Would the world be better off if all theists became atheists.

[Cinjin]

As much as I want to say yes, I can't entirely. I was having a conversation with a friend the other day, and he told me that he agreed with what I was saying, but the "hopelessness of atheism" was too much for him. I wondered what would happen to him if he realized life was most likely the extent of his lifetime. There is something very cruel about telling a small child that Santa doesn't exist. And it parallels the belief that some people have in a god. Personally, like a child with Santa, I feel it is something that our species must outgrow. I know i'll get hit about that, but can you imagine the volume of people mourning the loss afterwards? I didn't become atheist overnight, it was a process, and I am better because it was a process.

ah yes, the "hopelessness of atheism" argument. I once heard a pastor say, "who would want to be an atheist and spend the rest of eternity in a dark casket?" What a tool. You see, the "hopelessness of atheism" was created by religion. Christians need you to feel despair and fear and hopelessness. That's why Hell was invented. Ask yourself this - were you hopeless before you were born? Did you feel ANYTHING before you were born? No. If atheists are correct and everyone simply dies than you will return to the exact state of what you were before you existed. Non-existance. Completely and totally free of all your current concerns.

Deists of course feel differently, but if I was going to lean towards a side of the argument I think everyone here knows that I'm far more partial to atheists view.

Also, the next time your friend says atheism is hopeless ask him if he really truly wants to live forever worshipping the same deity. 100 Trillion years would be like one minute in heaven ... YUCK, I'd rather be dead.