Question for Atheists

[EgoRaptor]

Well, I am an existential nihilist; I don't see life as having any purpose. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It means that we have the freedom to determine our own destinies & create our own purpose. We are doomed to be free, so why not make the best of it?

[Wyrd of Gawd]

I have a powerful desire to know why the universe exists and our purpose for existence as individuals. I don't see science as a way to discover this. Do atheists search for the same thing and, if so, what is their source or method? I think most atheists don't see any purpose at all.

The universe exists because the properties of Nothing act in such a way that they start to create Something. Then over time Something evolves into more complex forms and that's where we are today. That's not to say that everything has been created. We are just a insignificant pimple on the long road of time. Chances are the process of creation is endless as is the great void. We do know that humans will be vastly different in 100,000 years (provided we don't die off).

We exist as individuals because all known life forms on Earth are individual units. IOWs, it is the nature of life on Earth to be an individual unit.

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To Alex K, Stimbo , Ryantology , whateverist and others !
I appreciate your opinions and m quite pleased by what you people have been thinking. And this is exactly in conformity with my religious teachings because we Muslims are also told to 'think and observe' which you are doing better than me. Doubts must arise to clear out the mysteries.Anyway , I didnt want to degrade the spirit of our lives. I just wanted to explain how the idea of subjection to a Supreme Authority seems plausible.
We Muslims are not told about the purpose of the universe. Rather , we have been commanded to glorify and praise Allah and follow the teachings in its fullest spirit which I dare say that only a handful of Muslims are doing in today's world. Islam is a beautiful religion. Taliban or any terrorists are not Muslims at all ( if you have any such kind of notion ). Our Prophet was tortured and an attempt was made to murder him. His uncle was killed for no good reason. Still , he forgave all who did this. Islam teaches us to sit among the nonbelievers and form a union . Its teachings are for the whole Universe.

There was a time in my life when I started questioning my religion. I mean all sorts of doubts started rising in my mind about existence of an authority. Some events happened , fortunately that made me convinced about His existence. I would like to question you people that was there no moment in your life which led you to feel that your creation is guided by an authority powerful than others ? Was there no such time in your life ? Not a second when you thought so ? Be honest.Anyone ?

It pays to remember that as humans on this planet we all experience the same events. Probably the most unique thing that ever happened to a person happened to the Japanese guy, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who got nuked twice in one week and he lived for decades afterwards, dying in 2010 at the age of 93.

So no matter what happens to you it has already happened to countless other people. There's no reason to think that you have experienced something new, unless you get nuked three times in one week and live for an additional 65 years.

[Bittersmart]

I have a powerful desire to know why the universe exists and our purpose for existence as individuals. I don't see science as a way to discover this. Do atheists search for the same thing and, if so, what is their source or method? I think most atheists don't see any purpose at all.

Many of us certainly have urges to learn the "hows" and "whys" of the universe and existence, but I personally have come to the conclusion that sometimes, certain things don't have a purpose. I don't think my life has a pre-determined purpose. Now, that being said, I can find purposes for myself and still feel fulfilled. Mostly, I just try to live ethically and do what makes me happy.

[Chas]

So should I conclude that you people never had such a moment in your lives. And you people did not even try to think about it ? And hence you believed that God does not exist.

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For Muslims , Salat is not a practice . Its a gift.The whole idea is to permeate the whole of one's day with the remembrance of Allah.

No, thank you. I prefer to think pleasant or constructive thoughts, not waste my time with fairy tales.

The times are simple: when we get up, at noon, in the middle of the afternoon, in the early evening and at night. By praying at these set times we give a routine of prayer to our day. We wake up thinking of Allah and we spend the day interrupting all of our busy-ness to think of Him again.

No, thank you. I prefer not to unnecessarily interrupt pleasant or constructive thoughts, or waste my time with fairy tales.

Physically, it exercises the major joints (especially the spinal column), massages the intestinal tract, transmits a reflex to the liver,

"transmits a reflex to the liver"??? What the fuck does that even mean?

