Another Good Reason to be a Christian

[Iroscato]

Lek, let me start off by saying I quite like you, though I have gotten a bit hot-headed with you before. I don't think you are as far gone as some of the loons I've met in my life, and believe you are a decent human being, or at least try to be from what I've seen. Therefore, I have some time for you. With that said...

The argument that theists are more joyful than atheists.
Going from my personal experience, this is simply not the case. I'm not saying the reverse is in fact true, I'm saying there is no discernible difference between the two groups. You see my Religious Views? That's where I get a lot of my joy from, and I will draw on my own personal experiences in arguing the first point. Whenever I see the latest development in technology that will help in the fight against cancer, I am immensely proud (a sin according to the Bahble, but meh) of the effort and work gone into that achievement. When I see human beings scrabble desperately through rubble to try and saved loved ones - or even total strangers, I am overcome with the emotions you expect from watching such powerful determination.
An example of one such experience; this picture. It's of a Syrian boy hugging his little sister tightly after she's rescued from a destroyed building. It's one of the most powerful pictures I've ever seen, and fucks me up every time I look at it.

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Now that might not conjure up 'joy' per se, but that and other things create extremely strong emotional responses in me across the entire spectrum. What I'm saying is, do not think of us as joyless, emotionally stunted beings simply because we do not believe in a higher power or purpose. This earth, this time, this life is our own, and it's the only one we know with absolute certainty we get. The achievements, struggles and accomplishments of our species produce immense joy and pride in my heart (well, brain), as does the happiness of my friends and family, the jokes we share, the times we have together. Nothing I can think of can match this for me, because I know that it is real, and it is now.

We do not need religion to love life, with every fibre of our being. We need good people, and amazing experiences. Real experiences, that we can draw on and lean on in our times of need, the reminder that things can always get better, and have been better in the past.
No human alive knows what the true nature of the universe is. No pastor, nor preacher nor cleric nor holy man nor pope nor scientist can claim knowledge of ultimate truth with total sincerity, despite their claims to the contrary. Do I know with 100% certainty that there is no God? No, I do not. But what I DO know is I am alive, in the here and now, and to make that experience as joyful as I can in the unknown amount of time I have on this planet is the thing that matters most to me in the world. And since I have never in my life seen evidence that anything exists after this life, I do not trouble myself with musing on the supernatural and what comes after, except when I'm in debate mood, or just have the occasional quiet ten minutes