men."
--Bertrand Russell
I have maintained for quite a while now that I will die in a tragic blimp accident. Preferably while on a blimp ride with Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort and the crew from the Discovery Institute, so that my death has meaning
All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
Organs harvested, for sure. Cremation after, probably.
The only thing I want after my death: a party. I figure all my friends and the family members I care about can come hang out together, listen to my music, drink my alchohol, and generaly find ruckuses to raise.
That's not so much for me, but for them. I figure I want my death to be just like my life: a cause for celebration. Hopefully it will be a bittersweet celebration, as I hope I'll be missed -- but really, I want people to celebrate the fact I was even around in the first place. Kind of like the end of The Addams Family movie, where they go out to wake the dead. I think that's a great thing.
"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers
I want a "Roast" like on Comedy Central. I understand people will morn, and my theists friends and family can have a separate religious memorial if they wish, but the main one I hope will be to remember what a smartass blasphemous silly nut I was.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
Cremated for sure. Then have my loved ones scatter my ashes at the city dump. Beautiful.
I'd like to give organs or tissue to people who need it so that they might live longer and/or happier lives, or be donated to science. Apart from that I really don't give a shit. What ever is cheapest. You can leave me in the woods to rot for all I care. I'll be dead, I won't know any better.
After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.
The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
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LOL Got thermite?
After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.
The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
MySpace
Roll me up with the carpet and put me out back.
I want to be worshipped and people to symbolicly eat me and drink my blood for thousands of years after I die.
Theism is why we can't have nice things.
^ We have a winner!
As for me: organ donation then cremated and my ashes jumped and dumped over the dropzone where I skydive.
Just put me in a box and let the worms have there best shot. Not that I will care once im dead but I find organ donation creepy, hell I even find blood donation creepy. Stupid and irrational I know but I shiver at the thought.
Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
No animal shall wear clothes.
No animal shall sleep in a bed.
No animal shall drink alcohol.
No animal shall kill any other animal.
All animals are equal.
Of course, I forgot to mention that my remains would be composed of what's left after they have taken all they could from my body for the living...
A bone marrow transplant has already saved my life, so I don't find the idea creepy at all. Au contraire!
Michel
My Blog: One Life
___________________________________________
"An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support."
John Buchan, 1875 - 1940
ClockCatholics ?
M.
My Blog: One Life
___________________________________________
"An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support."
John Buchan, 1875 - 1940
Yeah! That's the idea.
The only thing left from both my parents are our memories of them, the influence they had on us, what we can recall of their lives (and transmit to our kids). I stressed this point at both ceremonies, and to my great amusement, the priests went all shaky and "Well now let's..." and started their ridiculous invocations and empty speeches.
Michel
My Blog: One Life
___________________________________________
"An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support."
John Buchan, 1875 - 1940
I've found funerals to be an event that only makes a bad situation worse.
Silly me. I forgot, atheist can't donate organs. Their insides are black and corrupted.
I'm donating my body to science. I'd rather have a memorial service. I don't want to encourage people to get more morbid and upset than they already are with a funeral.
*Our world is far more complex than the rigid structure we want to assign to it, and we will probably never fully understand it.*
"Those believers who are sophisticated enough to understand the paradox have found exciting ways to bend logic into pretzel shapes in order to defend the indefensible." - Hamby
My will (aka postit note) instructs the poor finder of my corpse to donate the body to science, but the most probable causes of my death will be a firey darwin award candidate land speed record attempt or suicide in which case my body probably won't be found for several weeks. Either way, my body will probably be of no use, but I've heard of cremation services that can reduce me to ashes for less than a grand which is much better than the price of even a cheap funeral.
Any way you look at it, it's not really my problem...
"I've yet to witness circumstance successfully manipulated through the babbling of ritualistic nonsense to an imaginary deity." -- me (josh)
If god can do anything, can he make a hot dog so big even he can't eat all of it?
Take some informed advice...harvesting organs is
not rarely done through intentional misinformation of
family members / caretakers... I've witnessed it attempted by a very reputable hospital, as have friends of mine seen the same, and seen what I saw.
If you're an organ donor, you've obviously no idea of the intentional deception which goes on in ICUs.
Organs are sold by hospitals at enormous amounts of money.
BTW. It would stand to reason that preferred corpses have their organs intact.
I could write a book on the deception I experienced in a very reputable ICU. If you are ever so unlucky to be in
the ICU of a very reputable hospital, as a patient, I congratulate you on having survived it!
