What Is The Meaning and/or Purpose Of Life To An Atheist?

[Jimmy_Jam]

What makes you think that, just because you are a Christian, you have some kind of lock on the meaning of life?

By the way, I want to take the time to point out that this particular drooling idiot belongs to the left.

I'm pretty new here, but I think I can smell that you two have a history pretty easily.

That does not change the fact that he is a lefty through and through.

Just a harmless observation. You do seem to harbor a good deal of hatred overall though, for whatever that observation is worth. Nothing unusual about that. Anger, hatred, and vitriol is par for the course around here.

It's a shame, really.

 

[The Irish Ram]

What is the purpose of life for an atheist?
One step above a monkey's ............

 

[HUGGY]

What is the purpose of life for an atheist?
One step above a monkey's ............

Monkeys with gasoline and matches!

Ya! THAT'S the ticket!

 

[The Irish Ram]

What is the purpose of life for an atheist?
One step above a monkey's ............

Monkeys with gasoline and matches!

and keyboards!

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I'm pretty new here, but I think I can smell that you two have a history pretty easily.

That does not change the fact that he is a lefty through and through.

Just a harmless observation. You do seem to harbor a good deal of hatred overall though, for whatever that observation is worth. Nothing unusual about that. Anger, hatred, and vitriol is par for the course around here.

It's a shame, really.

I have no hatred for anyone, it gives them to much control over me. I do, however, hold a lot of contempt for anyone who thinks he is always right when he talks about anything, especially the Bible. Your problem is you are trying to outsmart yourself, and end up looking like a fool.

 

[Jimmy_Jam]

That does not change the fact that he is a lefty through and through.

Just a harmless observation. You do seem to harbor a good deal of hatred overall though, for whatever that observation is worth. Nothing unusual about that. Anger, hatred, and vitriol is par for the course around here.

It's a shame, really.

I have no hatred for anyone, it gives them to much control over me. I do, however, hold a lot of contempt for anyone who thinks he is always right when he talks about anything, especially the Bible. Your problem is you are trying to outsmart yourself, and end up looking like a fool.

You're right. I AM trying to outsmart myself. How is that a bad thing? I can think of no better way to grow than to challenge both myself and others. I don't know why you think I am insisting that I am right. Why? Because I am confronting you? It is clear to me and probably most others that you have anger issues.

Are you also saying that you DON'T think you are right?

 

[emilynghiem]

In a response or complementary, rather, to chess' great thread...http://www.usmessageboard.com/religion-and-ethics/165908-what-is-death-to-an-ahteist.html

I'm curious to know from atheists, what is their understanding of the meaning and/or purpose of life?

I image that the majority of atheists believe in the Big Bang Theory, or some version thereof...which in essence states that we are all here by chance, some happenstance of a big bang that somehow ended up creating life from some amoeba or similar form that resulted in us, humans beings at the end/top of the food chain.

Along with that theory, the world is millions of years old, I just read someone's post in the other thread using "eons." Which raises another question of, why are we, humans, so lucky? How is it that we are on this planet for "eons" and we haven't had a catastrophic event, such as a meteor that obliterates this planet? Why hasn't it happened as yet? What's stopping it from happening? That seems to be quite a lot of luck to just end up being living beings, as we are, AND not having massively catastrophic event occur like that. No?

Anyway, back to the original premise...what's the meaning of life....if we are all here by some chance?

Tim Minchin · "Storm"
Tim Minchin is a comedian, actor, composer, songwriter, pianist, musical director and huge rock n roll megastar. Tim is based in London.


The atheists I know try to make the most of life while we are here, since we don't know or can't control what goes on after that. [pls see link above, to Tim Minchin's poetic rant, where he makes a beautiful statement about the world in all its natural wonder being divine enough to live for and enjoy, without worrying about asking the right answers from religion]

The atheists I know who are active in the peace and justice community, believe in restorative justice and having charity and compassion for all people, seeking the most amenable and sustainable ways of serving the greater good for all society, even after we are gone.

One such atheist I know actively teaches about the abundance of free grace in life, to forgive and not hold on to inventory and trying to keep track of this or that person or you'll go crazy. if you are going to get anything done in life, you can't live that way.

