Are there any substitutes for having inner peace?

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Those who are firmly convinced they're going to live forever with loved ones, as opposed to those who are firmly convinced they will perish forever along with loved ones, clearly have more inner peace.

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I don't believe in an afterlife, but I have great inner peace. I would say more so than most Christians I know.

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It's an inherent human quality to wish not to "kick the bucket."

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Sure if given a choice, but I do think that when the body is dying, whether old age or disease, the mind knows and accepts it without fear no matter what belief is held.Those who believe in an afterlife seem to try just as hard to be cured from deadly diseases as those who don't believe in an afterlife.So what leads you to believe that one group has more inner peace than the other?This message has been edited by purpledawn, 09-07-2005 07:38 PM

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"The average man does not know what to do with this life, yet wants another one which lasts forever." --Anatole France

I was thinking of people who are of sound mind.I don't really consider people who are suicidal to be of sound mind.One very depressed young Christian boy (13yrs) we know killed himself to be with his father who had just passed away from a long illness.

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Abhorrence to death is certainly a common human emotion, but by no means a universal one.

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If you asked someone on the street or a tribe far away if they wanted to die in that instant, my guess is they would say no (unless of course you picked the one person who was already on his way to kill himself).Isn't survival our instinctive goal, not death?Therefore, IMO, a normal healthy person would choose life over death if given a choice.

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"The average man does not know what to do with this life, yet wants another one which lasts forever." --Anatole France

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Do you really believe that no person can desire their own death? What about people with painful, chronic, hopeless conditions?

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No. But then again, people in those circumstances don't usually believe they have a choice.

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In my opinion many normal, healthy people have made the exact opposite choice, when they felt that their principles dictated it, or that the choice was between their death and harm to those they loved. And for many other, equally legitimate reasons.

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You've added circumstances to the equation. I'm talking about a flat choice of life or death, no extenuating circumstances.As a mother, I would have no problem putting my life on the line for my child, but at the instant of doing so I would not be thinking about choosing life or death; I'm thinking of the child's survival, not a choice between life and death.

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In feudal Japan the stated goal of every samurai was to live and die at the pleasure of his master. Was every samurai who killed himself to prevent the stain of dishonor from tainting his family name not of sound mind?

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So again, life and death was not a true choice for the individual samurai. Human cultures have done many things that go against the normal instincts of man.

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Do some people commit suicide because of mental conditions or disorders that rob them of mental clarity? Yes. Perhaps even most suicides are like that. But every single one? I simply can't make that kind of blanket statement.

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You do like extremes.I was thinking more along the lines of depression. According to Suicide Prevention Services depression is the number one cause of suicide. Depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Sometimes it is inherited and sometimes it is trauma induced. My daughter suffers from inherited depression.IMO when they are depressed enough to consider suicide, they do not feel that they have a choice and I don't feel they are of sound mind.The young Christian I spoke of was extremely depressed. IMO, his belief that he could join his father helped him make the decision.

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I don't believe that death is not something we cannot legitimately, rationally wish on ourselves under any circumstances.

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I didn't say we couldn't, but under normal circumstances we probably wouldn't, instinct would lead us to survival.

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"The average man does not know what to do with this life, yet wants another one which lasts forever." --Anatole France