Death before birth

[TremendoS]

"Man always dies before he is fully born." Erich Fromm

 

Thinking about this claim made me think that in this context Fromm meant a human being who has to be self-aware in order to die before being fully born?

 

Can a deliberately ignorant person be reborn? Someone who is completely oblivious to his surroundings, in addition to being mentally and spiritually lazy?

And then, when it comes to a human being who is awaken in all those senses, is it necessary for this person to die before being reborn?

[Boerseun]

"Man always dies before he is fully born." Erich Fromm

 

Thinking about this claim made me think that in this context Fromm meant a human being who has to be self-aware in order to die before being fully born?

 

Can a deliberately ignorant person be reborn? Someone who is completely oblivious to his surroundings, in addition to being mentally and spiritually lazy?

And then, when it comes to a human being who is awaken in all those senses, is it necessary for this person to die before being reborn?

Well, I guess it all depends on your understanding on what it means to be "reborn".

 

I mean, think about it:

 

What does it mean? Being "reborn"? We are mammals, and we can only be born once. That should be crystal clear.

 

So, what becomes even clearer, is that the whole concept of being "reborn", is a metaphorical one. One that points to the rebornee to have experienced something so vital and life-changing, that it could be equated to having been "reborn". Charismatic churches are very fond of that particular metaphor. They don't say what it means, though - their normal escape route when asked, is that "you will know when it happens to you."

 

And here's my point:

 

The concept of being "reborn" is as old as the ages. And what the metaphor refers to, is pretty graphical and self-explanatory. You, as a human animal, have come from a womb, popping out the vagina as you make your entry into the world. The "Life-Changing Rebirth" that societies and religions world-wide refer to, is nothing more and nothing less than a referral to the sex act.

 

I'm pretty sure of that.

 

And every other connotation thereafter assigned to "rebirth", the original meaning of which being lost in the mists of time, is therefore invalid. But a "rebirth" sounds like a good thing, it sounds like somebody pressed the "reset" button on your life. So, if you're not happy with your current life, searching for some kind of a spiritual "rebirth" is tempting. But there is no such thing outside of metaphors and symbology. And it has a pretty crude origin.

 

As to your question of whether a deliberatly ignorant person can be "reborn", and my explanation of "rebirth" initially referring to the sex act, it seems that, yes - deliberately ignorant people are the most likely (and seemingly the most successfull at it) at being "reborn". For some reason they breed like rabbits - it's about the only thing they're any good at.

 

A'yuh.