Editors Note: Clergy Project members are very creatively applying their knowledge of religion to the COVID-19 pandemic. A couple of days ago, we heard from Andy, a working pastor, and now we have the musings, religious and otherwise, of a member who left religion decades ago. /Linda LaScola, Editor

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By Scott Stahlecker

Up, up, up! The numbers of people dying seem to double every week. Since America is now expected to suffer the most casualties from COVID-19, Id be lying if I said I wasnt a bit anxious. And the pace in which this virus is spreading is forcing me to think about an event Ive done a great job of avoiding all my life: death.

Im not afraid ofdeath; I just dont want to be there when it happens. Woody Allen once quipped.

As it so happens . . . I recently turned 59, my wife works as a nurse in the recovery room at the main hospital, I live in a multi-generational home with two grandkids who attend school and daycare, and to cap it off, I reside in Washington State where the first person in the US died from the coronavirus. So, Id say my chances of dying sooner than I anticipated are looking better than ever!

Hmm, what to do?

My focus these days centers on three priorities: pondering, planningand yespartying. Before I get to these incidentals, however, a bit of eschatology is in order. Most of us who frequent this blog are familiar with the Christian perspective what happens when a person dies, but Id like to dig into an atheists perspective on this grave matter.

Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15: 51-54.

These words undoubtedly offer a great sense of comfort for believers. With promises like this that infuse disciples with hope, its no wonder so few people are attracted to atheism. When it comes to death, Christianity seems to offer the whole benefits package? If one believes that the promises offered in 1 Corinthians are true, then I concede Christianity offers a version of hope which atheism cannot rival.

As an atheist, about the only thing I have to look forward to in death is that its a mystery. Of this Im certain: I wont be moving up in the neighborhood to live in a mansion God has prepared for me. I wont be walking on streets paved in gold. And I wont be earning a special position in Gods kingdom based on how well Ive followed the guidance offered from the pulpit. On the plus side, I dont believe Ill be punished for my misdeeds by being cast into hell.

What I suspect happens after I die is absolutely nothing, and the experience of having died will likely mirror my experiences before I was born. Since I lacked consciousness before being conceived, I dont recall experiencing anything. I think death is simply the opposite of life. I call it the un-life. And if theres nothing but un-life waiting for me after I die, then it seems truly unfortunate. To put this in modern lingo, the prospect of the un-life sucks, becauselife, is, everything. Yet, if nothing happens after I die, then henceforth, nothing will matter anyway.

So, while Id love to believe the biblical promises concerning an afterlife, Im essentially left with nothing to look forward to upon my death. Ill never see my wife or children again; never write another thought-provoking word; never play music, and never again laugh, cry, dream or share another glass of wine with a friend. This is hard to accept, but as an atheist I dont have a choice in the matter. Truth be told, theres only two ways to think about the prospect of dying:

We choose a scenario invented by a religion that gives us hope and makes us feel good.

We simply admit that we dont know what happens after we die.

Christianity works if you believe what it teaches. When you stop believing what it teaches, its beliefs ring more like platitudes, which no longer square with reality. In that case, reality itself becomes the best teacher. So, if you believe you can cheat death and achieve immortality, then you do indeed have a lot to look forward to. However, if you believe what Christianity teaches about death is true, then you must concede that all the promises other religions offer about life after death are equally valid.

The reason for this is that lots of religions and cults promise different endgame scenarios to their followers. In America, we value freedom of religion and peoples rights to believe what they choose even if we think those beliefs are false. But all beliefs that detail events in the afterlife are inherently false, because these beliefs are not based on facts. Since we value freedom of religion, we are more than happy to grant religious individuals the right to cling to whatever hope their beliefs may offer them. Yet, in doing so, we also abide by the unspoken agreement that what religion teaches about the afterlife is far less important than the hope those beliefs impart.

Yet, if we were to stretch this analogy wed find that even the dynamic of hope becomes irrelevant. A Buddhist, for example, believes hell be reincarnated into one of six realms of existence, but this means he also stands the chance of being reincarnated as a cow. Mormons have more to look forward to: they believe their disciples will become gods and goddesses. Catholics believe in Purgatory, a thoughtful consideration invented by the church hierarchy, grants sinners a place to suffer and purge themselves of evil in order to become qualified to enter heaven. For those who enjoy sci-fi, Scientology offers a spectacular Hollywood version of the afterlife. On a more ruthless and sexist note, Islamic martyrs who are male are rumored to receive 72 virgins.

My point is that every believer, from every religious persuasion, enjoys similar emotional highs regarding what theyhopeto experience in an afterlife. Believers experience these emotional highs to varying degrees regardless of how different, bizarre, or mind-boggling the beliefs are. To me, this says that the beliefs are irrelevant. Our brains are far less concerned about what we believe than about experiencing the emotional highs associated with the hope that these beliefs are real. And if the beliefs are not real, how real and justified are the feelings of hope?

Knowing the truth about the afterlife is not a matter of who is right, the atheist or the religious believer, based on who has the most optimistic scenario. The goal is to accept what is real and thus truthful, even if this shatters our expectations. The fact is we just dont know what happens to us after we die. We may not like this ambiguity, but its better than picking one religious version of an afterlife over another simply because it makes us feel better. When a person accepts this truth, it can completely realign their appreciation for life.

Pondering

Ive always thought that one of the best ways to die would be to know death when death is knocking on my door. Whether or not this pandemic will visit me in the coming months, I dont know.Meanwhile,Im enjoying this forced reprieve in which I have ample time to contemplate how wonderful it has been to experience life. One common clich Ive heard all my life is that there are no atheists in foxholes. The insinuation being, that when death appears to be near, those who dont believe in God will instantly convert because of an overwhelming sense of terror. As for myself, while I am feeling a bit anxious about the uncertainty of what I could and should be doing during these troubling times, Im experiencing no fear about what transpires the moment after I might lose consciousness.

Planning

Unfortunately, most of the plans Ive made for the summer are now shot to hell. Ive canceled the camping trips I planned on the Oregon coast, as well as an airplane trip to visit friends. The airline industry will still be in business when this all blows over, but for now Id prefer not to be sandwiched in the middle seat between two individuals who are coughing.Meanwhile,

Partying

A professor of mine once said that the world revolves around food. If you think about it, hes correct. Since Im fortunate to be living in a multi-generational home, dining with my entire family around the kitchen table is infusing me with a renewed sense of my familial connections. While just a few weeks ago, I was enjoying wining, dining, and playing music. While Im certain humanity will survive this latest, horrible, natural occurrence, I cant help but feel the humanist in me coming out. And this humanist, free from all the beliefs that a vengeful God orchestrates this pandemic, is enthralled by how well we are coming together in this moment of crisis.

**Editors Question: Whats your opinion of how humanity is handling this crisis?**

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Bio: Scott Stahlecker was raised a Lutheran but converted to Seventh-Day Adventism in 1980. After serving the church in both lay and professional capacities, he left the church in 1990. He identified as an agnostic until 2004 and has been an outspoken atheist ever since. Throughout his life he and his wife have owned many businesses to include hospice agencies in Texas and music stores in Alaska. He is the author of the novelBlind GuidesandPicking Wings Off Butterflies, a memoir about raising a child with a traumatic brain injury. He continues to write extensively about the benefits of living life as a freethinking individual. Learn more about him atwww.scottstahlecker.com

>>>>>>Photo Credits: By Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49011499; By Dimasamsusam Own work by me, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6910809

Link:
Pondering, Planning and Partying through the Pandemic - Patheos