(August 22, 2013 at 5:06 pm)Sword of Christ Wrote: They may be more prone to certain kinds of mental illness like depression perhaps, if for instance whatever they decided to invest all their happiness into lets them down say family, career, wealth, relationships and so on. Not to say that a theist wouldn't be upset by these things going pear shaped but would be less prone to absolute despair or suicide.
That fact is debatable(although, my experience tells me it is quite possibly true), however, the point of the article was that atheists are mentally ill for being atheists.
And it is a misconception that atheists have to invest their happiness in anything, which seems to stem from the theist view of materialism. It is very possible for an atheist to find internal happiness that isn't completely dependent upon worldly things.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
