death and dying

I have been thinking about the issues of death and dying and eternal life, not for any particular reason, just that I have noticed the way people respond to death and it does not quite make sense to me.

Often folk in the world will tell you that they do not believe in God, that there is nothing after this life, that when you are dead that is it. We are just the same as animals.

BUT (and this is a big BUT) people do not behave like that is what they believe.

In all societies there is a respect for the dead, there is ritual about burial or disposal of bodies. If the body were an empty shell like the box the computer came in then what is the problem? Why show respect for the dead?

There is also a taboo about suicide and euthanasia.
If someone commits suicide that is more tragic and traumatic than accidental premature death.
In the UK it is not allowed to assist another person to die, whatever the circumsances.
Why?
What is the problem with finishing life at the end of it's useful period?
If there is nothing left after death, and no eternal consequences, why not opt out when you want to?

There is also the fight for life.
Families will fight the medics to keep their loved ones alive past hope of life. The human body itself will fight ilness and cling on to life. Surely this fight shows that there is a soul and a spirit inside the "shell"?

All this adds up to show we are more than "just a body". The sense that there is "something more" is one of God's hints to mankind, one of those little nudges that alerts us to seek Him out.

And the reason why people would like to think there is nothing after death?
I would venture to say they would prefer there to be nothing, because if there is something that means there are consequences to the way we live now, and to realise there are consequences means we have to take action.
I think some people are like a little kid, sticking their fingers in their ears yelling "la, la, la, I can't hear you!" as if deafing out God will mean He is not there.