Why is life worth living as an atheist?

[Violet]

It will obviously not be the same story for all people. I see choice and authenticity as the most important. I have a lot of respect for other people's right to choose. You don't hold the same values as I do, so your reaction will obviously be different.

Well, why not offer my story then? How else for you to understand where I come from?

Value is all subjective, as is respect. Why are these things important to you? What on earth is *not* 'authentic'? What is it about the illusion of choice that you fancy so?

Again, my value system is different. I've always disliked the violent side of myself, but I often let it control me. That wasn't really me and if I wanted to be authentic to myself, I had to do something about it. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't use some kind of force to defend myself or my loved ones, so I dubbed it a "cautious" pacifism.

Then is it not *you*, a person, who has decided to step up your game, and not a philosophy? I'd use my body as a shield, myself. Not much point or concern in guarding my own life though, might as well just run

Life has always been important to me and it got even more important with the loss of my faith. I was a existentialist before I knew what existentialism was, but there are finer parts (such as the question of authenticity and the topic of angst) I was not as familiar with. It made sense to me and I became a little more committed to choice and authenticity than some other parts.

Topic of angst? Commitment to a philosophy? I guess if it makes you feel good, but at that point it sounds like a replacement for faith in a god.

Furthermore, there are many different kinds of existentialist (as that variety in the most popular existential authors clearly show). My friend is not the same type of existentialist that I am, but we hold the same kind of umbrella beliefs (although he has a tendency to apply them in ways that are radically different than my own). I'm not sure of all the fancy terms used to describe specific kind of existentialism I practice, because it's not as important to me, but I don't believe I am deterministic (within the boundaries of physics, of course). Choice is all I have to define myself with and I am comfortable with that.

There's a different version of every word for every person. To a child, a cloud might be heavenly, to a romantic a fantasy, to a scientist a novelty. Sure, there are 7 billion brands of existentialism, from everything to nothing, but it's always something.

That doesn't mean I should respect all of them, many of them, some of them, any of them. Many are made by the ignorant, plenty are crafted by the nonadept philosophically, a few might even be constructed by well-meaning and yet erroneous elderly. Existentialism necessitates Nihilism necessitates Subjectivism. Assuming any of these, why believe that you are not a fantastic biological machine that will always make the same decision no matter how many times an option be run through an identical system? You are a system, you are a machine, and you will always make the same decision considering identical situation.

What is free will, then? What is this choice you speak of? We will always be free to choose the choice we always will make. Or are you bringing something metaphysical into this?

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As, but normal is what everyone is and you are not. "Strange" is relative.

How am I not normal? I'm the most normal lady I know