Where is the hope in atheism?

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

Let's say I was an atheist and for some reason I wanted to kill myself. I told you that I hated my life and wanted to end it. Being an atheist, I know that there is no afterlife and I will simply cease to exist. I also know that the second law of thermodynamics proves that the universe is dying and when that time happens, all humanity will die too. So because all humanity will one day die and cease to exist, the universe will ultimately be no different than if humanity never existed at all. So who cares if my death hurts other people, they will eventually die and all memory of hurt will cease to exist. So atheist, talk me out of suicide. Why should I not kill myself? Explain why life and existence isn't futile? Good luck.

 

[royal priest]

Before I became a Christian, I almost killed myself. It was a fear of Hell that ultimately kept me back. I wasn't an atheist, but God was the last thing on my mind. Until I had to consider the possibility of facing Him.

 

[DaisyDay]

So who cares if my death hurts other people..

Either you do or you don't. I don't believe that fear of Hell or hope of a future reward makes you care about other people, but only about yourself.

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

Either you do or you don't. I don't believe that fear of Hell or hope of a future reward makes you care about other people, but only about yourself.

But if all we have to look forward to in this life is non-existence, why should I care about anything but myself. After all, this life is the only thing I will ever enjoy so I better make the most of it. However, in my situation, I have decided that I no longer wish to exist. Why shouldn't I end it?

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

double post

 

[Neogaia777]

Let's say I was an atheist and for some reason I wanted to kill myself. I told you that I hated my life and wanted to end it. Being an atheist, I know that there is no afterlife and I will simply cease to exist. I also know that the second law of thermodynamics proves that the universe is dying and when that time happens, all humanity will die too. So because all humanity will one day die and cease to exist, the universe will ultimately be no different than if humanity never existed at all. So who cares if my death hurts other people, they will eventually die and all memory of hurt will cease to exist. So atheist, talk me out of suicide. Why should I not kill myself? Explain why life and existence isn't futile? Good luck.

Cause there is an afterlife that goes way beyond all of "this" that we know (of)...

But, I'm not an atheist, so, I do have a hope of an existence beyond all else (this) that perishes, and will come to an end...

God Bless!

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

Cause there is an afterlife that goes way beyond all of "this" that we know (of)...

But, I'm not an atheist, so, I do have a hope of an existence beyond all else (this) that perishes, and will come to an end...

God Bless!

I appreciate the response. However, the lack of atheist response seems to answer my question.

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

Cause there is an afterlife that goes way beyond all of "this" that we know (of)...

But, I'm not an atheist, so, I do have a hope of an existence beyond all else (this) that perishes, and will come to an end...

God Bless!

I appreciate the response. Judging by the lack of atheist response, the answer seems to be that there is nothing to look forward to in atheism

 

[Neogaia777]

I appreciate the response. Judging by the lack of atheist response

I dream of a place, a space, where all time, times, spaces, places, and dimensions and realities intersect and connect on a single point of time, space, and place, and dimension(s) and realities that I call the "Kingdom of God"...

That's where I am going when I die, and is my hope, if any of that helps...

God Bless!

 

[Not me]

Let's say I was an atheist and for some reason I wanted to kill myself. I told you that I hated my life and wanted to end it. Being an atheist, I know that there is no afterlife and I will simply cease to exist. I also know that the second law of thermodynamics proves that the universe is dying and when that time happens, all humanity will die too. So because all humanity will one day die and cease to exist, the universe will ultimately be no different than if humanity never existed at all. So who cares if my death hurts other people, they will eventually die and all memory of hurt will cease to exist. So atheist, talk me out of suicide. Why should I not kill myself? Explain why life and existence isn't futile? Good luck.

Life isn’t futile because God exists and loves (you) whether or not the atheist(s) believes it or not?

One and one is still two, whether someone accepts this truth or not. Just like truth or reality does exist, whether someone accepts/believe it or not. What someone “believes” don’t change reality.

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[DogmaHunter]

I'll start with answering the thread question. Where is the hope in atheism?
Answer: atheism isn't about hope. It's about a position on god claims. No more, no less.

Let's say I was an atheist and for some reason I wanted to kill myself. I told you that I hated my life and wanted to end it. Being an atheist, I know that there is no afterlife and I will simply cease to exist. I also know that the second law of thermodynamics proves that the universe is dying and when that time happens, all humanity will die too. So because all humanity will one day die and cease to exist, the universe will ultimately be no different than if humanity never existed at all. So who cares if my death hurts other people, they will eventually die and all memory of hurt will cease to exist. So atheist, talk me out of suicide. Why should I not kill myself? Explain why life and existence isn't futile? Good luck.

Sounds like you are confusing atheism with nihilism.

 

[DogmaHunter]

I appreciate the response. However, the lack of atheist response seems to answer my question.

What you are doing in this thread, is nothing more or less then an emotional plea. It's an invitation to follow some religion, because you don't like or don't feel comfortable with a reality where the god you happen to believe in, doesn't exist.

In other words, you don't really care about what is actually true. You care, primarily, about what is comfortable (in your opinion) and what makes you sleep at night.

