Why do you espouse a doctrine of meaninglessness and then live as if there is meaning to life? You claim there is no one to judge our actions, yet you are quick to make judgements, assign blame, and express vindictiveness for evil. (such as 9/11)
You are the star witness that there is a God. For you deny the Lawgiver but still live life as if there is a law.
2007-06-18 14:56:17 · 45 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
As a Humanist, I have never espoused a "doctrine of meaninglessness." My life has always had meaning, and it has nothing to do with religion.
2007-06-18 14:59:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Hold on. Not all atheists believe that life is meaningless. I believe it would nihilists that you are referring to. It makes me sad to think that there are people who can't see how much meaning this life has, all on its own, without the possibility of an afterlife.
Just because I don't believe that my soul will go on to a better place doesn't mean that what happens in the here and now is no longer relevant. As a matter of fact, its probably more relevant to me than it is to you.
Considering that this life is the only one we have, there most be some sort of order and "law" to it if it IS going to mean anything. But that doesn't mean that man isn't capable of deciding what is socially/morally acceptable all on our own. I feel more sorry for those of you who need a list of commandments to know the difference between right and wrong.
2007-06-18 15:02:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wow, you have a whole army of strawmen, don't you?
Atheists don't "espouse a doctrine of meaninglessness." Like others have mentioned, we have meaning to our lives and I'd wager most of us add meaning to other people lives, through raising children, helping others in need, creating art, etc. We may tell you what this meaning is, and it might differ from what you'd consider "life's meaning", but I've never witnessed any Atheist claim that life has no meaning at all.
There are plenty of people who judge our actions. We might claim there is no absolute judge. It's practically irrelevant, though; Atheists don't just run around killing people because they don't believe in Hell. There is still a set standard or morals in our society that is to be followed, and there are laws in place to keep us all safe as possible.
Everyone is quick to make judgments. Go read your question again and tell me you're not judging. How odd that it turns out that YOU'RE the hypocrite, huh?
2007-06-18 15:13:30 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
First, I do not preach the doctrine of meaninglessness. I am not a nihilist by any means. I do think our lives have meaning. As far as judging, nobody here says that there are not times where judging is necessary. I respect the law as necessary for a orderly society. Does that law come from God? No. I do not need religion to live a productive positive life.
By the way, it was the christians that I knew that were screaming for blood after 9/11. I was stunned when I had a christian woman say to me "Who says the women and children are innocent" after I objected to the idea of carpet bombin Afghanistan as innocent people would be killed.
2007-06-18 15:08:28 · answer #4 · answered by in a handbasket 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
im taking it that u believe in God and wondering where it tells u in whatever doctrine u follow to hate people who dont believe what u believe. I being an atheist have never said life is meaningless, i say that because this life is all i have why not make it as good as possible for me and do what pleases me. Along with this i believe this is your only time in existance so why would i hate you and make your life harder or worse in any way. I dont quite undertsand how bringing up 9/11 helps ur point of view either. That was caused by jerk offs who think that "God" wanted them to do it, nice one!!! Just so ya know i dont want revenge on the people who crashed those plains, i want them all dead so they wont do it again. As i said, and i dont remember who said it before me so im sorry im stealing it, but everyone has the right to life and no one has the right to take it away. So if someone wants to take it away they have commited a major crime and do not deserve life themselves, they are not even human. I live life as if there is law because there is law, it isnt divine or mystical its human law, law people made to help society grow. These laws protect my rights to my life to owning things and to expressing myself. Thats where i think the idea of god came into play. Good ol boy JC thought "man i wish these romans would stop killin my buddies, hey i know if they think im the son of god they will stop." Jesus was no son of god he just wanted people to have basic rights as humans and could find no other way.
2007-06-18 15:16:48 · answer #5 · answered by jiffy pop 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That there is no God does not imply that there is no lawgiver.
Nature is a lawgiver in that without cooperation, the species will die. If we steal our neighbor's food, kill their children and such, the species dies. This is all a part of evolution, as creatures that cannot cooperate with their environment or others will certainly fail to thrive. There are a few examples of creatures that can survive without such cooperation, but they are few.
One doesn't need a god to have a law. Laws are observable tendencies in nature. What causes a species to thrive becomes the law. The concept that laws need a god is part of religion that is not shown as necessary in nature.
2007-06-18 15:01:34 · answer #6 · answered by Deirdre H 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
You've clearly spent a lot of time thinking about this...unfortunately you've come up with a bunch of nonesense. Do you really think all the people who were angry over 9/11 were atheists? One thing has nothing to do with the other!
Also, atheists certainly don't have a monopoly on self-righteousness or judgemental behavior. Maybe you should look in the mirror, if you can stand it. Talk about hypocrisy... Whew!
2007-06-18 15:01:42 · answer #7 · answered by fdm215 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Your conclusions are erroneous. A philosophy of nontheism does not render life meaningless! It is human nature to discover and to assign meaning to the events of our lives. Nothing is forever; one day you (I, everyone) will be forgotten as well as the deeds which we have performed during our lifetimes. Why should we require a "judge" in order to live moral and ethical lives? Are we not capable of assimilating the principles of morality, then applying them to our activities without the necessity of a deity to advise or punish us? The religious have no divine right to morality; simply study the historical record of the "pious", and you will learn what horrors have been perpetrated in the name of god!
2007-06-18 16:20:59 · answer #8 · answered by Lynci 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's crazy. I don't believe in God and I believe that when I die, that's it. I get buried and it's all over. Still, that doesn't mean that I don't care about things while I am here. If averages mean anything, I've got another 30 or 40 years here. I'd like to enjoy them. What you do with the planet after that is up to you. And what about doing right just because it's right? I don't need to believe in the vengeance of God to scare me into doing what's right.
2007-06-18 15:02:49 · answer #9 · answered by Bob 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I believe I might be, if a "reverse hypocrite" is the opposite of a hypocrite.
You mean how can I have ethics without believing them to be the laws of God? No problem. Right and wrong are just as clear to me as to you.
2007-06-18 15:01:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