Atheism and nihilism

Is atheism inherently nihilistic?

  • Yes

  • No


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Occams Barber

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Yes, indeed they do. Most of the atheists I've spoken to see it as a matter of pride. It makes zero sense to me. You supposedly get 70 or so years and then nothing. So live in whatever way makes you happy for right now. Is that not logical?


Thank goodness you believe in God and Heaven Pete. Apparently it's the one thing preventing you from breaking out into a frenzy of rampant immorality and putting us all at risk. :(

OB
 
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Occams Barber

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If atheism is true, the best you can hope for is nothingness. So yes, it is nihilistic.
That isn't what the OP said.

This is what the OP said;

1. Nearly all atheists are hostile towards religion; particularly Christianity

2. Christianity "provides a good moral foundation and enables believers to avoid eternity in hell and inherit salvation"

3. Therefore atheists are nihilists
This says nothing about atheism being true or not. It's all about alleged atheist hostility to Christianity somehow resulting in nihilism.

BTW- not believing in a heavenly afterlife is not in itself nihilistic.

OB
 
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Occams Barber

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They would be presenting their views and disparaging mine. :mad:


Awwww. C'mon OWG - disparaging your views is a kind of national sport around here. :)

OB
 
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Kylie

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To reiterate my point: because nearly all atheists are hostile towards religion, particularly Christianity, a faith that provides a good moral foundation and enables believers to avoid eternity in hell and inherit salvation, it therefore makes sense to think that atheism and nihilism go hand in hand.

A few points...

  1. I am not hostile towards religion, I simply think that it shouldn't be believed without verifiable evidence, and none has been produced (none that I've seen anyway. My husband is Christian, and I certainly don't try to convince him to renounce his faith.
  2. Christianity doesn't seem to provide a good moral foundation. I'm not Christian, yet I'd like to think I'm a morally good person. And there are lots of Christians out there who act in ways that most people would consider morally wrong.
  3. I don't believe that life is meaningless. I simply believe that we can set our own meaning for life. Many atheists I've met feel the same way.
 
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Aussie Pete

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Thank goodness you believe in God and Heaven Pete. Apparently it's the one thing preventing you from breaking out into a frenzy of rampant immorality and putting us all at risk. :(

OB
I have a certain respect for Almighty God and a desire to live in a way that pleases Him. There are many things I'd do differently if I was sure that there was no God. Not necessarily bad things, just things that please me and without any consideration of anyone else. That's how I lived before I was saved.
 
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perplexed

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I am very grateful for how religion introduced the idea that a country should not enslave the losing slide in a war. I think religious people are better in general but they can be absolutely horrible and since it is common for religious people to compare atheists to Stalin or Hitler they should expect hostility
 
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Ophiolite

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Yeah, you care about things, but that's only because you have deluded yourselves into thinking anything matters without God.
I've found much sense and compassion in many of your posts, but this one is gut wrenchingly offensive and ignorant. I regret your loss sense and compassion and hope the loss is only temporary.
 
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Oompa Loompa

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That isn't what the OP said.

This is what the OP said;

1. Nearly all atheists are hostile towards religion; particularly Christianity

2. Christianity "provides a good moral foundation and enables believers to avoid eternity in hell and inherit salvation"

3. Therefore atheists are nihilists
This says nothing about atheism being true or not. It's all about alleged atheist hostility to Christianity somehow resulting in nihilism.

BTW- not believing in a heavenly afterlife is not in itself nihilistic.

OB
The op doesn't understand the meaning of nihilism.
 
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Occams Barber

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I am very grateful for how religion introduced the idea that a country should not enslave the losing slide in a war.

Apparently you're not familiar with the Old Testament?

OB
 
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durangodawood

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I have a certain respect for Almighty God and a desire to live in a way that pleases Him. There are many things I'd do differently if I was sure that there was no God. Not necessarily bad things, just things that please me and without any consideration of anyone else. That's how I lived before I was saved.
But that IS bad.

The atheists I know are very considerate of the effects of their actions on other people. Why would you be so different?
 
