What do you gain out of being atheist?

Question

I am not one. I would like to see other peoples viewpoints.

C.s Lewis once quoted pascal's wager to an atheist cab driver. If your not aware of pascal's wager i recommend you look it up. However it is true can you can neither choose or not to believe it just comes. belief isn't rational

Please ignore this southern American idea of hell and a little red devil. Do disregard most things that christian fundamentalists say. Even the Nazi's used religion as a tool. If there are any Buddhist's about would be quite interesting hearing from you following an atheist religion

May i say that in Christianity you are saved by faith alone. You are not graded on how good a person you are

Answer 1

i don't really gain anything, the reason i DON'T believe in god is not for gain, it's just that I personally cannot believe in something so ridicules just because I'm afraid of death and i want to comfort myself by telling myself that when i die everything will be wonderful in heaven.
I know that when i die, that's it, game over, it's not the nicest of thoughts, but i would rather acknowledge that than live my life abiding by rules written by some guy from an archaic time in the name of some fictional character, so thinking about it i guess i gain free will to believe what I think is real and not what I'm told, also it's a lot easier for me to change my opinion on things when given evidence.

Answer 2

It seems that one has to be aware of God, Heaven, and Hell! So there may may be a dilemma about belief to begin with! Pascal used statistics and set a table, but he used those three words. Interesting!
All those 3 are not seen. Only in readings and teachings are we aware. They seem to have been used by people wanting something from someone else as gain. There must be sacrifice and choice...
It is up to the individual at all times to chose.
Perhaps the wisest choice is to follow the philosophy of Summum Bonum, the philosophy, not the Browning poem. That is, the highest good...which has nothing to do with any higher being, only the Self...and maybe others...
In that, then, belief in Self is the motivation for life, here and now and maybe for the short future. Life is in the aging and seeing the result of our choices.

Answer 3

Peace and present mindedness. It think the "wager" is the source of a great deal of turmoil in the world. Those who bank on there being another life are capable of pretty outlandish behavior. Suicide bombers are a prime example of the most extreme metaphysical wager.

Atheists on the other had are not influenced by this. When the notion of an afterlife is eliminated from ones world view, it has profound consequences on behavior. There are no second chances, no gods to please, no dogma.

This allows a person to be fully engaged in the present, unencumbered by magical thinking. This makes every action and non action all that much more consequential. A bad act cannot be confessed a way. A misguided religious act cannot be explained through dogma. An atheist spiritual footprint on this earth is much more benign.

Answer 4

I agree with those that have said, it's not done for gain. I think if you asked someone with other beliefs there is a strong chance that they would give the same answer regarding their own choice. I appreciate the fact that atheism lends itself to alot of personal meditation, I enjoy studying different religions and seeing how they can apply to me, and they all apply favourably in certain aspects. I do not think that there is somehow a war between atheists and theists, I for one am happy to let anyone believe whatever they want to believe as long as they don't infringe on other people. Whether you are religious or non-religious if you take time out of your schedule to think, that for me is what makes the difference. Atheism therefore is beneficial to me because I can say, ok, I don't have that boundary that this is exactly the way it is, the way it is written but I can say, what led to these religious ideas, or what can I as a non-believer take from these words.

Answer 5

Well that's just the point. You don't really gain anything out of it - well, I suppose they would say a sense of reality? They would claim that followers of religion (the opium of the masses as Marx would have it) restrains people from achieving real change in the world through a belief that everything will make sense and work out OK in the afterlife.
So, they would that followers of religions are only following for what they can get out of it.
Can someone who believes that if they do not follow God's laws they will burn in hell truly be called 'good'? There is no free will there surely?
That's all I can think of.
I'm an agnostic myself - saves a lot of time and energy!

Answer 6

The knowledge that we can't be wrong about the religion we have chosen.

Think about the number of different religions in the world, only one or a very few with similar ideals can be correct so the highest probability is that all of them are wrong as why would God come and tell one set of people the right thing and then people across the other side of the world develop a completely different religion. If he made them all then he would have explained things a bit better.

I don't gain anything by being an Atheist, i just don't lose out

Answer 7

Perhaps a rephrasing of the question: What do you loose by being an atheist? Or, what do you gain by believing in a Higher Power, often referred to as God? But, to your question. Perhaps a state of tranquility by not having anything to look forward to after the death of your body. Or, being left alone by all those in the world who have a sense of a Greater Being, or, in some instances several Greater Beings. Perhaps the loss of anticipation. You know the modern day "drug of euphoria" without the use of chemicals. Could go on, but you get the message. Hopefully, the answers you receive with give you the clarity and peace you seek.

Answer 8

Atheists are left with the question about creation, who or what started the first chemical reaction, while the bible explains creation. Actually in every religion, creation is explained in a slightly different way. Not following religion doesn't make someone a bad person, but does it affect moral standards. Gladstone was one of the best PM's ever, his belief influenced his actions, without belief he would probably have made alternative decidions.

Answer 9

I simply do not believe; that is the sole basis of being atheist. There is no systematic set of guidelines nor rituals to being an atheist. There is nothing to "gain" out of not believing. As with theists, they are the ones looking to gain something from their beliefs, whether it be moral superiorty over others or "heavenly approval" from their deity.

I'm aware of Pascal's wager; it is intellectually misleading.

Answer 10

The main problem is religion; it can be both economically, politically, socially and psychologically damaging and often even divides families. Pascal's wager is flawed in that it assumes that belief in a religion is something you choose to do. I cannot believe in religion any more than you can an invisible pink flying unicorn. Furthermore, christian's thank their god for what they achieve, whereas atheists know that they did it all themselves. That alone is psychologically benificial.

Answer 11

Same as what we gain out of NOT being an atheist. Okay. You are a believer. tell me honestly what have you gained. Stature/ Money? recognition? peace? happiness? What else?

I am a believer and a firm one at that . Still I donot know what I have gained. I know I am among a large majority of such people. But, of late , I also know that many are leaving the church , the religious dogma, the rigidity . They have chosen a median route , between the atheists and the nons.