DO atheists and agnostics have a personal agenda or reason to live their lives?

Question

I asked and none of you answered. I really would like to know. Do you atheists and agnostics have a "reason" for living or is your life all about pleasure and self? That's not meant as an insult. I really do not see how one lives their life without what I consider a meaning behind it. Do you have one?

No I try to take each person as I find them. One can not say ALL Christians or ALL atheists. I just wonder what makes everyone "tick" as you would call it. This poem sums it up for me and it comes from Catholic Prayerbook that I have.

"There is so much bad is the best of us,
There is so much good is the worst of us,
That it ill behooves the rest of us,
To rail at the faults of the rest of us."

Now see, fro me, just my opinion mind you but if all I had to live for was pleasure, then I would be truly sad as I find that an empty pursuit. It has often been my finding that when I do for others I find myself the happiest.

Just a note but I was once told by a Priest that some people who don't believe live better "Christian" lives than some of us Christians. Not all but some.

How is this question ignorant? I haven't been rude I just am curious to know about the other half as it is. To understand what others feel strongly about or believe in.

By personal agenda I mean your own plan or reason. Not a hidden reason but your ideal.

Actually I was pleased to find many good answers and I am happy to know that atheists care about this world and others in it too. I am sorry if you took this as a judgement it wasn't meant as one. I only stated what I believe in and asked the same of you. I suspected that I would find that in many ways your outlook would not be any less humane than mine. It is enlightening to actually "hear" how atheists and agnostics think concerning this. Most Christians just presume that they live selfish and empty lives. I have found that is not the case. Thank you for demonstrating that. You do have every right to your beliefs. As for if that is "good enough" I leave that judgement up to you and your beliefs. It is not my place to judge. I am just a fellow traveler in life. Thank you for the honest answers.

Answer 1

i have my own little bible, which could probably answer this question the best (just speaking for myself of course)

here goes:
"I do not drive too fast, even if i don't agree with the rules. I give too much change back to the girl behind the counter in the supermarket. When i find a wallet on the street, i return it to the owner without expecting a reward ,because the relief on your face is worth more to me than money. In a bar i'll talk to you, when you are standing alone. I will never jugde or disrespect you on your looks, not even on your charactre.

And i do that without any God telling me to do that

I give to charity, i seperate my garbage for a better environment. I rather put on an extra sweater, than to put up the heater. I never throw my chewing-gum on the street. Every week i buy the paper from a homeless person. I will help and support you if you're attacked by drunken guys on the street, i'll avoid the fight, but i'll never leave you alone. I help the old lady cross the street, i'll bring the crying lost little girl back to her mother.

And i do that without any God telling me to do that

I know no rules, except my own thoughts. After thinking everything through, i have to conclude that there must be 'something' to make this all happen. I've looked around and inspite of all the misery, the poorness, the crime, the hate, i don't see humans as sinners, but as people with choices. I don't think that i will be lost if i do not meditate on a mountain or pray under a cross. I don't even believe that the guy who blows himself up between a group of schoolkids will burn eternally.

And i think that without any God telling me to think that

Every person has something good inside. Sometimes on the surface, sometimes deep hidden inside. I hope that the God they all talk about, is not the guy with the beard sitting on a cloud. The God i have faith in, is just a metaphore. A feeling. A sence of all the goodness inside the people. Nothing more than that. And more clear: nothing less than that. The goodness in our heart is the most important thing we have. My God has an extra 'O'...Good.

And i am good, without any God telling me that

Good has no need for symbols. No cross, no boring books, no big fat guy, no cow, no buildings with colored glass windows. Good is everywhere and is eternal. There is no need to pray for something good, because it will always be there. There is also no need to pray to end something bad, because the bad will also always be there. Sure there are bad people. These people are to dumb to understand the good. Goodness, kindness can relieve you. Badness only creates more badness. We can never beat the badness. A bad guy with a gun can only be beaten by a good guy with a gun. But a good guy doesn't use a gun.

And even if the Good will always loose, I'll always try to be Good.

Everything has its time, and its place. In our sadness, in our anger, in our happyness, in our love we can see our humanity. These things make us to be the people we are, they shape us, they teach us, they make us really feel. And in every deep misery, there is always a hidden hope, cause we all know anything can always be done differently. This earth is our playground, to feel, to laugh, to cry, to love and to live.

And i live. And that's good.

Answer 2

As an atheist, I can only speak for myself. Unlike some Christians, I do not presume to speak for all who may think a certain way about a specific topic.

Personally, I find that a personal agenda is not really a requirement for life in general. I spend every day going about my personal business, going to work, coming home, going to the movies, eating at a restaurant. Amazingly, almost 6 billion other people do similar things every day. Some don't work, some don't have access to movies, some have a difficult time finding food, but all have things that they do solely for their own sake.

Your belief that a person - Christian, Muslim, Wicca or Atheist - must have some kind of "Agenda" in order to validate their life is based on a faulty premise. As far as considering a "meaning" behind one's existence, your meaning is different from a Muslim's, and from a Protestants, and even from people in your very church/temple/synagogue. No doubt, there are people who consider themselves Christians and yet have a self/pleasure agenda. There are also Atheists who are more philanthropic than most Christians.

Answer 3

Yes, there is meaning in my life. This is a very ignorant question. I have a family who loves me and career goals. I am a dedicated teacher who tries to give something back to society every day. I enjoy my life but I'm not amoral. I believe in good and bad, and everything in between. I have standards and I try to do what's right. The fact that I'm an Atheist does not make me empty inside. My religion is science and I have complete faith that what I believe is true. I live a full, happy life and I wish the same for you. We just have different beliefs and we must respect each other even though we don't agree.

