Whats the point of it all?
Posted on: March 25, 2007 - 4:10pm
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Whats the point of it all?
Thats a question asked of me while talking to a theist. I told her that I was an atheist to which her response was something like "But thats such a sad and cold outlook on life. What is the reason we're hear then? Whats the point of existing?" My answer was "Well, even without there having to have to be a reason for existing, there is still room for kindness and compasion. You don't need god to be a good person and to have a reason to try and improve the lives of others." Can you guys think of any other answers to this question?
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Religion is the thing that creates coldness and lack of meaning.
What is so fabulous about the "meaning" of life consisting of genuflecting before a god who demands that we love him, live a repressed life, and then die one day so that we can tell him how great he is for eternity?
Atheists have one life, and only one, so we value it very highly and try to make every day as meaningful as possible. When we die, all that's left is the memory of how we lived, and how we touched those around us. What better immortality than to be loved after we die?
To be precise, there isn't a single meaning to life. This is something theists made up. In fact there are many. Some people feel that life won't be complete until they reproduce and raise a family. Some want to travel to England. Some want to create the perfect Mohito. Everyone creates their own meaning based on what they like, don't like, value, and don't value.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
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This is called the argument from despair, and it is ridiculous.
This is what I had to say on the subject:
When man realizes that he is the product of a three billion year continuum, an ancient struggle to which he owes his existence and his consciousness, he shall desist from this delusion of his image in mirror of a deity, and stand in childlike awe before the secrets which science has and shall unlock
Each one of us is here by trillion to one odds. The number of genetic permutations that could have been instead of us...outnumbers the atoms in the universe. The fact that we will one day die makes us the lucky ones.
The fact that life comes only once is what should make it taste so sweet. We must make the most of the time we have here on this Earth. Every second is precious. We should wake up and think "what is the most constructive thing to better myself and humanity that I could do today"?
As an Atheist I understand that this is my only life, and so I do everything I can to to better it. Kf I did not, what kind of lack of appreciation would I show for the infinitesimal probabilities by which we have our lives? Would I be spitting in the face of all those who had fallen so I could live?
Imagine a spark illuminating a dark vastness for but a split-second. This is our conciousness. It is the ultimate product of evolution: A being capable of thinking and analyzing. It is the most beautiful thing in the universe. However, it's time is very, very short. So, while it is still lit, this spark has a duty to mankind.
The fact of the matter is, we are here. We exist. We must accept it, we must face it because we did not have a choice in the matter. We should cherish it, because we are surely a very, very special creature. Why? For the reason the theist cannot understand: Our reason. It may not seem like much, but our ability to reason gets us through. Never give it up for anything. Never surrender it, especially not to the nonsense of God.
"Physical reality” isn’t some arbitrary demarcation. It is defined in terms of what we can systematically investigate, directly or not, by means of our senses. It is preposterous to assert that the process of systematic scientific reasoning arbitrarily excludes “non-physical explanations” because the very notion of “non-physical explanation” is contradictory.
-Me
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When your theist friend tells you, "But thats such a sad and cold outlook on life. What is the reason we're hear then? Whats the point of existing?", you should call her on her bluff.
Say, "Yeah, you're right. Atheism is a sad and cold outlook on life. Since your a theist, tell me something. What exactly is the reason why we're here? What exactly is the point of existing? I really want to know."
Theists are brainwashed to believe that purpose comes from outside, so when someone suggests that that source of purpose may not exist, it seems inconceivable. What they don't realize is that all they are doing is copying and internalizing the purposes established by others, often thousands of years ago. Atheists, I think, have to decide what their purpose is for themselves rather then relying on others exclusively. An atheist has a great deal more freedom than a theist, but it comes with additional uncertainty.
It's only the fairy tales they believe.
Each individual creates their own meaning. Basically, the idea is to live a life!! The meaning is right here, right now, in front of you. Experience what you have!!
"Those who think they know don't know. Those that know they don't know, know."
Ask her to imagine that, hypothetically, she has come to a point where she can no longer believe. Would she then kill herself, since there would no longer be any point of continuing existence? Or would she press on with life, finding other points in favor of continuing to exist?
What's more important, belief or existence?
i think her "reason" for our existence is to praise god and try and do his will. whoopdy fricken doo......I didn't say it to her at the time, but that just sounds so stupid. So god was bored and needed an ego boost so he made all the universe just so we could spend our lives worshiping him and killing those who don't believe in him.....right....
I would expect an answer like this too. That's why I said what exactly is the reason. This answer is so general as too be useless.
I do not understand the point of worship, I don't understand how one is able to worship, and I don't understand why a God(all-powerful,all-knowing,all-loving) would choose to be worshipped.
I agree that we all make our on meaning to life. There isn't (IMO) a single answer to that question. It is how one experiences life, that leads to there meaning of life. For me its all about learning. I don't see anything better in this world, then the beauty of Knowledge.
My answer would be that everyone chooses the point of their life. A christian chooses that their point in life is to be christian. I choose my life to be a lot more than that.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.