(November 18, 2021 at 1:12 pm)T.J. Wrote: Looking for advice on some things as I consider myself very new as an atheist and I had some questions.
Where do you really go from here? I've come to the conclusion that there are no gods, no heaven, no hell, no afterlife, and that when I die I'll either rot in the ground or be cremated and just cease to exist. That the universe just came into being with no specific purpose, so now what? Or does there even need to be a 'now what?'
I don't know how many atheists here were either born and raised atheist versus falling out of religion and becoming atheist, but it really messes with your head somewhat (at least I think so) after something you thought to be the truth for so long turns out to be a web of lies and that people you thought were real turns out to be fictional creations to support a religion that was bent on controlling the population with absurd laws and rules. I've been told to question everything and I have been. Do I start studying up on science now? Research some well known atheists? Or just live content that something came from nothing and my destiny is whatever I make it?
Thought it'd make for an interesting discussion. Especially for any new atheists out there like myself still trying to make sense of it all.
You can choose to do with it what you want.
It is my contention, that atheism, is the result of rational and critical thinking, when applied to the god claim. So, that rational and critical thinking process does not just apply to the god claim, it applies to all existential claims. So, even if your atheism itself does not become a major part of your thinking, you can always have the ability for critical thinking as part of your mindset.
I always enjoyed finding the flaws in theist arguments, so I can respond to any theist when they try to use one. I am referring to: Kalam cosmological argument, teleological argument, ontological argument, presupositionalism, etc.
Quote:Or just live content that something came from nothing...
You can start with NOT repeating this!
This is not what any of the theories of the origin of the universe (or life), claim. This is actually a strawman argument that theists try to use in debates against atheists. Even with Lawrence Kraus's book, "A Universe From Nothing", he does not mean "absolutely nothing". Physicists have a different definition for nothing than philosophers do.
Maybe you should read some books aimed at laypeople books on astrophysics.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
