Reply #42: I'm an atheist [View All]

and while I might disagree with those people who might extend their condolences with a comment about heaven or indeed hell, I don't think that what they are doing is harmful.

Let's face it: most religions are continued, now and into the future, because of those who have passed away. People who are here take death a little bit less troublesome when they believe in an afterlife.

No matter if there is, or even if there is not one, the loved ones left behind seek answers for their grief, and it works at some level.

I don't so much believe in an afterlife, but as a cat lover and owner, I actually can see, in my mind's eye, the Rainbow Bridge. It is a comfort to me to think that every pet I have ever had is somewhere waiting for me to join them forever. That part of me takes some joy in the fantasy, while the more sensible part of me holds their ashes and knows that the ashes are the only remainder of the kits I have loved and lost.

If you are a person with strong convictions, don't try to change these people--in their own world, the comments are natural, even if they are not to you. But remember that they are trying to comfort you in the only way they know.