A question for those who don't believe there is a God?

Question

To what end are you living towards? To be happy? To make others happy? What's the point if it's all gonna end anyway? If you were to fall dead right this minute, according to you, you wouldn't even be aware to know of what you're missing out on were you still alive, nor would you be aware to be happy anymore. What is happiness to you anyway? Is it having good relationships? Is it having lots of worldly things? I have a hard time understanding why any of this matters to you if we're just a bunch of spiritless, organized groups of matter that happened to evolve to the point where we are today. I'm not trying to be confrontational, just trying to learn your perspectives.

Answer 1

Why do people who claim to believe in god give a rodent's rectum what goes on in my life? Do you score extra brownie points if you get someone to "believe"? Does it give you bragging rights in your church? What is happiness? For me, it's living my life according to the golden rule. Does anyone have a problem with that?

Maybe I'd be more receptive to formal religion if someone could tell me why English speaking people need all these different bibles:

English (EN) 21st Century King James Version
American Standard Version
Amplified Bible
Contemporary English Version (NT)
Darby Translation
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
English Standard Version
Holman Christian Standard Bible
King James Version (OT)
New American Standard Bible (NT)
New International Reader's Version
New International Version
New International Version - UK
New King James Version
New Life Version
New Living Translation
The Message
Today's New International Version (NT)
Worldwide English (New Testament) (NT)
Wycliffe New Testament (NT)
Young's Literal Translation

I've done my own research and each of these bibles claims to be "the truth" as spoken by god. But they are all different in some way. Which one is the "official" truth and why are all the others necessary?

To what end am I living towards? The certainty of death and becoming food for earth worms. But don't feel sorry for me. At least I don't have to worry about which of the "truthful" bibles to turn my back on.

Answer 2

I really have doubts about there being a God. Why should I believe there is? Can you explain why you believe? No one has ever given me a good enough reason to make me believe. I am happy for those of you who do. To what end are you living towards...to go to heaven? Can you really be sure such a place exists..if so how? i live my life trying to be happy and make other people happy, hopefully you do the same. Why shouldn't happiness be important to me while I am on this Earth? Do you really believe that after you die you will be aware of what you are missing by not being alive? I'm sorry, but this sounds a little far fetched to me. To say that none of this should matter to me is hard to understand. If everything is gone when I die, what better time is there than now to seek happiness.

Answer 3

I think you have some fudamental misunderstandings about atheism, at least in my opinion. It is far too simplistic to imply that, without a god, humans would just revert to hedonism and indulge every appetite we have. Although I don't believe in god, I don't take part in wild orgies inbetween being a ruthless prick while acquiring "worldly things."

I think there is a duty to live ethically and morally simply because we are humans. Put another way, the duty to behave as moral, ethical people inheres in our humanity -- it's what makes us human. If we don't live up to those responsibilities, we are no better than animals. The fact that we have the capabilities of rational thought means that we should use that rational thought to guide our lives. From my perspective, rational thought simply cannot include praying to an almighty being that defies everything we have known on earth (ie: physics, laws of nature, etc.) Besides, is it so inconceivable that everything around you is the result of natural processes, and that we are a part of that? (ie: we have a limited lifespan just like every other living thing)

Answer 4

Just because someone doesn't believe in God doesn't necessarily mean they don't believe in anything at all. I believe in nature - I love the wilderness more than anything and it gives me great joy to live amidst it.

I live to make the world a better place, to be the best person I can be, to dream the impossible, to discover the unknowns, to tell stories and draw pictures, to adventure, to find truth in the Universe - I live for a lot of reasons.

Happiness is love of family and the beautiful sights, smells, and sounds that touch your heart - everyone has a heart, whether they believe in a God or not.

Well, the point is that we don't KNOW what happens in the end. I don't pretend to know that, but I like to believe in my own notions of what happens after I die because I can. Heaven isn't my ideal afterlife so I have my own. Imagination is a wonderful thing.

Answer 5

hold on.

1. i am living towards a hard earned and rewarding future. a nice house, money to spare and a family.

2. yes, to be happy.

3. other peoples happiness, excluding those i know, is not my concern.

4. Happiness is doing all the things i like to do now and pushing my boundaries.

5. a good relationship can being me happiness, yes.

6. worldy things make my time on earth a bit more conftorable and more entertaining.

7. it matters because we are here, do you ssume that simply because we dont beleivei nyour fairy tales were going to go the rest of our lives sulking around waiting to die? no way. weve got a limited tim here and were going o enjoy it doing what we want to, not groveling at the feet of a nonexistent diety hoping that theres an afterlife.

you people have gotten so obsessed about the afterlife thatyouve otally forgotten about THIS life (the only one you have). im sorry if i refuse to grovel, its just not what id prefer to do on a lazy sunday morning.

you are being confrontational, your comments are geared towards it.

i strongly doubt youre trying to learn any perspectives, as you seem to look down on ours (atheists).

Answer 6

How about "making a better world for our children"? Or don't they count?

See, many who do believe in a God seem determined to wreck the place, considering that they are going to heaven anyway so what difference does it make how much they spoil the planet till then.

And then there are a few who are eager for Armageddon, the war to end all wars...they believe this is on their path to heaven, and the sooner they get it the better.

Some of us are just more invested in what happens here, rather than the hereafter.

Answer 7

Happiness to me is living life the way I see fit, not the way some hypocrite living out of other peoples' pockets thinks I should.

What end are YOU living toward? To be in some imaginary "heaven" where the streets are paved with gold? Or are they paved with the bodies of those murdered in the name of some "god"?

Answer 8

The point is what you make of it. The movie "Groundhog Day" focuses on a guy who has no meaning outside of what he creates for himself. It's a great metaphor for this life. Eventually (after attempting suicide, debauchery, drunkenness, etc.) he chooses to connect to someone else with honesty, integrity, intelligence, and compassion. No God, no afterlife. Only the chance to determine what works best, what gives you the most meaning.

Answer 9

First of all, who said the works of a dead person could not transcend its own life time? May be you have heard of the Nobel Prize?

Even if it is just like fireworks. Sure it does not last forever, but it is good when it happens. Isn't the experience alone worth the effort?

BTW, what good is eternal afterlife if all one cares is his/her own skin getting saved from suffering?

Answer 10

Just because you do not believe in god does not necessarily mean that you believe that death is the end. It may be just a passage to another realm of existence, or possibly reincarnation into another lifetime. Either way life is a journey, enjoy the ride!