My Loss of faith has caused severe depression

[Aran]

I was born into a largely irreligious household. My younger brother, father and grandfather were staunch atheists, my grandmother veered towards deism. Only my mother expressed the slightest modicum of faith in a God.

At the age of 12, I embraced the Sikh religion. At the time I didn't understand the reason for my radical transition from agnostic to born-again believer, and in my childish ignorance I attributed it to the will of a divine being, who injected new-found faith into my life. I don't know why exactly I became a Sikh. All I know is that it made me feel truly happy.

I lived in contentment as a Sikh for four years. But I never actually pondered over the philosophy to which I subscribed. I simply accepted it. When I turned 16 however, I became inquisitive. I had questions. I turned to the priests at my temple to satiate my curiosity. Their responses were utterly pathetic, full of empty rhetoric, unsatisfying. And so I began to delve through the scriptures in search of answers. As I analysed their contents, I was confronted with an ever growing number of doubts. It became increasingly difficult to justify and believe in the tenets of my scripture. I was at breaking point. The lack of answers and my swelling doubts plunged my mind into chaos. I prayed so hard, I begged all powerful God to dispel doubt from my mind. I struggled in this way for a year.

I chanced upon a book in a bookshop one day, A.C Grayling's God Argument. This book was the final nail in the coffin for my faith in Sikhism. It forced me to confront a harsh reality, that I had misinterpreted the sense of community and fellowship that I had derived from becoming a Sikh as having built a relationship with a deity. I was an atheist. I didn't want to be an atheist. I didn't want to lose my faith, the foundation of my existence. But I couldn't ignore the facts. I just couldn't believe in it.

I thought I would have more freedom as a result of my de-conversion. But one depression was traded for another. My Sikh faith had been my rock for four years. It had made me happy, instilled me with purpose. An optimism in humankind.

But now my world-view is dim and pessimistic. There is no objective morality in the atheist universe. There is no such thing as goodness. It has no inherent value. Human nature appears increasingly dark and selfish to me. Our lives have no meaning. Everything is chaos.

I am on the brink. Please help

[Minimalist]

There is no objective morality in any universe.

The ten commandments are too wordy. The bible should be a piece of paper. And on that piece of paper it should say 'Try not to be a cunt'.” —Jim Jeffries

[Something completely different]

But now my world-view is dim and pessimistic. There is no objective morality in the atheist universe. There is no such thing as goodness. It has no inherent value. Human nature appears increasingly dark and selfish to me. Our lives have no meaning. Everything is chaos.

I am on the brink. Please help

There are objective morals. In fact, I would argue that only secularism provides objective moral values.
Look at religious values: The Bible orders homosexuals to be executed, raped women to marry their rapists and other such stuff....

The values I have, are values gained through expirence, through learning out of mistakes in the past, through trying to make our society more prosperous and enjoyable for all.

There is more value to your life in atheism than you think:

Thnk of it, when you die - by whom do you want your actions to be judged:

A selfish space dic(k)tator or those you leave behind.

The realisation that you only have one life, gives you the chance to give it purpose by defining what you want to achieve for yourself and others by yourself. And not by a pries or space Kim Jong Un.

[Minimalist]

Even cannibalism is not universally rejected.

Nor incest...judging by the Bible Belt.

[The Grand Nudger]

But now my world-view is dim and pessimistic.

Then work to change that by surrounding yourself with "bright" optimistic people - engage in "bright" and optimistic activities.

There is no objective morality in the atheist universe.

There may be none in yours, but this wouldn't be due to atheism. Go find some objective morality somewhere if you need it.

There is no such thing as goodness.

Again, while there may be none in your life - it's difficult to imagine how atheism is the culprit here. Go out and find some bud.

It has no inherent value.

Should it? Must it? Are you incapable of assigning life value?

Human nature appears increasingly dark and selfish to me.

Welcome to reality - you know..these increasingly dark and selfish natures were there when you were a sikh as well...somehow I doubt that -your- loss of faith has changed -them-.

Our lives have no meaning.
Everything is chaos.

Go find some.

I am on the brink. Please help

At the risk of sounding like a broken record...and I mean this earnestly....go find some help man. This forum probably isn't the kind of place where you're gonna find help to bring you back from any "brink".

[Aran]

But now my world-view is dim and pessimistic. There is no objective morality in the atheist universe. There is no such thing as goodness. It has no inherent value. Human nature appears increasingly dark and selfish to me. Our lives have no meaning. Everything is chaos.

I am on the brink. Please help

There are objective morals. In fact, I would argue that only secularism provides objective moral values.
Look at religious values: The Bible orders homosexuals to be executed, raped women to marry their rapists and other such stuff....

The values I have, are values gained through expirence, through learning out of mistakes in the past, through trying to make our society more prosperous and enjoyable for all.