Answer 4

I'm a Protestant Christian so even though I'm not an athiest, I'll answer your question.

I think athiests find it hard to believe something that they can't see or come up with a mental image for. It's like they have to see it to believe it.

I didn't read any full answers, but I think atheists "purpose" in life is to make the world a better place and to take care of their kids if they have any. They may also want to make the world more environmentally pure or safe if they think this is the only "world" you go to and then you die, they want to make it the best place they can.

My purpose in life is to serve God and to make other people happy, like random acts of kindness. Even if you don't do them often, they can make you and the receiver feel much better and ready to "live their life." We should rather do an intentional act of kindness. Have a great day and a purpose driven life!

God bless you.

Answer 5

I am someone who is trying to figure it all out.
What really is starting to become apparant to me is the 'them and us' attitude which I see on this forum quite frequently.
It is almost to the point of being Hate and not just a different point of view.
I understand that your question was no mean't as an insult but it is something that can be taken as one.
You are inferring that all atheists are selfish and only concerned about themselves. This is something that I take issue with.
There are good atheists who believe in living life with good morals and treating people as they would themselves ( what most christians believe in anyway) and respect other peoples choice of believing in a religion. Then you have the extremists who believe that if you believe in a religion or god then you deserve to be treated with contempt. Then you can use that same criteria for christians who believe that if you do not believe in a religion you deserve to be treated with contempt and say that you are going to be punished by going to hell.

Why can't we just accept that the world is full of different people, with different opinions, cultures and religions, and then respect these people and their religions and have a bit more tolerance.

The meaning to my life is to give my children a sound and safe upbringing where as they grow older they can feel safe in knowing that whatever they choose to believe in, whether it be a religion or not, they can be assured that I will not judge them or the choice they have made.

Now I will get off my soapbox and wish you all the best and have a nice day!

Answer 6

You're probably not aware of how mean-spirited this question is, but it is truly along the same lines as colonizers seeing indigenous peoples as "savages" and "less than human." If you need to demonize us so as to feel better about yourself, then I can't stop you, but I would hope that you would have read one of the previous versions of this question and realized the impact of what you are saying.

You presume that the only "meaning" one can have in life is based on "god." This is unbelievably arrogant and wholly untrue.

As an atheist, the meaning for my existence is to make sure that my little family and the people I care about are happy, healthy and well taken care of. I don't need "god" to help me with this. All of the responsibility rests on my shoulders, and so far I've proven that I'm up to the task.

If you need the "love" of a long dead carpenter to give your life "meaning," I truly feel sad for you. The truth is that the real love of real people is the true meaning of life.

Answer 7

My reason for living is probably the same as yours.

I want to enjoy life and make it as good as possible. But I don't want to do so at the expense of others pain. Pity, empathy and sympathy are natural emotions for humans to have.

For example, if you saw a little girl get beat up for her popsicle on a hot day, would you pity her? Would you feel badly? Of course you would.

Now, is the reason why you feel bad for her because the bible TELLS you to feel bad? Do you try and remember where the bible says pity is a good emotion, then emote that feeling? Of course not.

You automatically feel pity (unless you are a psychotic). We atheists have all those same emotions, so we also want to live by the golden rule.

The difference is that I want to fufill THIS life, as I don't believe in the next. So I want to laugh, love, be loved and maximize the experience of the few short years I am here. However, I don't want to do so at the expense of others.

I am just like you. When I am hungry and I eat, I feel good. When I am sad and my wife hugs me, I feel better. When my wife is sad and I hug her, we BOTH feel better.

That's meaning we all have and should enjoy in life, not wasting this life in the hopes of some better future one.

One last thought, don't forget that (if you are a Christian) that you believe that Buddhist, Hindus, etc all pray to false man-made gods that have no basis in reality (just like I believe). Yet Christians never lump then in with atheists. Somehow, believing in a false god is superior morally to not believing in a false god, according to most.

Answer 8

I am agnostic. Many religious people, not only Christians, will say that I will go to hell of wherever after I die because I don't believe in a higher power.

Why is it not enough to merely believe in yourself, that you have the power to succeed in whatever you choose to do, if you only put in the effort. I have goals in life. Start a career, get married to someone I love, have kids, live to old age, and die without any regrets.

The meaning here is that I lived a good life, experienced happiness, sadness, and the fact that I gained knowledge and passed it on to future generations.

So then I ask you, is this kind of life sufficient?

Answer 9

I'm an atheist (raised atheist by atheist parents, second generation) and my goal is to help relieve all suffering. I'm an educator currently working to improve science education for inner-city children. I volunteer at the local animal shelter helping homeless dogs and cats. I'm a vegetarian and have been for 16 years. I believe in the golden rule, that we should treat others how we'd want to be treated. I believe that all beings (human and non) want to be happy and free from suffering.

I don't drink or smoke, I'm happily married for 6 years, have two adopted dogs and two adopted cats (both cats have a terminal illness that I was aware of when they were adopted--I just want to help them live their lives well while they're here, though they've been around for many years now, happy and healthy).

My pleasure comes in making others happy. I do not believe in a seperate Self.

Answer 10

Only the weak and insecure need a "reason" to lead a good life. All the atheists and agnostics that I know are very friendly, care deeply about their families and work hard for everything they've got. They lead good and just lives because they have a sense of right and wrong and strong moral values. Not because they've been frightened into it by an almighty entity's threats of eternal Hell, torture and suffering.

Please take note - just because you think we're all going to Hell, that doesn't mean we're bad people.