# Why don't Christians Skydive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 22, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408 "2009-01-22T04:43:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/21 "2009-01-22T15:13:49Z")
> [@SSG\_Schwartz](#): > > Ok, I know some of them do, but most don’t. Most also do not swim in shark infested waters, retrieve hand grenades, or even serve in combat arms positions in the US Military. It seems to me that if there is a great reward in Heaven, why are more Christians not in a hurry to get there? I understand to some, suicide may not get you into Heaven, but why not drive fast on the interstate on a foggy morning? Christians are commanded to do what God wants, not to advance our own interests. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/22 "2009-01-22T15:17:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Skydivers don’t dive with the intent to die - I mean the whole _point_ of carrying the parachute is so you survive the experience to do it again, right? Last I checked, yes. After all, if you don’t survive the jump you can’t jump again. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/23 "2009-01-22T15:35:01Z")
I don’t think the OP is necessarily asking “Why don’t Christians take unnecessary risks”. Maybe a better way to put it would be to ask why, if Christians believe in an eternal reward in the afterlife, why do they fear death so? I asked this question a few years ago, and I’m not sure I ever got a satisfying response. It seems to me that life here on Earth is less than nothing compared to eternity in bliss- so why don’t Christians view it as such? If you die saving the life of one person, or even just to improve someone else’s life, you did a good deed AND you get to your eternal reward a lot sooner. The saying is, “There are no atheists in foxholes”, but from what I can tell, there aren’t very many true believers in those foxholes, either. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/24 "2009-01-22T15:43:03Z")
I think a better question is “Why are people so quick to believe that if a Christian doesn’t skydive, it must be because he fears death?” First of all, I’d like to see some hard figures before we conclude that Christians don’t skydive. I’m a devout believer, and I’ve been itching to try it out. There are only three reasons why I haven’t done so: (1) the cost, (2) the fact that I’m not thrilled by the idea of tandem skydiving, and (3) I can’t get any of my friends – Christian or otherwise – to try it out. Second, there could be any number of reasons why they don’t. The most devout Christians tends to devote a lot of time to their churches, to charitable activities, to prayer, to Bible study, and to acts of devotion. This limits the amount of time that they can spend on other activities. Heck, I’d love to get another advanced degree, but the cost and the time investment required make this prohibitive. Third, even if we were to grant that Christians want to avoid the risks involved in skydiving, this isn’t necessarily motivated by outright fear. It could be that they feel that it would be an imprudent thing to do, given their family or ministry obligations. And so forth, and so on. Christians fear death so? That’s a hasty conclusion, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/25 "2009-01-22T15:59:07Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I don’t think the OP is necessarily asking “Why don’t Christians take unnecessary risks”. Maybe a better way to put it would be to ask why, if Christians believe in an eternal reward in the afterlife, why do they fear death so? > > I asked this question a few years ago, and I’m not sure I ever got a satisfying response. > > It seems to me that life here on Earth is less than nothing compared to eternity in bliss- so why don’t Christians view it as such? Speaking for myself, I am no longer terrified of death, and my conversion to Christianity was a key point in reaching that state. That doesn’t mean that I court death, but it does mean that I no longer feel a need to organize every I do around the goal of extending life for the maximum possible length of time. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/26 "2009-01-22T16:17:07Z")
I can’t think of a reason why religious affiliation would have anything to do with other interests, unless you think sky divers do it because of a death wish. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/27 "2009-01-22T16:56:42Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > I’m a devout believer, and I’ve been itching to try it out. There are only three reasons why I haven’t done so: (1) the cost Can’t help you with that one - you don’t want to get too cheap with anything sky-related is all I’m sayin’ here. > [@](#): > > (2) the fact that I’m not thrilled by the idea of tandem skydiving The look into “static line” and “accelerated free-fall” as options, which you should be able to get with a little searching and/or asking for it. > [@](#): > > (3) I can’t get any of my friends – Christian or otherwise – to try it out. If you go skydiving you will make friends who like to skydive, probably the first day you try it. But, more on topic - yes, people frequently forgo one activity either in favor of another or due to other obligations in this life which they feel are important. Also, a lack of a fear of death doesn’t automatically translate into _seeking_ death. I mean, if you’re going to heaven and going to spend all eternity there what’s the freakin’ hurry, right? It will be there when you get there. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/28 "2009-01-22T17:33:56Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I don’t think the OP is necessarily asking “Why don’t Christians take unnecessary risks”. Maybe a better way to put it would be to ask why, if Christians believe in an eternal reward in the afterlife, why do they fear death so? > > I asked this question a few years ago, and I’m not sure I ever got a satisfying response. > > It seems to me that life here on Earth is less than nothing compared to eternity in bliss- so why don’t Christians view it as such? If you die saving the life of one person, or even just to improve someone else’s life, you did a good deed AND you get to your eternal reward a lot sooner. > > The saying is, “There are no atheists in foxholes”, but from what I can tell, there aren’t very many true believers in those foxholes, either. I’m not super religious, so I can’t speak for folks who are. But my theory about this is that the “fear of death” is largely a physiological response, which is evolutionary in origin. You may have mentally prepared yourself for death, you may believe that there is something better on the other side, but your body wants to live. Plenty of people are willing to do things that put them in harm’s way…join the military, become a firefighter, etc., and many of those people (Christian or not) have some religious or philosophical point of view that enables them to overcome the fear. But when death is _imminent_, their body reacts by doing what it can to stay alive. That doesn’t mean they aren’t “true believers,” I think instead it means that they are human. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/29 "2009-01-22T17:34:16Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I If you die saving the life of one person, or even just to improve someone else’s life, you did a good deed AND you get to your eternal reward a lot sooner. BTW, have you considered that this is actually an argument _against_ your position? After all, you usually don’t get to save someone’s life while skydiving. So why wouldn’t a Christian decide to forego skydiving instead? And, as **Broomstick** said, why should they be in any hurry to get to heaven? ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/30 "2009-01-22T17:42:14Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > BTW, have you considered that this is actually an argument _against_ your position? After all, you usually don’t get to save someone’s life while skydiving. So why wouldn’t a Christian decide to forego skydiving instead? > > And, as **Broomstick** said, why should they be in any hurry to get to heaven? No, 'cause I don’t believe that skydiving is inherently dangerous. Heck, I’ve done it, and I’m an atheist- from my point of view, this is the only life we get. I’ve got to make it last as long as possible… but I felt that the experience of skydiving was worth the risk. **ITR champion** - good on you. I can respect faith that is strong enough to really embrace the concept of an afterlife. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/31 "2009-01-22T17:45:08Z")
As many folks have pointed out, most people don’t skydive so most Christians don’t, in the same way that most Jews, Moslems, Hindus, Sikhs and Bhuddists don’t. When I was active I would say that the overwhelmingly vast majority of the other skydivers that I knew were Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/32 "2009-01-22T17:50:50Z")
> [@](#): > > The largest religion in the US is Christianity, practiced by the majority of the population (nearly 76.5% in 2001). Source: [Religion in the United States - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States) So roughly three-fourths of the US population does not participate in the activities you describe as a result of their religious beliefs? Cite? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/33 "2009-01-22T17:55:48Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > No, 'cause I don’t believe that skydiving is inherently dangerous. And I agree. However, in response to the dubious claim that Christians don’t skydive, you proposed rephrasing the question as “If Christians believe in an eternal reward in the afterlife, why do they fear death so?” So come on. If you don’t think it’s inherently dangerous – and again, I agree with you on that point – then why insinuate that Christians avoid skydiving because they’re deathly afraid of the consequences? As I said, it’s a hasty and completely unwarranted conclusion to draw. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/34 "2009-01-22T18:00:51Z")
It’s a tenet of Christian belief that people are flawed, limited, and not generally able to comprehend just how great their divine reward will be. Therefore while some Christians may find that their faith lessens their aversion to danger, if they do still fear death it’s not because their Christianity “doesn’t work”. It’s just that imperfect human nature acting up again. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/35 "2009-01-22T18:02:48Z")
Heaven is up on the fluffy white clouds. Hell is down under the earth in the magma. Moving from near the former toward the latter is morally backward. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/36 "2009-01-22T18:06:02Z")
I’m not a Christian, and I do not skydive. I did fall out of a tree once, if that help with the data points. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/37 "2009-01-22T18:13:10Z")
Its all about the transition. None of the things cited provide a painless, 100% successful transition to heavenly rewards. BTW, for statistical purposes count me as an atheist who does jump out of planes or into water with sharks. I did serve in the military but in a support role. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/38 "2009-01-22T18:23:51Z")
At the risk of looking stupid: I read and responded to the parody thead [Why don’t Pirates Skydive?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=503030) before I knew of the existence of this one. FWIW what I said there was [QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] If this is a serious question, and if that question is “Why do so many believers in a desirable afterlife seem so cautious about avoiding death?” I can think of several answers: (1) The human instinct to survive and protect oneself is hard to override. (2) They have a Mission From God, and they aren’t ready to check out until that mission is completed or God relieves them of duty. (3) More generally, as long as there are good contributions you can make to this world, isn’t it selfish to check out now before making them? And if there are good things you can experience in this world, why not experience them before you go? Eternity will still be there whenever you get there. (4) They have some doubt about the existence or nature of the afterlife or their own destination in it. (5) They realize the grief and/or hardship that their death would mean for those left behind. (6) If you engage in risky activities, you risk not only death, but also dismemberment, brain damage, body damage, horrible pain, and other nasty things that no one wants to experience, whether or not there’s an afterlife. [/QUOTE] Many of these points have already been made in this thread. In the case of Christians (which would apply to some but not all believers in an afterlife), I like this answer: [QUOTE=ITR Champion] Christians are commanded to do what God wants, not to advance our own interests. [/QUOTE] Christians can and do risk their lives to further God’s kingdom (see, for example, any Christian martyr, or at least any non-misguided one), but that’s different from risking one’s life in trivial or selfish pursuits. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/39 "2009-01-22T18:27:43Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > BTW, for statistical purposes count me as an atheist who does jump out of planes or into water with sharks. I did serve in the military but in a support role. Missed the edit window. Should have been does NOT jump out of planes… ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408/40 "2009-01-22T18:30:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > In the case of Christians (which would apply to some but not all believers in an afterlife), I like this answer:Christians can and do risk their lives to further God’s kingdom (see, for example, any Christian martyr, or at least any non-misguided one), but that’s different from risking one’s life in trivial or selfish pursuits. But that begs the question of why Christians do \*anything \*which entails a risk of death. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-christians-skydive/482408.md?page=3)