There is more value to your life in atheism than you think:

Thnk of it, when you die - by whom do you want your actions to be judged:

A selfish space dic(k)tator or those you leave behind.

The realisation that you only have one life, gives you the chance to give it purpose by defining what you want to achieve for yourself and others by yourself. And not by a pries or space Kim Jong Un.

The dilemma for me is that the morals we create have no intrinsic value, as money has no intrinsic value. There is no moral code set in stone. What one man considers righteous as per his moral code may well be abhorrent to another.

[The Grand Nudger]

Why is that a dilemma -for you-? People may not agree with your opinions on the moral status of any given thing, and?

[Walking Void]

I don't know why exactly I became a Sikh. All I know is that it made me feel truly happy.

Maybe before religion, there was nothing to interest or distract You. When I was a christian, I was irrationally secure by being able to fit in with the community. You can be happy with other people regardless of the rules that dictate or try to dictate your life, just look to other people. Minus the trolls, of course.

But now my world-view is dim and pessimistic. There is no objective morality in the atheist universe. There is no such thing as goodness. It has no inherent value. Human nature appears increasingly dark and selfish to me. Our lives have no meaning. Everything is chaos.

The thing is, objective morality is decided by other people. You have to determine yourself if the objective morality is righteous by questioning it.

Goodness differs by the person You ask. I suggest that video games are not good but fun. Anti-video game lobbyists like PETA vs. Pokemon suggest that (especially violent) video games are evil.

We all value anything differently.

Human nature is dark but holds potential to improve over time.

Life has no meaning because life is not defined. Even the stillest of metals are made of atoms that actively volley left and right through our space-time.

Everything is unknown but We can still find patterns.

Well wishes to You.

[Something completely different]

The dilemma for me is that the morals we create have no intrinsic value, as money has no intrinsic value. There is no moral code set in stone. What one man considers righteous as per his moral code may well be abhorrent to another.

Well, to me there is no such thing as "intrinsic" concerning concepts resulting out of human thought. All we create, from moral values to social, economic and political concepts have nothing are the results of thought rater than "of higher decent" (if I understood you correctly).

I can understand how this may seem frightening at first, but it also gives one curiosity and motivation to participate in this endless journey of finding truth through thought. We define rightousness and right and wrong, through what we considere to be the best for our society - and the fact that we thereby determine our own desteny and lives is to me something grand, that stands way above being dictated laws and codes by a authoritarian being whos claim to power is a fascist claim of supiriority.

[Aran]

Why is that a dilemma -for you-? People may not agree with your opinions on the moral status of any given thing, and?

If I'm being perfectly honest with myself, it may be fear. When I was a believer I had confidence that good old God was policing the universe. God prescribed a definitive moral code, and deviation from this code was wrong. My dilemma probably stems from a lack of confidence in humankind which I can't seem to be rid of.

---

The dilemma for me is that the morals we create have no intrinsic value, as money has no intrinsic value. There is no moral code set in stone. What one man considers righteous as per his moral code may well be abhorrent to another.

Well, to me there is no such thing as "intrinsic" concerning concepts resulting out of human thought. All we create, from moral values to social, economic and political concepts have nothing are the results of thought rater than "of higher decent" (if I understood you correctly).

I can understand how this may seem frightening at first, but it also gives one curiosity and motivation to participate in this endless journey of finding truth through thought. We define rightousness and right and wrong, through what we considere to be the best for our society - and the fact that we thereby determine our own desteny and lives is to me something grand, that stands way above being dictated laws and codes by a authoritarian being whos claim to power is a fascist claim of supiriority.

Thank you. The problem may well stem from a fear of sorts.

---

I don't know why exactly I became a Sikh. All I know is that it made me feel truly happy.

Maybe before religion, there was nothing to interest or distract You. When I was a christian, I was irrationally secure by being able to fit in with the community. You can be happy with other people regardless of the rules that dictate or try to dictate your life, just look to other people. Minus the trolls, of course.

But now my world-view is dim and pessimistic. There is no objective morality in the atheist universe. There is no such thing as goodness. It has no inherent value. Human nature appears increasingly dark and selfish to me. Our lives have no meaning. Everything is chaos.

The thing is, objective morality is decided by other people. You have to determine yourself if the objective morality is righteous by questioning it.

Goodness differs by the person You ask. I suggest that video games are not good but fun. Anti-video game lobbyists like PETA vs. Pokemon suggest that (especially violent) video games are evil.

We all value anything differently.

Human nature is dark but holds potential to improve over time.

Life has no meaning because life is not defined. Even the stillest of metals are made of atoms that actively volley left and right through our space-time.

Everything is unknown but We can still find patterns.

Well wishes to You.

I guess I'll just have to determine goodness for myself. Much appreciated.