I assume "the others" are not so thin-skinned that if someone suggests some way they are thinking they will not get all indignant and upset over it. Do you?
It is a "challenge" it is not an assetion of fact on my part. How one responds will help settle the challenge.
As to your other point, if I knew my life was ultimately meaningless --- and that is exactly what a world without a God and without life after death becomes, I mean who cares what Joe Caveman did to help some fawn escape a thorny pit anymore, it has no bearing on the world in any way, shape, or form ---- if I knew my life and contributions would in time become ultimately meaningless, I would be cast into absolute despair and darkness from which I could never recover. Yes, seriously. The thought I would never ever see those dear to me again is reason enough for such despair.
But that's just me, G.T.
You'd be thinking counter intuitively.
It's more rational to strive to make a bigger difference so that your life was NOT meaningless, if there were no afterlife. It's way more of an incentive to attempt to advance Humanity in general. With the afterlife, the incentive to maximize your existence NOW is decreased, necessarily.
Well as an atheist with a big heart, I do not doubt you are trying to maximize temporal pleasure --- that is all good --- but for me as a certain believer in heaven and hell, temporal pleasure is so low on the scale by comparison.
In addition, the assumption that Christians do not care about this world because it is temporary, do not care abou the needs of the needy, well... that has been demonstrated over history to be absolutely false. You KNOW the opposite is true based on the immeasurable amount of charity and missionaries and hospitals and schools and orphanages, et al. Christians have sacrificed their lives to care for others. Of course that all gets ignored when people try to tell us church people are hypocrites and in it for the money. No problem finding a wolf in sheep's clothing, but that hardly proves anything other than man has a sinful nature. The teachings of Jesus are not tarnished by those.
I'm an agnostic.