What is death and how is it related to the widely accepted definition of life? Are they in fact opposites or do they work hand in hand?
I personally am of the school of logic that states that both death and life work hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other and vice versa. Logic says that something that was never alive cannot die. Hence death and life go hand in hand. There are many variants of this belief but the most logical one is that life and death are in a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. This does nothing to define either death or life yet it defines the relationship between the two.
Death is defined as the absence of life. Yet if that is all we confine it to being then we do not grasp the full concept of death. To understand death we must view ourselves as farmers and we are planting seeds. We plant many fields. Yet when we die they die also, causing many people to be affected. Therefore the seeds represent our life. We spend our days putting little pieces of ourselves into others via memories and legacies. When we die all those little pieces of us die as well hurting many more people than we could even comprehend. Therefore this is the perfect way to counter the act of suicide. When someone wants to take their life, it is most often caused by the feeling of being invisible or worthless. This metaphor states the fact that we affect more people than we can ever realize. No one is invisible or worthless because everyone affects people in some memorable way. When you commit suicide you not only kill yourself, but every memory people have of you. No one is alone because everyone is cared for by someone, even if they don't realize it.
You may be wondering how suicide affects the meaning of death and/or life. It in fact defines both of them in a clear way. Death is the start of the life of a person's legacy. Life is meant to be spent investing in other people because what we leave behind is more important than anything we can take with us.
Another worry you may have is how does this affect my faith? You are making it seem like death and life exist independently of any deity or need for faith. In fact by this you are further stating my point. Death and life are a cycle. But every cycle has to start somewhere and be monitored constantly in order as to not go out of control in one way or the other. That is where God fits into this equation.
Again, I am not stating that this is the actual definition of death or life, I am simply stating that this is my understanding of them. I, like always, am encouraging the seeking of knowledge for one's self. Go and prove me wrong. I want you to. The human race will go nowhere if we all accept what we are taught and don't go learn things for ourselves. Yet do not take this too far and abandon all you have been taught. There is a perfect medium between the seeking of knowledge and utter insanity. Go learn things for yourselves. Be independent. Prove me wrong.