Death and Dying

Introduction

How do we live our lives thinking that they ‘matter’ if we all at the end of the day, will perish? This is such an intriguing and thought provoking topic that many philosophers struggle to answer. On the Biblical/religious side, the answer is quite apparent, being in order to live in accordance with God’s will. But, due to the uncertainty and unpredictability of life, how do we establish the significance to our own (albeit short in the grand scheme of things) life.

Biblical Perspective

In Romans, it states:

“If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

Romans 14:8

Therefore, the purpose of life and death is established: this being for carrying out the will of God. Therefore, there is purpose to life and death according to the biblical perspective, that being of following in accordance with the will of God. In revelation, in particular, it paints the picture of the afterlife.

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:3-4

Therefore, the Bible offers comfort by adding that people who die will be reunited with God and so the fear of death is lessened. However, despite the Biblical perspective, (as well as the potential threat of hell) how exactly do we add value/worth to our current lives?

Aurelius’ perspective

I think that Aurelius has an excellent answer to this dilemma. In book 11, Aurelius states,

“The external things whose pursuit or avoidance trouble you do not force themselves on you, but in a way you yourself go out to them. However that may be, keep your judgement of them calm and they too will stay still — then you will not be seen either to pursue or to avoid.”

Aurelius 108

Aurelius in this way offers his advice on how to tackle the world without committing the aforementioned sins of being in pursuit of the good while avoiding suffering. In this way, by remaining calm, the external ‘things’ that exert magnetic forces toward you will be subsided. Aurelius also states,

“Live through life in the best way you can. The power to do so is in a man’s own soul, if he is indifferent to things indifferent.”

Aurelius 109

In this way, Aurelius argues that we should all try to be the best version of ourselves, and that we are all fully capable of doing so. Therefore, despite the eminent threat of death looming in the background, we should all still try to live life the best way that we can.

Final thoughts

Overall, I agree with both the Biblical and Aurelius’ perspectives on how to cherish life and death. I think that the Bible teaches a lot on how to understand death and to not fear it, and Aurelius teaches a lot on how to live day-to-day with the correct mindset. In this way, I argue that this is a better alternative to the ‘YOLO’ slang that is pretty popular among people of my age which stands for ‘You only live once’ which has become the rationale to not care for the value of life and death and to be in full pursuit of pleasure with the avoidance of pain. I think that more people should learn from religious texts such as the Bible, and as well as through Aurelius’ Meditations in order to fully understand and treasure the value of life and death.