Prayer...
All of this, if done on regular and daily basis, would eventually lead to a better personality that is hard to be intimidated, and is sporty and easy going. Such personality would also lead to prosper and success.

All of those benefits can be achieved without succumbing to myth.

The Wisdom that Allah Almighty had for the 5-daily Prayers, had been psychologically and scientifically proven to be a Great One. Allah Almighty certainly Knows what's best for us, and if we only follow His Holy Commands by the letter, then our lives would be much better.

Scientifically? Yeah, I'm going to need a citation for that.

"When we do sujud, which is basically the prostration to the ground with are 8 parts of the body touching the floor, the forehead in on the ground which is the best position of salah. It is the most relevant part of salah. Daily, the human beings are propounded by electrostatic charges from the atmosphere, which gets perspirated in the central nervous system, which gets super saturated. These extra electrostatic charges, have to be dissipated and discharged, otherwise you'll have: headache, neck ache, muscles spasms, etc. No wonder people regularly take tranquillizers, and drugs, to relieve the pain. These electrostatic charges are dissipated and discharged, when the frontal lobe of the brain is put on the ground, in sujud. There is dominance of the frontal lobe, and the thinking capacity of the brain is not on the top of the brain, but in the frontal lobe. In doing sujud, there is less chance of getting: headache, spasms, aches, etc due to the fact that the electrostatic charges are dissipated and discharged. Moreover, the sujud allows extra blood supply to enter the brain, which enables the brain to become more healthier, plus has a positive effect on the memory, vision, hearing, concentration & the pysche. In addition, extra blood flows into the skin, neck and face, which increases the circulation of the blood of the skin, neck and face, which is very healthy especially in the cold seasons. Also, allows mental toxins to be cleaned by blood. This is also very good for the brain. This prevents diseases, such as: fibrositis and chilblains. During the sujud, there is drainage of the paranasal sinuses, this there is less chances of getting sinusitis, which consists of inflammation of the linings of the sinuses that surround the nose. In certain forms of yoga, some adherents stand on their heads for the purpose of blood flowing to the brain, which we Muslims have been doing for centuries.

Again, scientific citations are needed.

[Jacob(smooth)]

Studies have shown that you don't need to actually do any science if you invoke the phrase "studies have shown"

[Khansins]

So should I conclude that you people never had such a moment in your lives. And you people did not even try to think about it ? And hence you believed that God does not exist.

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For Muslims , Salat is not a practice . Its a gift.The whole idea is to permeate the whole of one's day with the remembrance of Allah.

No, thank you. I prefer to think pleasant or constructive thoughts, not waste my time with fairy tales.

The times are simple: when we get up, at noon, in the middle of the afternoon, in the early evening and at night. By praying at these set times we give a routine of prayer to our day. We wake up thinking of Allah and we spend the day interrupting all of our busy-ness to think of Him again.

No, thank you. I prefer not to unnecessarily interrupt pleasant or constructive thoughts, or waste my time with fairy tales.

Physically, it exercises the major joints (especially the spinal column), massages the intestinal tract, transmits a reflex to the liver,

"transmits a reflex to the liver"??? What the fuck does that even mean?

Prayer...
All of this, if done on regular and daily basis, would eventually lead to a better personality that is hard to be intimidated, and is sporty and easy going. Such personality would also lead to prosper and success.

All of those benefits can be achieved without succumbing to myth.

The Wisdom that Allah Almighty had for the 5-daily Prayers, had been psychologically and scientifically proven to be a Great One. Allah Almighty certainly Knows what's best for us, and if we only follow His Holy Commands by the letter, then our lives would be much better.

Scientifically? Yeah, I'm going to need a citation for that.

