Atheism and the meaning of life - what drives you?

[Brian37]

The older I get, the more I hate the suffix "ism" regarding anything, be it politics, economics or religion. 

But what does my position of "off" regarding claims of God/gods/supernatural? It means I don't assign anything good or bad to a club, or to the supernatural. But it also does not mean those who hold the "off" position on such claims are cures. 

If I am being blunt, "life" for good or bad, is about survival. That does not mean morality and compassion can't or do not exist, they do. I simply do not assign that good part of or species to an "ism", and see it as something evolutionary. We can all have good and bad reasons for conflict, but our species is always the same species. 

Growing up, I stupidly tried to chase what I thought others said, that would help me fit in. All that did on my part was needlessly make me a doormat. 

"I am an" is a horrible way to describe oneself.  "Atheist" isn't an "ism" to me, but a position. "I hold no compunction to defending "off" on claims of God/gods/ super natural". But that is not me, that merely is a position I hold. 

The Muslim and Christian and Jew and Hindu or Buddhist or Atheist, are all still the same species. The only difference is the positions we respectively hold. 

The real debate isn't that humans hold different positions, we always will. The real debate is how can humans move beyond tribalism and seek overlapping facts.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The older I get, the more I hate the suffix "ism" regarding anything, be it politics, economics or religion. 

But what does my position of "off" regarding claims of God/gods/supernatural? It means I don't assign anything good or bad to a club, or to the supernatural. But it also does not mean those who hold the "off" position on such claims are cures. 

If I am being blunt, "life" for good or bad, is about survival. That does not mean morality and compassion can't or do not exist, they do. I simply do not assign that good part of or species to an "ism", and see it as something evolutionary. We can all have good and bad reasons for conflict, but our species is always the same species. 

Growing up, I stupidly tried to chase what I thought others said, that would help me fit in. All that did on my part was needlessly make me a doormat. 

"I am an" is a horrible way to describe oneself.  "Atheist" isn't an "ism" to me, but a position. "I hold no compunction to defending "off" on claims of God/gods/ super natural". But that is not me, that merely is a position I hold. 

The Muslim and Christian and Jew and Hindu or Buddhist or Atheist, are all still the same species. The only difference is the positions we respectively hold. 

The real debate isn't that humans hold different positions, we always will. The real debate is how can humans move beyond tribalism and seek overlapping facts.

(bold mine)

That's exactly what 'isms' are. And I notice you used the word 'tribalism'. 

Boru

[slartibartfast]

Without the resurrection+, life doesn't have any meaning. Atheists are content with death having the final say. However, everyone is resurrected, adjust to it. 


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+  What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 1 Cor 15:32

So unless your game has a "New Game +" option upon completion, the game isn't worth playing? Isn't the game worth playing for its own sake? 

How exactly does the perceived existence of an afterlife give you meaning? If anything it does the opposite. Instead of enjoying and cherishing the one life you have been given you see this as a prologue for a main story that never comes.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Without the resurrection+, life doesn't have any meaning. Atheists are content with death having the final say. However, everyone is resurrected, adjust to it. 


------------------------------
+  What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 1 Cor 15:32

What exactly is 'resurrection+'? Is it an upgrade of the original resurrection, like it contains 10% more atonement or something?

Boru

[Anomalocaris]

Without the resurrection+, life doesn't have any meaning. Atheists are content with death having the final say. However, everyone is resurrected, adjust to it. 


------------------------------
+  What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 1 Cor 15:32

We are versatile enough to derive meaning from what actually is, sonny, we don’t need pretend it is not what it actually is because we are too stupid to make something of what actually is, sonny.

---

"Christians have always been open and inviting "

ROFL

At the point of a sword, maybe. There are many places in the world where you can be killed if you don't accept the open invitation from christans to believe as they believe.

Slavery is always open and inviting.   You will never find a slaver who would turn you away if you are willing.

[The Grand Nudger]

What does interest me is how there can be any "meaningful" relationships in the sense of warranted correspondence between our semiotics-based understanding of the world and physical reality.

Without the resurrection+, life doesn't have any meaning. Atheists are content with death having the final say. However, everyone is resurrected, adjust to it. 

Well, there's a christian answer for you Neo.  There is no meaning to life.   Whatever value worth or meaning it has is given to it by some other thing, some afterlife.  One wonders why or how an afterlife would have meaning, or grant meaning to life, if life has no meaning itself, just another christian mystery.

[Ahriman]

What does interest me is how there can be any "meaningful" relationships in the sense of warranted correspondence between our semiotics-based understanding of the world and physical reality.

Without the resurrection+, life doesn't have any meaning. Atheists are content with death having the final say. However, everyone is resurrected, adjust to it. 

Well, there's a christian answer for you Neo.  There is no meaning to life.   Whatever value worth or meaning it has is given to it by some other thing, some afterlife.  One wonders why or how an afterlife would have meaning, or grant meaning to life, if life has no meaning itself, just another christian mystery.

The next life will be better than this life. That should come as a relief to many people.

[zwanzig]

Well, there's a christian answer for you Neo.  There is no meaning to life.   Whatever value worth or meaning it has is given to it by some other thing, some afterlife.  One wonders why or how an afterlife would have meaning, or grant meaning to life, if life has no meaning itself, just another christian mystery.

The next life will be better than this life. That should come as a relief to many people.

Except for those who are going to Hell.

[Ahriman]

The next life will be better than this life. That should come as a relief to many people.

Except for those who are going to Hell.

Right. But even Hell isn't eternal.

[zwanzig]

Why did I bother? It's like each post, the memory is wiped clean, so there's no relation to what was mentioned previously or coherence of a point.