Atheists, What's the point?

[Eudaimonist]

my life SUCKED when I was an atheist because life was just a meaningless accident and I had no purpose to exist

I am sorry to hear that. If you felt that way, I can understand why you would turn to religion.

You had a very different experience of godlessness than I have had. I have always been conscious of purpose in life. That purpose simply doesn't come from any deity.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Tiberius]

SOME but not all atheists have been raised in awful religious homes which has built an anti-theist wall around them.They feel the the need to make people like them so they won't be lonley.Some of them assume that if they insult a Christian that they have triumphed over something that had a negative effect on they're childhood.Some atheists see all Christians as the same and desire to destroy they're faith in God in any way they can.

SOME atheists are just sad lonely empty souls that must destroy what has been and obstacle for them but some of them break free of they're grudge against religion and get along with religious people.Others however are to caught up in the psat and refuse to lose that grudge until they triumph even though they never will.

not generalizing but alot of atheists i know are just like that

And many atheists are just people who think it's a bad idea to believe in something without evidence to support that thing.

 

[Ana the Ist]

@ Ana the Ist

my life SUCKED when I was an atheist because life was just a meaningless accident and I had no purpose to exist but Jesus showed me that life does have meaning.Jesus is the only way to true life and joy

Just out of curiosity, what were your feelings (if any) toward god when you were atheist? What were your feelings toward Christians/Christianity?

 

[RainbowDashIsBestPony]

@ Ana the Ist

my life SUCKED when I was an atheist because life was just a meaningless accident and I had no purpose to exist but Jesus showed me that life does have meaning.Jesus is the only way to true life and joy

Well, atheism isn't for everyone. I understand how hard it must have been for you to feel pointless, because I felt like that early in my atheism. However, I didn't have to turn religious to find meaning to my life. As another skeptic said, I can create my own meaning to life. The absence of an afterlife comforts me, because I know that doing good for humanity is the closest thing to everlasting life I'll get.

I don't care anymore if I cease to exist when I die. I just want to be remembered for my contributions.

 

[Loudmouth]

I consider an argument strong when the objector to the argument in order to avoid the conclusion which follows from its premises, is forced to admit that the universe brought itself into existence.

Replace the universe with clouds or lightning in your argument and you will quickly see how it fails. The universe does not need to bring itself into existence anymore than clouds or lightning do, and none of them can be shown to require deities.

You would not of course because you, at all costs, cannot accept the theistic implications of the conclusion of the argument, namely that the universe has a cause for its existence.

Clouds also have a cause for their existence, but I fail to see how this is evidence of deities.

I am talking about the Kalam Cosmological argument by the way, which is one of many arguments.

It's not an argument. It is a bare assertion.

 

[FrenchyBearpaw]

@ Ana the Ist

my life SUCKED when I was an atheist because life was just a meaningless accident and I had no purpose to exist but Jesus showed me that life does have meaning.Jesus is the only way to true life and joy

It does take a certain amount of courage to accept things as they are, even it it's not what we'd like it to be. Everyone needs a reason to get up in the morning, and I'm glad you found yours.

 

[tonybeer]

SOME but not all atheists have been raised in awful religious homes which has built an anti-theist wall around them.They feel the the need to make people like them so they won't be lonley.Some of them assume that if they insult a Christian that they have triumphed over something that had a negative effect on they're childhood.Some atheists see all Christians as the same and desire to destroy they're faith in God in any way they can.

Can an Atheist destroy someone elses belief? I can see how through rational argument they could induce doubts, but the religious person would have to go home and think about it for months/years. An Atheist could teach a believer to think critically perhaps, so that they have the tools to discover whether there is sufficient evidence for their beliefs.

I can't imagine insulting a Christian would make them turn to Atheism. Just the opposite.

In the UK 2/3rds of young people 16-24 are Atheists/Agnostics, and about 5-10% of the whole population go to Church every week. This would imply the vast majority of young atheists/agnostics were not brought up in an extreme religious family.

 

[Tnmusicman]

I consider an argument strong when the objector to the argument in order to avoid the conclusion which follows from its premises, is forced to admit that the universe brought itself into existence.

For an intelligent person to be reduced to holding such an irrational position in order to avoid the conclusion of a philosophical argument, I would call that a strong argument. You would not of course because you, at all costs, cannot accept the theistic implications of the conclusion of the argument, namely that the universe has a cause for its existence. So you dismiss the argument as weak, when atheistic professors, and scholars, astrophysicists and cosmologists do not even dare to hold such a position. Do you want me to believe you know more than they?

I am talking about the Kalam Cosmological argument by the way, which is one of many arguments.

Very good point. A lot of people say “Why assume that the universe had a beginning?” The kalām cosmological argument does claim that the universe had a beginning, but it doesn’t merely assume it. Rather, the whole point of that version of the cosmological argument is to establish through detailed argument that the universe must have had a beginning.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Very good point. A lot of people say “Why assume that the universe had a beginning?” The kalām cosmological argument does claim that the universe had a beginning, but it doesn’t merely assume it. Rather, the whole point of that version of the cosmological argument is to establish through detailed argument that the universe must have had a beginning.

If this is the argument:

Premise 1: Everything that begins to exist has a cause.
Premise 2: The universe began to exist.
Conclusion: The universe has a cause.