I don't need any gods or afterlives to find meaning and purpose in my life. I love being alive. I enjoy the experience of living. I find purpose and meaning in what I do every day. In caring for my son, my wife,... building a business and helping others become more productive with the help of my products. Contributing to society. It doesn't matter to me what the world will look like 4 billion years from now. I live today and my children live tomorrow. Whatever happens in a few billion years, I won't be there to experience it.

Yes, in my worldview, when I die, it's game over. Do I like that? Not really. I'm not looking forward to my death. But it's a fact of life. I can either go sit in a corner crying about it, or I can make the best of it while I am still alive. I choose the latter. Why wouldn't I?

In fact, I say that life is more valuable when looked at that way. Things that last for eternity, aren't valuable. Life has value imo, precisely because it's finite.

Thinking that an eternity of bliss awaits after this, renders this small period of being alive meaningless. It puts one in a situation where it's actually ok to say that "it's no problem that millions of children under 5 die every year of starvation, desease, or other horrible thing", because all of them get to enjoy an eternity of bliss now. See?

So yeah....
​

 

[gaara4158]

Let's say I was an atheist and for some reason I wanted to kill myself. I told you that I hated my life and wanted to end it. Being an atheist, I know that there is no afterlife and I will simply cease to exist. I also know that the second law of thermodynamics proves that the universe is dying and when that time happens, all humanity will die too. So because all humanity will one day die and cease to exist, the universe will ultimately be no different than if humanity never existed at all. So who cares if my death hurts other people, they will eventually die and all memory of hurt will cease to exist. So atheist, talk me out of suicide. Why should I not kill myself? Explain why life and existence isn't futile? Good luck.

Why should I talk you out of suicide? If that’s what you want, it’s what you want. I can’t appeal to things you don’t care about as motivation to continue living. Just because the world seems bleak to you under this worldview doesn’t mean it’s not true.

 

[DogmaHunter]

But if all we have to look forward to in this life is non-existence, why should I care about anything but myself.

Because your well-being, and the well-being of your loved ones, is directly dependend on the well-being of others in a cooperative society as well as the well-being of the society overall.

 

[DaisyDay]

But if all we have to look forward to in this life is non-existence, why should I care about anything but myself. After all, this life is the only thing I will ever enjoy so I better make the most of it.

People who are not sociopaths find that "making the most of it" includes the happiness and well-being of their loved ones and fellow-beings. On the other hand, if the only reason you "care" about others is the prospect of reward or punishment in the eternity, then you aren't caring about others, really, but only about your own skin.

However, in my situation, I have decided that I no longer wish to exist. Why shouldn't I end it?

I don't know what your situation is.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Because your well-being, and the well-being of your loved ones, is directly dependend on the well-being of others in a cooperative society as well as the well-being of the society overall.

So, let me get this straight, since I have a very difficult time understanding even the first thing about basics in the complexities which exist in social philosophy.

So, … if I were a Jew living with my family in Berlin in 1937, I would need to realize that my well-being, and the well-being of my loved ones would be directly dependent upon the well-being of others in my respective cooperative (even Nazified) society, and so ultimately the same for the well-being of the (same Nazified) society in which I live, overall.

Did I get the social lesson right, teacher? Or did I mess up somehow on the precise meaning of "cooperative," or maybe too in my understanding of how "well-being" is to work?

 

[DogmaHunter]

So, let me get this straight, since I have a very difficult time understanding even the first thing about basics in the complexities which exist in social philosophy.

So, … if I were a Jew living with my family in Berlin in 1937, I would need to realize that my well-being, and the well-being of my loved ones would be directly dependent upon the well-being of others in my respective cooperative (even Nazified) society, and so ultimately the same for the well-being of the (same Nazified) society in which I live, overall.

Did I get the social lesson right, teacher? Or did I mess up somehow on the precise meaning of "cooperative," or maybe too in my understanding of how "well-being" is to work?

The nazi's didn't really care about well-being of others, jews in particular.
How did that work out for them?

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

I'll start with answering the thread question. Where is the hope in atheism?
Answer: atheism isn't about hope. It's about a position on god claims. No more, no less.




Sounds like you are confusing atheism with nihilism.

If there is no God or gods (atheism) and there is no afterlife, the only logical conclusion is nihilism. In fact, it is an undeniable fact.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

The nazi's didn't really care about well-being of others, jews in particular.
How did that work out for them?

Oh, no! They did care. They very much cared about it. The unfortunate thing was, as scholar Claudia Koonz (2003) points out, it happened to be exclusively focused on their own "well-being"...

Reference

Koonz, Claudia. (2003). The Nazi Conscience. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

Double post.

 

[DogmaHunter]

If there is no God or gods (atheism) and there is no afterlife, the only logical conclusion is nihilism. In fact, it is an undeniable fact.

Then why is there an atheist here, denying exactly that?

I think it's noteworthy that you, not an atheist, keep insisting that "atheists must believe this or that", while all the actual atheists here, are telling you that you are wrong.

 

[DogmaHunter]

Oh, no! They did care. They very much cared about it. The unfortunate thing was, as scholar Claudia Koonz (2003) points out, it happened to be exclusively focused on their own "well-being"...

Reference

Koonz, Claudia. (2003). The Nazi Conscience. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Learn to read with a tiny spec of attention please.

The nazi's didn't really care about well-being of others, jews in particular.