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Kaon

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Some religious people claim that atheism, which is defined as a lack of belief in deity or deities, is inherently nihilistic. Since atheists come from all nationalities, races, socio-economic backgrounds, and indeed all walks of life, it is reasonable to say that making such a sweeping generalization of all atheists isn’t fair.

However, many atheists spend an inordinate amount of time criticizing religion. Visit any atheist blog on the internet, and there you won’t find one positive article on faith. It seems like everything they post is hostile towards religion. You’ll never see them post a link to a news story about Christians feeding the poor or being good people in general. The same can be said about atheist books: read any book from renowned atheists such as Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris, and all they have to say about religion is bad. In fact, the world's most famous blasphemy advocate Christopher Hitchens even wrote a book called How Religion Poisons Everything.

Since it seems like almost all atheists are hostile towards religion, particularly Christianity, which is an inherently peaceful faith that improves morals and provides eternal salvation for all believers, wouldn’t it make sense to think that atheism is inherently nihilistic? It’s not like you ever see atheists praising religion and talking about how good it is. If that is what they believed, they probably wouldn’t be atheists in the first place.

Atheists may be hostile toward religion because a bunch of charlatans and wolves in sheep's clothing are the "teachers". They can likely call BS on it, and they don't bother much with the insitution.

I am not as extreme, and I believe in the Redeemer. However, humans teaching humans how to have a spiritual relationship with a spirit - who is everything's Father - is 100% ludicrous to me. You can't academically teach a relationship (especially a spiritual one).

Another thing is denomination means division: why are there so many denominations in an institution that is supposed to be about ONE Word of the Most High. and one truth? Because of the charlatans and wolves. Why go through the trauma of being spiritually swindled?

Moreover, what gave humans the authority and audacity to choose for US what books are good for information and spiritual enrichment? The Most High expects us to do the work of seeking Him, and you cant seek Him out if you are constrained to what man says is possible and acceptable.

I think atheists and agnostics are at an important point of discovery: the agnostic/atheism stage is just a step in enlightenment. However, people may stay atheist because they are surrounded by blind people leading other blind people. There is hardly an answer they are given that goes beyond what the pasted said or interpreted. They get shooed away when they bring up discrepencies, and they get accused of hating Christians (when, in my experience as an atheist I only despised the institution and hypocrisy).

I have personally had to go through a myriad of traumatic experiences dealing with Christianity and Christians. It isn't fun when you are Christian, so I know it isn't fun when you aren't a Christian (or even a different denomination).
 
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Aussie Pete

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But that IS bad.

The atheists I know are very considerate of the effects of their actions on other people. Why would you be so different?
Because I was. I don't think Marx, Lenin, Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Ceausescu and their ilk were particularly nice people. Not every atheist is as nice as you.I was absorbed in my own world. Unlike the aforementioned dictators, I meant no harm. Good intentions are meaningless. It's what you do that matters.
 
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Lord Vega

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Atheists may be hostile toward religion because a bunch of charlatans and wolves in sheep's clothing are the "teachers". They can likely call BS on it, and they don't bother much with the insitution.

I am not as extreme, and I believe in the Redeemer. However, humans teaching humans how to have a spiritual relationship with a spirit - who is everything's Father - is 100% ludicrous to me. You can't academically teach a relationship (especially a spiritual one).

Another thing is denomination means division: why are there so many denominations in an institution that is supposed to be about ONE Word of the Most High. and one truth? Because of the charlatans and wolves. Why go through the trauma of being spiritually swindled?

Moreover, what gave humans the authority and audacity to choose for US what books are good for information and spiritual enrichment? The Most High expects us to do the work of seeking Him, and you cant seek Him out if you are constrained to what man says is possible and acceptable.

I think atheists and agnostics are at an important point of discovery: the agnostic/atheism stage is just a step in enlightenment. However, people may stay atheist because they are surrounded by blind people leading other blind people. There is hardly an answer they are given that goes beyond what the pasted said or interpreted. They get shooed away when they bring up discrepencies, and they get accused of hating Christians (when, in my experience as an atheist I only despised the institution and hypocrisy).

