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Originally Posted by davem
I don't see that the lack of an afterlife makes me a 'loser' as I don't have any thoughts on the matter either way - of course, its a nice fantasy if you're that way inclined.
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Well, loser is perhaps not the best word to use... but one should remember that from my perspective there IS an afterlife, and it IS worth attaining. Therefore, those who strive for it and don't attain it are, from that point of view, losers.
But my basic point- with regards to that- is that it doesn't matter if you believe in an afterlife or not. Either way, either everyone gets it or everyone doesn't.
As regards the new- and intriguing- "Teenagers Are Attracted to Youth", I think there may be a good deal of truth in the suggestion that the immortality is what attracts the Young to the Elves. Now, while it may sound rather silly for me- as a 19 year old- to go putting myself in the Elderly Camp, I've found that, as I age, and as I realize the inevitability of death (attending funerals on a regular basis will do this even to the Young), I've also come to realise what a GIFT it is. Christian Theology being in agreement or not, life as we live it in this Fallen state, Death is a release, an end to the weariness of this fallen world...
... and so the Elves still intrigue me. But not because they live for ever, but because I'm beginning to sympathise with their envy of the Gift of Men. I think my choice would have been the Choice of Elros.