So even my atheist friends share the same values I do as a believer in God and Christ.
They just call it by secular terms, without personifying these concepts as a father or son.
It is like how the Buddhists may talk about values in life in abstract, global ways, and not limited to human relations and "anthropomorphic" images like our Western media culture.

 

[uscitizen]

Religions promise of an afterlife cheapens the only sure one we have.

From muslim suiciders to missionarys suffering in the jungles.

 

[emilynghiem]

Religions promise of an afterlife cheapens the only sure one we have.

From muslim suiciders to missionarys suffering in the jungles.

I doubt that is the point or message, to cheapen physical life on earth.
the more understanding there is of the harmony in design between all things on all levels,
it makes life even MORE beautiful and precious, not less!

From my understanding of universal truth and wisdom, which all religions seek to convey by one angle or another: the point is to remember to be thankful for higher spiritual quality of life rather than take things for granted and quibble over selfish material things that aren't the key to happiness.
Instead of living by fear, by the scarcity mentality which keeps someone trapped in victimhood; the point of faith is to live by abundance, by faith that in sharing with others it INCREASES our wealth, not just on a spiritual level, but the physical level follows as well to create positive not negative cycles.

If people take that willingness to sacrifice material comfort in the short term for higher spiritual reward in the longterm, and ABUSE it politically to incite suicide attacks or justify oppression of the poor, that is horrible and not the purpose of that principle! The purpose is NOT to justify and continue suffering, but to end the cycle of suffering; not to condone injustice, but to forgive it first in order to open the doors to correcting injustice as part of the healing process to restore just relations.

You are right, that people abuse laws and religions all the time to take advantage and control. But that does not make it the real purpose of the spiritual message in that religion.
People abuse secular govt, police authority and laws all the time to commit crimes against others, and we KNOW that is not the purpose of govt laws! Same with religious laws.

 

[rdean]

In a response or complementary, rather, to chess' great thread...http://www.usmessageboard.com/religion-and-ethics/165908-what-is-death-to-an-ahteist.html

I'm curious to know from atheists, what is their understanding of the meaning and/or purpose of life?

I image that the majority of atheists believe in the Big Bang Theory, or some version thereof...which in essence states that we are all here by chance, some happenstance of a big bang that somehow ended up creating life from some amoeba or similar form that resulted in us, humans beings at the end/top of the food chain.

Along with that theory, the world is millions of years old, I just read someone's post in the other thread using "eons." Which raises another question of, why are we, humans, so lucky? How is it that we are on this planet for "eons" and we haven't had a catastrophic event, such as a meteor that obliterates this planet? Why hasn't it happened as yet? What's stopping it from happening? That seems to be quite a lot of luck to just end up being living beings, as we are, AND not having massively catastrophic event occur like that. No?

Anyway, back to the original premise...what's the meaning of life....if we are all here by some chance?

Make this the best life possible because it's the only one you have. Make it "count".

 

[newpolitics]

My answer would be, the meaning of life for atheist is the same as that for a theist: whatever meaning you give it. For theists, this includes theology. For an atheist, it doesn't. That's the only distinction. To say atheists, because they lack theology, don't have or can't have meaning, is really blind to what life is all about. Then again, theological perspective is all-consuming, in that, it can seem, from the believer's perspective, seem like the basis for everything. Therefore, imagining a life without god may meaningless, but it is the same. It's the same objective reality we see before us: people, cities, earth, space, stars, we just interpret it differently. We interact with reality in essentially the same way, aside from (for the theist) relationships based entirely on a shared belief in god, which only occupies for some, a percentage of their relationships. In short, I think it is each other that gives us meaning, or "love." Just as the theist might proclaim. However, theists do not have a monopoly on love.

 

[rightwinger]

Atheists understand the purpose of life better than those who are religious

Atheists don't need to be threatened with eternal damnation to be good
They don't need a promise of eternal life in return for good behavior

Atheists do things because it is the right thing to do

 

[newpolitics]

Atheists understand the purpose of life better than those who are religious

Atheists don't need to be threatened with eternal damnation to be good
They don't need a promise of eternal life in return for good behavior

Atheists do things because it is the right thing to do

EXACTLY. by this fact alone, atheists should be deemed morally superior, having arrived at morality through reasoning and introspection, not reference to an invisible authority that threatens them, who, in the judaeo-christian perspective, is a bully that is nothing to draw upon. Yahweh was the war god of the Israelites. Nothing more.