I have a question that I would like an Athiest to answere. I'm a Christian and I'm asking this in a respectfull way so please don't take this wrong, I'm just curious about what the other side believes. My question is, what is the Athiest belief of what happens to yourself when you die? Is that it and it's completely over-no afterlife? Reincarnation? Some kind of afterlife? And if you don't beleive in God then what do you live for? Thanks.
2007-02-20 08:47:15 · 40 answers · asked by Pedro! 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
(Kudos on the way you worded your question)
My failed Christian ways came from attempting to read the Bible and not getting on with it. I believe that when I die, I'm dead. Thats it. There is nothing. If I dont believe in God what do I live for? Myself quite frankly. I charge myself with being responsible for my own actions and the consequences of them, rather than blame the influence of Satan on my soul. I dont believe that there is a higher power above all of us, with Saint Paul waiting for us at the pearly gates when we die, that the end is it. I think of religion as being clouded and a paradox. How the universe was created I really dont know, but I find it difficult to accept that this one higher being wanted it to happen and it was so. Christianity has only been around for 2000 years, some religions longer, I just wonder what makes Christianity the "right" religion to be.
ETA: so if Atheists are to face fire and hell when Judgement Day arrives because they didnt believe, thats hardly a forgiving deity is it? Doesnt exactly makes me run to believe.
2007-02-20 08:58:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
( "...and I'm asking this in a respectfull way..." No problem, dude, I'm not intending to answer you respectfully either way. You've already given out your "I'm a Christian" calling card. You lost my respect right off the bat.)
As for your question: I'm looking forward to an after-death that's exactly like before-birth. Do you recall anything about "not-being" before you were born that made it such a bad deal? I suspect that after-death is precicely the same.
As for: 'Why live if there's no god...?' Is that really a question you can't think through...? With or without god, have you had any better offers?
So Dude, Look up... Look down... Look at my thumb... Jesus-h-christ on a stick, you certainly ARE dumb.. (...like a regular box of rocks.)
[][][] r u randy? [][][]
.
2007-02-20 09:13:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no consensus because the only thing that makes you an atheist is not believing in gods. This leaves a lot of room to believe other things.
I don't believe anything happens after you die - that's it. The end. It's like a computer's RAM chip. With power it holds data. When the power goes, all that data is gone. Forever.
As to, what do I live for... Well, what do you live for? Is your only motivation in life your god? (By the way, I mean no disrespect to you by not capitalising the word 'god', but I am making a statement that applies to all gods). If your motivation is your god, is it because the god fills you with purpose, or because you find purpose in the god? Or to ask it another way - what do you think a member of another religion has to live for, as you must believe they're mistaken in their religious views?
2007-02-20 09:24:23 · answer #3 · answered by The Truth 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Atheists don't have a single agreed-upon view on death that is absolute, so I'll just answer for myself.
All available credible evidence indicates that when the brain ceases to function, that which we call consciousness ceases. You're dead. No spirit floats away. There is no afterlife. Your time is at an end, and all that remains of you is the corpse, the memories people have of you, and the results of your actions.
What do I live for? I live to make the best use of the time I have. I live to learn; to play with my grandchildren; to teach them to be good, useful, responsible, and joyful persons; to love and take care of my family; to try to leave the Earth a better place than I found it; and to treat people with the same respect I would like them to show me. To me, this life is not a rest stop, a waiting room for what is to come. This is what it's all about. This is my time--our time. It is my task to fill that time with deeds worthy of its preciousness. For me, I hope that means living in such a way that my grandchildren will be proud that I was their opa.
Fireball226: "if youre real You will choose a Christian answer..."
So, if he doesn't choose a "Christian answer" he's not "real," eh? What, a "real" Christian? Arrogant twit. The man can address his question to whomever he chooses, and since he's curious to understand how atheists think, it only makes sense to ask atheists to explain. You've proven often enough that you don't understand how we think.
2007-02-20 08:55:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Buddhists are Atheists too, so some believe in reincarnation. I believe that when we die, it's over. No soul, no afterlife. Kind of a bummer, but everything nice eventually ends.
Let me rephrase your final question: If you believe in the afterlife (where you'll be rewarded) what are you hanging around here for?
Obviously, since this is the only life I get I want to make the most of it.
2007-02-20 08:52:59 · answer #5 · answered by ThePeter 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I believe that dying is a little like going to sleep. You're unaware of yourself, it's as if "you" no longer exist. There's no afterlife at all. This comforts me, because I have no interest in "eternal life" unless I'm alive on earth.
As for what I live for...I make sure that I enjoy myself and have no regrets, because I believe this is the only life I will have. I've only got one chance, and I'm going to make it the best I can. I try not to make enemies, only friends, and I try to treat my family with the utmost respect (again, because I only have one chance to love them and cherish them).
I'm probably a bit more spiritual than some atheists, but this is how I believe things are.
2007-02-20 08:59:33 · answer #6 · answered by Stardust 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
What is the... excuse me... what? ATHEIST BELIEF?
We have LACK of belief in gods.
What happens when we die? Life goes on with that dead person staying dead. No after life. No reincarnation. Neither has any evidence.
I live for education, life, family, success... Life is precious because we only get one chance at it. Atheists don't want or need to suck up to a god sitting on a cloud to judge us - either sending us to some la-la land called Heaven, or some place for "sinful" people (HE created) called Hell.
It's all a joke to us. All imaginary things.
2007-02-20 08:53:35 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Curious that you think of atheism as "the other side, " as though "your side" couldn't exist without it.
On to your question. Atheists, in the main, beleive that once one is dead, that is the end. The moment that the electro-chemical activity of the brain ceases, we are no more.
It is not necessary to believe in God to have a reason to live. One might live for the pure joy of it, or to be of service to one's fellow humans, or to enjoy learning.
2007-02-20 09:07:16 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I live to make myself and others happy and to make sure that no one feels unsafe or upset and i do what i can to help others as much as i can.
Just so you know were not all people who hate religions and want to see them destroyed i respect peoples beliefs and i have no problem with them.
Im not having a go at you im just putting it there who think we are like that
2007-02-20 09:54:32 · answer #9 · answered by Krayden 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most atheists hold that death is the utter annihilation of 'self'. That is, when you die, that's it, utter game over for you.
I personally live for knowledge. I want to contribute in some way to the advancement of the knowledge of the human race... and if I can do so without my name or my person being attached to those ideas, all the better -- for me, success is measured by how much knowledge I put out there while still remaining personally unknown. In death, I want to be totally forgotten, and only my ideals remain.
2007-02-20 08:53:20 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