Going back to the base of this thread, yeah, we hear all the time about how "miserable" atheists are, filled with anger and hatred (toward God?). It's like they think disbelieving fairy tales that lack any sort of objective evidence is some sort of mental illness.
Yes, some atheists are miserable. We are miserable for all sorts of reasons - war and poverty, health problems (including pain). We have depression, anxiety, psychosis, PTSD, and many other mental and emotional issues. We have people, places, and pets we love, and we lose these, and we grieve like anyone else. However, we deal with these problems head-on - the issue or problem is what it is, there is no sugar daddy in the sky who will make it all better. We will never see a deceased loved one again. God won't solve poverty - but some kinds of actions can help relieve it - getting a job, or getting assistance from other people. God won't heal our diseases or injuries, but medical science may be able to heal the disease/injury, or may be able to alleviate some of the suffering involved with it. God won't stop our lonliness, but finding other people to do things with and/or talk to will stop lonliness. Those people do not have to be in a church.
We can enjoy our day-to-day lives as much as anyone. We may have family or friends we are meaning something to in those daily lives. We may be doing things that please ourselves. We can do things to help our communities.... or do things to hurt our communities and/or people in it (e.g., crime). We'll tend to reap what we sow, whether it is from some religious teaching or our mundane reputation or credit rating.
In a couple hundred years, very few of us will be remembered for anything. Even if we've had children, how much does any of us know of our ancestors who were born around 1800? Not much - most of us don't even know their names. Having children won't help that. A few people do things that we know about for much longer, but that won't last forever. Sooner or later, humankind will be extinct. For that matter, in the very long term, the universe will not exist in its present form - "big crunch" or the sun burning out. WHO will any of this have any "meaning" in the very long term? Without a God, a universal observer, there is no one to have any "meaning".
Things do not always have a big, cosmelogical meaning. What is the meaning of my wearing a yellow dress today, in the long haul? What is the huge meaning behind my eating macaroni today? Sometimes things are just what they seem to be, and don't have any particular meaning or represent anything beyond what they are. I am not so egotistical to believe that I, personally, will have any larger "meaning", or will make any huge difference in the universe. Granted, some people do make a bigger difference on more, for good or bad, but those are barely remembered at all in a couple of thousand years - NOTHING in the 13 billion years or so the universe has existed. Anything on this planet is inconsequential on the probably 1 octillian or so planets in the Milky Way.
That doesn't stop me from doing things for my friends, family, and community. I don't need to be the center of attention for "God" either. If God exists, he'd have a lot more to worry about than what, precisely, I'm thinking about or reading.
Yes, some atheists are miserable. We are miserable for all sorts of reasons - war and poverty, health problems (including pain). We have depression, anxiety, psychosis, PTSD, and many other mental and emotional issues. We have people, places, and pets we love, and we lose these, and we grieve like anyone else. However, we deal with these problems head-on - the issue or problem is what it is, there is no sugar daddy in the sky who will make it all better. We will never see a deceased loved one again. God won't solve poverty - but some kinds of actions can help relieve it - getting a job, or getting assistance from other people. God won't heal our diseases or injuries, but medical science may be able to heal the disease/injury, or may be able to alleviate some of the suffering involved with it. God won't stop our lonliness, but finding other people to do things with and/or talk to will stop lonliness. Those people do not have to be in a church.
We can enjoy our day-to-day lives as much as anyone. We may have family or friends we are meaning something to in those daily lives. We may be doing things that please ourselves. We can do things to help our communities.... or do things to hurt our communities and/or people in it (e.g., crime). We'll tend to reap what we sow, whether it is from some religious teaching or our mundane reputation or credit rating.
In a couple hundred years, very few of us will be remembered for anything. Even if we've had children, how much does any of us know of our ancestors who were born around 1800? Not much - most of us don't even know their names. Having children won't help that. A few people do things that we know about for much longer, but that won't last forever. Sooner or later, humankind will be extinct. For that matter, in the very long term, the universe will not exist in its present form - "big crunch" or the sun burning out. WHO will any of this have any "meaning" in the very long term? Without a God, a universal observer, there is no one to have any "meaning".
Things do not always have a big, cosmelogical meaning. What is the meaning of my wearing a yellow dress today, in the long haul? What is the huge meaning behind my eating macaroni today? Sometimes things are just what they seem to be, and don't have any particular meaning or represent anything beyond what they are. I am not so egotistical to believe that I, personally, will have any larger "meaning", or will make any huge difference in the universe. Granted, some people do make a bigger difference on more, for good or bad, but those are barely remembered at all in a couple of thousand years - NOTHING in the 13 billion years or so the universe has existed. Anything on this planet is inconsequential on the probably 1 octillian or so planets in the Milky Way.
That doesn't stop me from doing things for my friends, family, and community. I don't need to be the center of attention for "God" either. If God exists, he'd have a lot more to worry about than what, precisely, I'm thinking about or reading.
(May 14, 2012 at 2:11 pm)Annik Wrote: Atheists are miserable.
I hear this a lot from the religious. They like to claim that we're some kind of empty shells that just sloth around without some kind of religion to motivate us. I have depression and anxiety (Thanks, Momma! <3 ), but I have to say that it's much easier to overcome now. I've never felt so happy, alive and free.