I have personally had to go through a myriad of traumatic experiences dealing with Christianity and Christians. It isn't fun when you are Christian, so I know it isn't fun when you aren't a Christian (or even a different denomination).

You can find good and bad people in every profession. There are good cops and bad cops; there are politicians with integrity and politicians who are corrupt; and there are class act teachers and incompetent teachers. The same can be said about Christian preachers and other spiritual leaders in Christianity: many are good, but some are bad.

Assuming your argument is true, that many atheists are hostile towards religion because Christian leadership hasn’t always been perfect, wouldn’t you agree that constitutes dishonest thinking, since good and bad can be found in every vocation? The Christian religion is perfect, but some of its followers and leaders have been far from perfect. Why make a big deal over this fact and single out Christianity for criticism over it?
 
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Oompa Loompa

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BTW- not believing in a heavenly afterlife is not in itself nihilistic.
Would you entertain me playing devil's advocate (pun intended) for an interesting conversation as to how nihilism is the only logical position to have for an atheist? I am sure you would enjoy the mental gymnastics.
 
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Lord Vega

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I am very grateful for how religion introduced the idea that a country should not enslave the losing slide in a war. I think religious people are better in general but they can be absolutely horrible and since it is common for religious people to compare atheists to Stalin or Hitler they should expect hostility

What are you talking about? I’ve never said atheists are like Stalin because Stalin was also an atheist. Neither have other Christians.

Stalin had a mustache, so are we to believe that everyone who has a mustache is also a mass murderer? That isn’t logical thinking. By the same token, it isn’t fair to say Stalin was a mass murderer and an atheist, therefore all atheists are also mass murderers.
 
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OldWiseGuy

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Strathos

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I've found much sense and compassion in many of your posts, but this one is gut wrenchingly offensive and ignorant. I regret your loss sense and compassion and hope the loss is only temporary.

The truth hurts sometimes, doesn't it?
 
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Kaon

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You can find good and bad people in every profession. There are good cops and bad cops; there are politicians with integrity and politicians who are corrupt; and there are class act teachers and incompetent teachers. The same can be said about Christian preachers and other spiritual leaders in Christianity: many are good, but some are bad.

To me, this is a cop out and appeal to duality. The fact that we accept there are dichotomous behaviors in professions and institutions that should be UNITY and/or PEACE is a problem of blind leading blind and accountability.

The Most High would say we are all evil; humans qualify their iniquity - which is how we remain in an acceptable state of degeneracy. Lukewarmness harms all facets; "bad cops" are an example of this (especially when other cops, or the legislative system allows for the behavior to continue).

Assuming your argument is true, that many atheists are hostile towards religion because Christian leadership hasn’t always been perfect, wouldn’t you agree that constitutes dishonest thinking, since good and bad can be found in every vocation?

No.

Why are PEOPLE letting leaven mix with The loaf? We were thoroughly warned about our lax attitudes toward these wolves. and we never listen. It is how, every age, the Church is infiltrated by Pharisees and charlatans. Eventually, you get a monstrosity that is unrecognizable - which is what modern institutional religion is today: Babylonian.

The Christian religion is perfect, but some of its followers and leaders have been far from perfect. Why make a big deal over this fact and single out Christianity for criticism over it?

Because it leads souls into ignorance and eventual hell. If you are struggling with sin, or the truth, that is perfectly fine. The Most High will restore you if you are faithful to turn to Him. However, you do not need to be in leadership if you are in the spiritual stage of "I make mistakes...I'm human". Why? Because the congregation is full of "I make mistskes...I'm human" people who are seeking help from a spiritual leader that has overcome.

Creating stumbling blocks for potential and current believers is damnable. The Church has mixes leaven with the loaf to the point where we have just accepted it as part of the faith. We are called to be blameless stewards of the Most High - entities that literally use all spiritual weapons to maintain a relationship with the Most High, and to teach His people so that they come to Him.
 
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