For Atheists: what is your purpose in life?

Question

I truly want o understand why do you get up in the morning? Why od you do what you do? There has to be more to it than pleasure. Why are we here what is the point? I can not imagine live a meaningless life. Is that how you feel? I truly feel sad if you lack purpose and meaning beyond whatever make you happy it seem so empty. Also does whatever you do find purpose in give you joy and peace. Not just happiness (peace and joy are deep and permanent). Thank you, I truly want to understand.

Why do you want to leave it better? What's the point? I just don't understand, I really want to.

You all are misinterpretting, sorry I must have worded it poorly. I have meaning in my life and I can't imagine living without. Therefore you probably having meaning to, I just wanted to know what it was. Again I apologize, I did not mean to imply otherwise.

Answer 1

1). because people yell at me if i don't.
2). it's interesting.
3). who knows? why must there even be an answer?
4). nope.
5). yes it does give me joy and peace.

This is the only life i have, it would be a shame to waste it.

Answer 2

I am a very boring mom of 3 :) I get up in the morning because thats what people do! I get breakfast for my kids, organize homework and send them off with a kiss and a laugh too most mornings.

"Why do I do what I do?" Err, because I love them? Why do moms love kids? Because god ordered them to? There has to be more than pleasure. I would hope so! (Some mornings they're not that pleasant!)

"Why are we here and what is the point?" The point of my life is to make the world a better place because I was here. I used to have this as a "general" reason but lately (within the last year) I'm making this my daily goal.

"I cannot imagine live a meaningless life." Me either. Atheists have *meaning* hon. We just don't GET our meaning from a skygod. Because my meaning comes from a different place doesn't mean my life is without meaning.

Joy and peace are from my family. From some of the organizations I volunteer time with. Also my own state-of-mind and choices I make about that impact these in my life.

Hope that helps you understand. No offense. When I was a christian I thought the same thing about atheists.

Answer 3

You make the assumption that all theists live for their Gods. I'm not an atheist. At the same time - I don't live for my religion like some people do. And guess what? I still have purpose. I have a talent for telling stories, and so I write novels that bring others joy. That's as good a purpose as any and chances are Atheists are no different! Why can't people understand that people who don't live for religion (atheist or theist) live to make the world a better place for future generations of the species? Or that they have purpose in raising their families? Is it so hard to believe that an atheist knows how to love? Or that they do and can experience joy without a god?

Answer 4

I get up in the morning to care for my beautiful children

To make the people around me smile

To do my part to care for the world we live in

To spend time learning something I did not know before

My life is not meaningless! I can't imagine my spouse or our amazing children agreeing with that, nor anyone else in my family or life. *NO* life is without meaning.

Everything I do gives me joy; I have a reputation for being a very cheerful person. None of the tragedies I have faced in my life have ever gotten me down for long -- I bounce right back because I see the worlds as a beautiful place, full of promise and hope. And I do my best to make it such.

Answer 5

I live life because it's a grand experience and I only get to do it once. When I die, that's it, that's the end of me, nothing will personally matter to me any more because I'll be gone, the world left to the newer generations to continue.

I live my life for knowledge -- it fulfills me, it brings me joy and happiness to discover some new idea or way of doing things. Whenever I find something truly unique, I find a way to filter it to a professor so that they don't know who sent it to them -- I want my ideas remembered, but me, myself, I want to be forgotten.

Ultimately, you believe what you believe because it makes you happy, because it fills a void in your life; if it didn't, you'd find another religion. What you and I do is no different, you just base your life on the idea of a god, I base my life on the idea of learning.

Answer 6

I do not understand why you would think I have no purpose without god. I also do not understand why you need god to have your purpose.

I'm simply just another human being. The point of life is to live; so I experience life to it's fullest, always remembering to protect and respect other life.

I live for the people around me that care for me. I live to leave this world in a better place than I entered it. I live to further knowledge and understanding of this Universe.

I live to advance myself, and humanity.

I do not live following a 2000 year old set of rules in hopes that I will die and all those rules will disappear and I will get everything I desire in a perfect eternity. That's just a foolish child's fancy.

Answer 7

To be happy, to appreciate each moment, and to leave this world better than I found it.

No, I do not feel that my life is at all meaningless. If you need a god to have meaning, then I think that's even more empty.

I find meaning in lots of things - philosophy, family, laughter, love, and so on... and yeah, peace and joy are as available to me as they are to anyone else. And all of this is just more evidence to me that god isn't there.

EDIT... Why do I want to leave it better? Because I need no god to tell me that might be a good idea. That's why. I try to be good according to my morals.

Now, if you are asking where morality comes from, check out game theory and memetics. Even morality has a scientific explanation.

Answer 8

Hi there Jesus Fishy 05. You can aspire to go on and do whatever you want in you next life, that doesn't mean it will happen. You have absolutely no pleasure in life so you are wagering that your "next life" will be just super. None of this makes it true though. This is what we have, one life, and I intend to live it.

That icthyus is a Pagan fertility symbol by the way, just showing how far you will take a delusion in hopes of making it true.

Answer 9

We have peace and joy just as religious people do, we just get to have it on our own terms. We get up every morning so that we can live our lives as we want to so we can be happy and hopefully live a good life and leave a good mark on the world. at least I do. I want to make the world at least a little better for my children and their children and so on.
Why does anyone get up in the morning? you can't just be getting up in the morning just to serve God, certainly you do a couple of things for yourself.

Answer 10

While it may not have been the intent of the question, I found it quite offensive. So, you're stating that if one doesn't love God or Jesus then they can't have a purpose in life? What an utterly egotisical and closeminded question.

A purpose in life is what you make of it, not someone or something else.