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Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Just made an account and thought it would be prudent to create my hello world post.
A little bit about me: I'm an atheist, I enjoy mixing video games and alcohol, and while cooking is an excellent hobby, there is a time and place for a large bowl of cheap ramen.
I also came here to ask a question, or a set of questions along the same lines, that I've been struggling with for over a decade now:
What kind of purpose can be derived from a life without religion?
What kind of meaning comes from being the current state of DNA that's simply trying to further its line?
If an asteroid annihilates the Earth tomorrow, what purpose did we serve by living?
Really I guess I'm just trying to ask, Why bother living? Not believing in a higher power of any flavor has led me to really wonder why I should bother to do anything. There's no purpose or reason.
I'm not sure if posting my question inside my introductory post was correct, but it really was the only thing I came here for.
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RE: Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Welcome.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: What kind of purpose can be derived from a life without religion?
Whatever purpose you make in your life.
Quote:What kind of meaning comes from being the current state of DNA that's simply trying to further its line?
Who says there's meaning behind it?
Quote:If an asteroid annihilates the Earth tomorrow, what purpose did we serve by living?
Who said we had a purpose?
Quote:Really I guess I'm just trying to ask, Why bother living?
Because the alternative sucks.
Christian apologetics is the art of rolling a dog turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.
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RE: Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 4:13 pm
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: Just made an account and thought it would be prudent to create my hello world post.
A little bit about me: I'm an atheist, I enjoy mixing video games and alcohol, and while cooking is an excellent hobby, there is a time and place for a large bowl of cheap ramen.
Hi! And I approve of cheap ramen (but mostly because I'm too cheap and unskilled to make the real deal)!
Quote:I also came here to ask a question, or a set of questions along the same lines, that I've been struggling with for over a decade now:
What kind of purpose can be derived from a life without religion? (1)
What kind of meaning comes from being the current state of DNA that's simply trying to further its line? (2)
If an asteroid annihilates the Earth tomorrow, what purpose did we serve by living? (3)
Really I guess I'm just trying to ask, Why bother living? Not believing in a higher power of any flavor has led me to really wonder why I should bother to do anything. There's no purpose or reason. (4)
I'm not sure if posting my question inside my introductory post was correct, but it really was the only thing I came here for.
I numbered your questions to make it easier.
1) Plenty. You define your own purpose. In a religion, you live for god's happiness and god's glory. Without, you live for your own, your loved ones, whatever you like, really. As long as it makes you happy, there's nothing wrong with it, it's your life and no one should tell you what you have to dedicate your time to.
2) I don't understand. I think it has value to someone studying genetics, I know people who think it's important to pass on their genes, but it has never made sense to me. Some people find meaning in that though.
3) I think I served a purpose by being part of the human race. I think it's great that I made a few people happy and made them laugh during my time here. Things don't have to last forever for them to be real.
4) Why bother living if you can live forever? Death gives meaning to life. Why should we bother? Precisely because one day, we won't get to bother.
Anyway, welcome  do hope you stick around.
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RE: Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 4:18 pm
1. Why does life need a "purpose?" Does an amoeba need a purpose too, or is this just simple human special pleading?
2. None.
3. See #1
4. So the only reason to do anything is because some absurd sky-daddy is watching? Really? Just live and don't worry so much about the rest of it.
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RE: Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 4:24 pm
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: I enjoy mixing video games and alcohol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etykz5a8WB4
Welcome to AF! ^_^
When I was young, there was a god with infinite power protecting me. Is there anyone else who felt that way? And was sure about it? but the first time I fell in love, I was thrown down - or maybe I broke free - and I bade farewell to God and became human. Now I don't have God's protection, and I walk on the ground without wings, but I don't regret this hardship. I want to live as a person. -Arina Tanemura
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RE: Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 5:09 pm
Welcome and.... I'm not going to answer any of your questions... they've been answered in pretty much the way I would.
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RE: Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 5:32 pm
(This post was last modified: August 28, 2013 at 5:35 pm by Mister Agenda.)
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: Just made an account and thought it would be prudent to create my hello world post.
Hello, yourself.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: A little bit about me: I'm an atheist, I enjoy mixing video games and alcohol, and while cooking is an excellent hobby, there is a time and place for a large bowl of cheap ramen.
The Pastafarian communion!
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: I also came here to ask a question, or a set of questions along the same lines, that I've been struggling with for over a decade now:
I'll help if I can.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: What kind of purpose can be derived from a life without religion?
We have to make our own purpose instead of having someone else decide it for us.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: What kind of meaning comes from being the current state of DNA that's simply trying to further its line?
None, but DNA and God aren't the only possible places to get meaning from.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: If an asteroid annihilates the Earth tomorrow, what purpose did we serve by living?
We don't have a purpose like a tool has a purpose. We have purpose, the way human beings have purpose. Things don't have to last forever to be meaningful. In fact, I can't think of anything more likely to dilute meaning than forever. If our lives were a mere prelude to never-ending quadrillions upon quadrillion of years, if they're only an instant that becomes a smaller and smaller portion of our eternal lives as the last black hole dissolves and the universe becomes a cloud of ever-dispersing photons, what could make our lives less pointless than that. A life with a beginning, a middle, and an end is complete. A life where it's impossible to ever even get to the middle...what purpose does that serve?