"When we do sujud, which is basically the prostration to the ground with are 8 parts of the body touching the floor, the forehead in on the ground which is the best position of salah. It is the most relevant part of salah. Daily, the human beings are propounded by electrostatic charges from the atmosphere, which gets perspirated in the central nervous system, which gets super saturated. These extra electrostatic charges, have to be dissipated and discharged, otherwise you'll have: headache, neck ache, muscles spasms, etc. No wonder people regularly take tranquillizers, and drugs, to relieve the pain. These electrostatic charges are dissipated and discharged, when the frontal lobe of the brain is put on the ground, in sujud. There is dominance of the frontal lobe, and the thinking capacity of the brain is not on the top of the brain, but in the frontal lobe. In doing sujud, there is less chance of getting: headache, spasms, aches, etc due to the fact that the electrostatic charges are dissipated and discharged. Moreover, the sujud allows extra blood supply to enter the brain, which enables the brain to become more healthier, plus has a positive effect on the memory, vision, hearing, concentration & the pysche. In addition, extra blood flows into the skin, neck and face, which increases the circulation of the blood of the skin, neck and face, which is very healthy especially in the cold seasons. Also, allows mental toxins to be cleaned by blood. This is also very good for the brain. This prevents diseases, such as: fibrositis and chilblains. During the sujud, there is drainage of the paranasal sinuses, this there is less chances of getting sinusitis, which consists of inflammation of the linings of the sinuses that surround the nose. In certain forms of yoga, some adherents stand on their heads for the purpose of blood flowing to the brain, which we Muslims have been doing for centuries.

Again, scientific citations are needed.

There you go. Some citations for Fairy Tales are listed below.( I will post research papers too soon )
https://www.google.com.pk/url?sa=t&rct=j...8216,d.bGE

http://umfacts.um.edu.my/gallery/index.p...ils&cid=88
http://www.selfsoulcenter.org/generic.html?pid=5
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/intro/caf...15/sum.htm
\http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705686/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18324379
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12916145
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11136416
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19091731

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Also see this. Scientific Research of Prayer: Can the Power of Prayer Be Proven?

By Debra Williams, D.D. ( http://www.plim.org/PrayerDeb.htm)

[psychoslice]

Why do we need a purpose, isn't life itself enough, why wast your whole life trying to find why your here, you are here now, enjoy it before its too late, there will never be another chance.

[Khansins]

We Muslims are not told about the purpose of the universe. Rather , we have been commanded to glorify and praise Allah and follow the teachings in its fullest spirit which I dare say that only a handful of Muslims are doing in today's world.

So you Muslims don't any of you have a clue why you do it but you do as you are commanded? Well that sure sounds appealing.

There was a time in my life when I started questioning my religion. I mean all sorts of doubts started rising in my mind about existence of an authority. Some events happened , fortunately that made me convinced about His existence. I would like to question you people that was there no moment in your life which led you to feel that your creation is guided by an authority powerful than others ? Was there no such time in your life ? Not a second when you thought so ? Be honest.Anyone ?

Well, okay, yes. When I was very very young I thought my father was an authority and I felt inspired to avoid his holy spankings. Funny though now that I am grown I don't find myself hungering for the good old days when I felt servile and inferior. So thanks but no thanks. No gods for me.

Why do you think like that ? We don't do because we are commanded to do so but we do because its for our better spiritual and personal life. Being aware of the consequences , we follow the teachings because of the impact they have on us. Why do we breathe every moment and Why are we the way we are ? We all know it. So we follow suit.

[nintendo048]

I have a powerful desire to know why the universe exists and our purpose for existence as individuals. I don't see science as a way to discover this. Do atheists search for the same thing and, if so, what is their source or method? I think most atheists don't see any purpose at all.

the universe always existed and celestial bodies recycle themselves. the meaning of existence is that molecules are made of atoms and atoms of protons neutrons and electrons. theres no way to prove god existed or didnt exist.....i suppose you interpret that as agnosticism but all holy book are logically fallacious in some way or another

[shep]

Your purpose is whatever purpose you give yourself - a job, family, children, whatever you can think of.