Atheist, how to cope?

[Kyuuketsuki]

So, really what I want to know is how to live a happy life being an atheist? I havn't got eternal life to look forward to. I will cease to exist when I die...I still believe in being good to my fellow man and still believe in treating others like I would like to be treated but knowing that I will one day just cease to exist is a bit daunting

Live life just like everyone else ... but without religion

The following is an article someone submitted to my E-Zine on that very subject:

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The Uplifting Message Of Atheism
by
Psycho Dave

Many religious people believe that without their faith in whatever god they worship, life would have no meaning. Imagine what a bleak statement on their personality that is, unless they believe that:
a) They do not deserve salvation,
b) They are terrible sinners,
c) Mankind has fallen from a previously perfect state, or
d) Only by being a slave to Jesus and God can they find salvation...
Unless they believe these things, they are doomed.

This, to me, is a classic example of the psychological trick whereby a therapist tears down the psyche of an individual, only to rebuild them by making them accept a new set of premises.

Most Religious people revile atheists. Because we do not accept their paradigms of mankind's fall, sin, and salvation, we are antithetical to their idea of a perfect society. But they go as far as to suggest that without accepting their paradigms, we are living a meaningless, pointless, wicked existence.

What could be more meaningless an existence, than to believe that all of mankind is wicked and doomed to hell, that you do not deserve anything good in this life, and that the only way to get any meaning in life is to bow down and worship a God who allegedly created everything the way it is?

Christianity and other religions, see men and women as pawns in a universal struggle of good and evil. If you are not on the side of good, then you're just evil. But which beliefs truly are good, and which are evil?

What does atheism have to offer? Well, obviously, it doesn't offer a world of gloom and doom, with mankind as a doomed race with only one door of opportunity to save it. Atheism requires the individuals to make up their own unique worldview, find their own meaning in life, and judge moral situations one at a time.

For example, what do atheists have to look forward to? Well, we don't believe in Hell, period. We don't believe the world is going to end "really soon". We don't believe that people will go to everlasting suffering for not following us. Sound good? On the contrary, however, we do not believe in an afterlife. We believe in the mortality of all life. We believe our existence is finite, that we all will die, and that death is final. That's not very appealing to some people.

In fact, for many, who fear their own mortality and need the notion of an afterlife to keep going on, atheism is a slap in the face. They might say "But why go on living, if you're just going to die? Why not just kill yourself and stop prolonging the inevitable? Why not go around killing everyone, since there is no divine punishment?" Though it is true that the thought of death as a final stage in a seemingly pointless life is a problem for some, it's not a problem for a well-educated atheist who has thought these things over.

The atheist realizes that living is better than not living. The atheist realizes that freedom is better than slavery. The atheist realizes that the future holds endless possibilities to make life longer, more enjoyable, and fulfilling. Indeed, the atheist, once free of the yoke of religion, can pursue their his or her dreams, take advantage of all that life has to offer, and guiltlessly pursue personal pleasure. In essence, an atheist doesn't have to limit himself or feel guilty about having too much fun.

The atheist doesn't have to worry about things like premarital sex, interracial dating, or even marriage at all. An atheist is sexually free to explore and experiment and enjoy all that human biology has to offer. An atheist doesn't have to worry about going to church, meeting any holy days of obligations, pilgrimages, tithing. Think of all the hours that Christians waste on bible studies and church. Atheists have all that time to do more constructive things.

But what "meaning" is there in the life of an atheist? One who asks that question is truly naive. All of the "meaning" that Christians think is exclusively theirs in life, is actually common to all people. All humans value the birth of their children. All humans value seeing their kids grow to maturity. All humans value achieving goals they have chosen for themselves. All humans value personal achievement. All humans value peace, prosperity, health and longevity. All humans value art, music and other things that are uniquely human.

I would argue that atheists can choose their own meaning in life from the gigantic Wal-Mart of possibilities that the world has to offer. The meaning of life for an atheist is whatever they want. They can be (and are) artists, musicians, actors, soldiers, bakers, car mechanics, rocket scientists, astronauts, philosophers, therapists, doctors. I would argue that an atheist doctor has the same exact feeling of accomplishment and meaning after saving a patient's life than a Christian Doctor does. I would argue that an atheist athlete feels the same way that a Christian athlete does after winning a championship.

The meaning of life for an atheist is as unique to the atheist as a "personal relationship with God" is to the Christian. Indeed, the meaning of life (for anyone) is defined by individual personal interests, hobbies, worldview, occupation and immediate concerns. The only real difference in the worldview of organized religions, is that they tend towards a kind of collective world-view, and attempt to get as many of their members as possible to accept the same pre-determined, pre-planned, pre-defined meaning of life and world-view.

So next time some religious person tells you that an atheist's life has no meaning, tell them how full of bull they are, and tell them that you'd rather have a custom-made meaning of life, than a stock "off-the shelf" one.

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Says it all to me ... enjoy life

Kyu