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: Really I guess I'm just trying to ask, Why bother living?
To see what happens next. If you're lucky, you get to do that until you're good and tired of it. The possible purposes you could come up with are probably infinite, and you don't have to be in a hurry to settle on one. Try a bunch! You could do much worse than 'to enjoy video games and drinking with my buds'.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: Not believing in a higher power of any flavor has led me to really wonder why I should bother to do anything. There's no purpose or reason.
I know some people go through this existential crisis when they de-convert, but I wasn't one of them. I was raised Pentecostal and my brain felt better and better the farther I got away from it. When I finally accepted that I didn't believe in God anymore, it was a relief to stop having to believe so many contradictory things at once all the time. But I know a lot of atheists and I think I have some insight on this.
Those of us who were raised religious are often repeatedly told that our lives have to have purpose (I wasn't, the Pentecostals invested their time in making sure I was afraid of hell, they never got around to making sure I was afraid of not having a purpose ordained for me by the creator of the universe since the beginning of time). Once they've convinced you the disease is real, they sell you the cure: God gives you a purpose! God makes sure your life matters, even after you die!
That feeling goes away. Seriously, even if all you do is ignore it instead of deal with it, eventually you'll reach a point where it will be hard for you to imagine why you were so worked-up about not being given a purpose by some supposed all-powerful being. I recommend dealing with it, though. There are so many wonderful purposes available and you get to choose whichever ones you think are right.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: I'm not sure if posting my question inside my introductory post was correct, but it really was the only thing I came here for.
In that case, I especially hope the replies you get are helpful. And if they're not, if you really need to believe in God to keep on going...well, that's what you need. Your purpose can be to find a God you can believe in. Better led than dead.
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RE: Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 6:01 pm
Welcome, new person 
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RE: Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 6:05 pm
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: What kind of purpose can be derived from a life without religion? All of it. All kinds. If you want to make your life's purpose to better mankind, you purpose is to do so. Want to see how many cans of beer can be drunken by one man in a lifetime? Then that too can be your purpose. It is freedom to choose your own purpose.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: What kind of meaning comes from being the current state of DNA that's simply trying to further its line? The same meaning of having a family, while in one view it is simply propagating the speasies, in practice, it is a cornicopia of love and happiness.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: If an asteroid annihilates the Earth tomorrow, what purpose did we serve by living? We enjoyed the ride and the entertainment along the way.
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: Really I guess I'm just trying to ask, Why bother living? Not believing in a higher power of any flavor has led me to really wonder why I should bother to do anything. There's no purpose or reason.
Did you also say why bother being good after you found out that Santa Claus was imaginary? Did you give up on dental hygiene when the tooth fairy was seen to be fiction? Even if there were a god, he hasn't bothered to meet you one on one in the flesh. He hasn't bothered to become real so that the world can really know without doubt his purpose for us. Besides, would you be happier with a purpose that your father picked out for you with no input from you, or would you prefer to choose your own purpose in life? I know I want to chose my own, and I am more content in my heart as an atheist than I ever was as a theist.
Find the cure for Fundementia!
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RE: Hi there, i'm new
August 28, 2013 at 7:00 pm
(August 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm)Quicksilverpoet Wrote: Just made an account and thought it would be prudent to create my hello world post.
A little bit about me: I'm an atheist, I enjoy mixing video games and alcohol, and while cooking is an excellent hobby, there is a time and place for a large bowl of cheap ramen.
I also came here to ask a question, or a set of questions along the same lines, that I've been struggling with for over a decade now:
What kind of purpose can be derived from a life without religion?
What kind of meaning comes from being the current state of DNA that's simply trying to further its line?
If an asteroid annihilates the Earth tomorrow, what purpose did we serve by living?
Really I guess I'm just trying to ask, Why bother living? Not believing in a higher power of any flavor has led me to really wonder why I should bother to do anything. There's no purpose or reason.
I'm not sure if posting my question inside my introductory post was correct, but it really was the only thing I came here for.
There is no "purpose" to anything in reality. Science simply does and we are in it, not as an apex or altruism, but a manifestation of natural processes. You could look at "all this" as a giant weather pattern, uncaused and simply unfolding and ongoing until the heat death of the entire universe.
But you are asininely stupid to think that "why bother". You go to movies knowing they end, and some of those movies don't have endings you expect. You go to sporting events knowing the game will end and one team will win and the other will lose. Knowing those things end don't prevent you from going.
Reality is never utopia or a childhood bedtime storybook. "Why bother" is what leads most to simply throw their hands up and stupidly cop out to "God did it".
I don't want to accuse you of being a po. But in my 12 years of online debate I have seen many intro's from po's that resemble this.
Why do you bother?Because some humans in the past bothered to say things like "The earth rotates around the sun". And "Slavery is wrong", and "Women should be allowed to vote".
Why bother? Because if our species never questioned social norms our species never would have left the caves.
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