Having seen what is reasonable to conclude as commonplace, I have serious doubts as to what actually was done to, and happened with Natasia Richardson. Whatever the case may be...
it was certainly very "unfortunate" / tragic for her and her family... but not for the hospital, if her organs were harvested.
Last thought... even if you're not an organ donor. The stuff I've seen was as unethical / immoral as could possibility be imagined as not being uncommon.
It's pointless to even name the hospitals I could refer to, as they were well-funded, highly advertised, Metropolitan, teaching hospitals,
and would be the last places you'd think of doctors misinforming not just family members, but other doctors, as well as, intentional omissions from
the medical records, and very much more.
Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
I'm going to become part of an artificial reef in the Carribean. I have specified that I do not want any religious elements in my funeral whatsoever.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
I never viewed death as a big part of life, I viewed it as the end of life, the end of my journey on this planet, but never a big part. I know some people make death a big deal but, eh, I guess it's just me.
However I have already in my will and a living will as well (Cuz I am not about to let some fucked up over religous family member or anyone else with god on the brain to screw up my funeral party) to donate any organs possible, what's left, cremate and throw a party, not a funeral, a party, there will be no funeral per se, no wake or viewing of any sorts, I am dead....trust me on this one, I will be dead if this happens. DJ, booze and good times, all speeches are to be made under 5 minutes with the exception of my daughter which can have 10 minutes. To all others, a bouncer or anyone bigger than the speaker can remove them from the Mic after the 5 minute mark (been to funerals where someone goes on and on and on [actually 38 minute speech] about the deceased and them, all mundane details that no one cares about), by force if necessary. All I ask as well is when my ashes are brought in, that the dropkick murphy's version of amazing grace (yes I know an atheist like me having this song being played) played and the booze start flowing......and pour a bit of tequila on my ashes. If that is not observed...then it all goes to the dog.
I'm one of these people. Became one. I spent more than a year with a definite short term expiration date on my head - it makes death part of your life because it taints the value of all you do or think of doing. But that's just me as you say.
Amazing Grace ?!
But I like the speech rules.
My Blog: One Life
___________________________________________
"An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support."
John Buchan, 1875 - 1940
I don't have kids and the ex-wives are out of the picture. When I kick it my house will be sold, I'll be cremated and my ashes (if I can find a willing pilot) will be scattered over the first outdoor christian revival that happens after the house is sold. Then it's party time on whatever the proceeds from the house amount to.
"Erecting the 'wall of separation between church and state,' therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society." Thomas Jefferson
www.myspace.com/kenhill5150
Yeah I kicked the bucket while on the operating table about 10 years ago, was clinically dead for 3 or 4 minutes....just made me aware of life more, not death, death is just the end part, the big part for me is life and what I have done or will do with it, on a side note, no tunnel of light, no god experience, nothing, just nothing really, kinda what I expected.
As for the amazing grace part, yeah I love the Dropkick murphy's version, plus I love the bag pipes in that song, but the hardcore punk that kickes in about 30 seconds into it is a great way to start a party up
There is scientific evidence that the "light tunnel & god experience" can happen when the brain slowly shuts down. But it doesn't happen to everyone as the research and your experience shows.
As for life awareness, of course, such experiences as yours and mine do enhance it. But my (way too long) time spent thinking I was to die in about a year or so added "terminable" to my daily regimen.
If you are into books I can only recommend Connie Willis' Passage. It deals very realistically with the issue - and is an excellent piece of fiction...
Michel
My Blog: One Life
___________________________________________
"An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support."
John Buchan, 1875 - 1940
I'm going to donate my useable organs to science, and have my meat/bones fed to the animals where I live.
Cremation on a pyre of Bibles.
But for real I suppose there will be organ donations and science research done on my body. I've often thought of building a giant concrete vault underground so that future archaeologists could dig me up and see what things were like in our time. I suppose it doesn't matter if its me but I really do think that someone should undertake a kind of universal time capsule project.
^ same here! Like DDA already said, I aspire to be a cadaver. I'd prefer for my surviving family to use their funds for something more worthwhile than a fancy box for me to rot in, a piece of land that could be used for growing food, and an hour for everyone to weep & moan & pretend they give a shit.
Encase me in magnesium and drop me out of an orbiting satellite for kinetic bombardment of the Vatican.
Not sure how easy this will be to organise, but should be quite spectactular.
Just gimme the goddamn liver.
I like it with onions, Therese.
SSSssssssllllpppp!
If you die before me I'll be glad to help out.
After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.
The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
MySpace