Then Premise 2 should be a conclusion with premises of its own, and shouldn't appear like a bald assertion.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[quatona]

Very good point. A lot of people say “Why assume that the universe had a beginning?” The kalām cosmological argument does claim that the universe had a beginning, but it doesn’t merely assume it. Rather, the whole point of that version of the cosmological argument is to establish through detailed argument that the universe must have had a beginning.

No. That the universe had a beginning is one of the premises. Which, of course, doesn´t matter when you are into circular reasoning.

 

[Dave Ellis]

ALL he has?? It's MORE than he NEEDS. That's probably why they haven't really changed in 20 years. They are sound enough to avoid being refuted.

All his arguments have been refuted over and over again.

Quite simply, he makes his money preaching to people who don't bother going out and researching if what he says is actually true.

If they went and did that research, they would see why what William Lane Craig says is complete nonsense.

 

[Dave Ellis]

@ Ana the Ist

my life SUCKED when I was an atheist because life was just a meaningless accident and I had no purpose to exist but Jesus showed me that life does have meaning.Jesus is the only way to true life and joy

I'm sorry to think you believe being a mindless slave gives your life purpose.

You have the ability to imbue your own life with meaning and purpose. It's too bad you apparently missed that.

Either way, if that's your only reason for converting, then it's one based on emotional appeal, and therefore a bad reason for believing anything, theological or not.

 

[Dave Ellis]

SOME but not all atheists have been raised in awful religious homes which has built an anti-theist wall around them.They feel the the need to make people like them so they won't be lonley.Some of them assume that if they insult a Christian that they have triumphed over something that had a negative effect on they're childhood.Some atheists see all Christians as the same and desire to destroy they're faith in God in any way they can.

Well, in my case I was raised in a pretty non-religious home. Mom and Dad are (were?) Presbyterians, and we went to church fairly regularly until I was roughly 10 years old. At that point we pretty well stopped going. I'm 30 years old now, have a very good relationship with my family, and I honestly have no idea whatsoever if they still believe or not. I can't ever remember having a conversation dealing with religion in the house when I was growing up, or since I've struck out on my own. It simply isn't relevant to them or I.

When I was 17-18 years old I was dating a girl who went to the Church I used to go to as a kid, and she encouraged me to come along. At this point I already had serious doubts about the validity of the teachings, however I figured I'd give it a fair shot. I got involved with the Youth Group and went on some trips, I got involved with the music section and performed a couple songs in front of the congregation on Clarinet.

All in all, I had a pretty enjoyable time with the people at the church, and had a lot of fun. However, what the religion itself was teaching simply made no sense, and had no justifiable basis for belief. As such, I haven't been back since I was 18-ish.

Were the people in that church causing problems for society? On an individual basis, no. They were nice people. As a collective however, I would say they absolutely are.

SOME atheists are just sad lonely empty souls that must destroy what has been and obstacle for them but some of them break free of they're grudge against religion and get along with religious people.Others however are to caught up in the psat and refuse to lose that grudge until they triumph even though they never will.

not generalizing but alot of atheists i know are just like that

I don't know a single Atheist like that. Could you please give an example?

 

[Loudmouth]

Very good point. A lot of people say “Why assume that the universe had a beginning?” The kalām cosmological argument does claim that the universe had a beginning, but it doesn’t merely assume it. Rather, the whole point of that version of the cosmological argument is to establish through detailed argument that the universe must have had a beginning.

A lightning bolt also has a beginning. A rain puddle also has a beginning. A snow drift also has a beginning. How do these evience a deity?

 

[Dave Ellis]

A lightning bolt also has a beginning. A rain puddle also has a beginning. A snow drift also has a beginning. How do these evience a deity?

Well, we all know the cause of lightning bolts is Zeus!

 

[Loudmouth]

Well, we all know the cause of lightning bolts is Zeus!

That is the same argument being used by modern theists with reference to the Kalam argument. Just as we did not know the cause of lightning 2,000 years age we do not know the cause of universes now. Theists are just inserting their god into the gap in our knowledge.

 

[pgp_protector]

Well, we all know the cause of lightning bolts is Zeus!

Actually Zeus only used the lightning bolts, the Cyclopes working for Hephaestus made them

 

[RainbowDashIsBestPony]

Actually Zeus only used the lightning bolts, the Cyclopes working for Hephaestus made them

Schooled! Just kidding.

 

[horrace99]

I'm sorry to think you believe being a mindless slave gives your life purpose.

You have the ability to imbue your own life with meaning and purpose. It's too bad you apparently missed that.

Either way, if that's your only reason for converting, then it's one based on emotional appeal, and therefore a bad reason for believing anything, theological or not.

uhhh i'm not a mindless slave dude.I do everything everyone else does such as play video games.watch anime and cartoons,play sports,crack jokes,have relationships. I do what a normal man does.I have haad other reasons for conversions such as the film a case for Christ and a case for a Creator and I read the Bible.

and most atheists I meet are only atheists for emotional appeal.

and you can't give yourself purpose because:analogy If i go to an alien planet and find a box but on that planet it was created as a hat,can i say it was made to carry things?NO!! i can only pretend.In atheism there is NO meaning at all, you can only pretend which means you had no meaning to begin with, and if when you die you can't pretend anymore and since it is all destined to cease to exist then that means you had no meaning at all in the long run,you were just like a kid playing a game.You can find a goal,but a meaning is the sole reason you exist which you can't decide

 

[horrace99]

I don't know a single Atheist like that. Could you please give an example?

i meant atheists i know personally....and the ones on youtube and sodahead[forum]