As far back as we have literary reports -- beginning with the #EpicofGilgamesh, our earliest surviving narrative, written centuries before the oldest accounts of the #Bible -- humans have feared #death more than almost anything.
Many people fear the process of #dying; others #fear facing #eternaltorment; yet others fear the void, the idea of #nonexistence.
Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman - The Omnipresent Fear of Death
As far back as we have literary reports -- beginning with the Epic of Gilgamesh, our earliest surviving narrative, written centuries before the oldest accounts of the Bible -- humans have feared death more than almost anything. Many people fear the process of dying; others fear facing eternal torment; yet others fear the void, the idea of non-existence. In this episode we talk about ancient reflections on death and about why some stalwart souls insisted that in fact there was nothing to fear.