"Atheists, what hope do you have to offer mankind?

Question

I think we can all agree that life on this earth is far from perfect. We also know that people die a physical death. And I would think from your vantage point that what comes after death is either nothing or a mystery.

God, through His Son Jesus, offers eternal life and escape from eternal judgment. He offers strength for this journey and the comfort of His love. He offers a beautiful dwelling place and peace for our future, as well.

As atheists, you say there is no God. So, what hope do you have to offer? What do you think about the idea of hope? And I am asking in all seriousness, not to belittle, but to understand why you have decided there is no God. And how does that belief make you feel about your life?

Answer 1

You say that you are not belittling, but your condescending question speaks otherwise. You obviously do think less of us because of our beliefs. You seem to understand that we don't believe in gods or the supernatural or an afterlife, so your question is moot. We don't offer anything. We aren't a religion. We accept the fact that there is no god, supernatural or afterlife, so we live our life to the fullest knowing full well that this is all there is. I mean this in all seriousness...it's all there is. I hope that clears up a few things so that you understand.

atheist

Answer 2

Interesting question.

I think that it is important how I live now - the afterlife or lack thereof is just all the more reason to live my life more fully now.

The only things I can leave or give to the world are small improvements I have made while I am here - any suffering I have helped lessen and any I have avoided causing altogether. This might be as simple as being there for a friend when they needed me........

I feel that right now I have a beautiful world in which to live and that I am very lucky to be alive. I know this is not true for everyone here so I only hope I can help those people a little bit at least during my lifetime.

To me the idea that for everyone here this is their one & only chance at life is amazing and it means that we have to make the most of it & where possible help others to do the same.

It gives us a huge responsibility which I feel religion alleviates a little by saying "well those people are suffering now but they will go to heaven & be fine". This is it even for those who are suffering...... it is a less cheerful perspective in some ways but it is one that pushes me to action rather than allowing me to abdicate responsibility to an entity who takes care of everything.....not that I am doing all that I can & should....but I hope to do more & feel it is essential to have any sense of purpose here.

Answer 3

Athiests say, let's be real. We *could* get all moochy about a text we started to create 150 years after a supposed messiah died (and in those days information wasn't exactly stored on a portable hard drive). We could get all emotional, and give up in the face of adversary, but for some that is too much.

What some hardcore athiests are I think are simply reactionary commercial christians. That is a big sentence, but I think it exists. The commercialization of christianity is perfectly possible, just like atheism itself. It doesn't make it any less real, but it does lower it to a bite sized form.

So defining some parts of atheism in contrast to hope is a little surreal. Atheists believe in hope, but they don't believe in God. So the concept of life as an independent force is much more important. Atheists aren't slaves to an external being. Therefore life is earned, not granted. It brings a whole new perspective. It's perfectly possible to believe in hope as well as an invisible being that no one has ever seen, as well as supernatural powers. Atheists sleep well at night; how about you?

Answer 4

We offer belief in humanity. That we are responsible for our mistakes and our condition and that we alone can change that. That humanity does not need saving. That it is what it is and must work hard if it is to survive and grow in happiness.

That means men need to stop blaming their neighbours, other countries or some All Powerful Evil for what's wrong in our lives. That means accepting, peacefully, that there are some things you can't change. That your power over existence is limited.

That also means that there is no excuse to cause other suffering and killing is the most horrible of crimes. Even in justice: execution means that you destroy a person and all their potential to change. There is no "God will sort them out".

Letting others suffer is also a terrible thing. The strongest, the wealthiest and the happiest must all lend a hand to the less fortunate, so that the whole of humanity moves forward together.

I would accept death with open arms if I knew I helped humanity move forward, even insignificantly so. I would chose that 1000 times over the promise of eternal life.

But it takes courage to do that. To accept that your time to exist is limited. That every second is precious. To accept that people make mistakes and that humanity will need thousands of years, maybe more, before it is at peace.

Answer 5

A man is sick and dying in the hospital. He is being seen by two doctors. One tells him that he will probably die within the week. The other says that he can get better. All he needs to do is take one pill. Naturally, the man takes the pill. He dies two days later.

It doesn't matter how good the rewards offered are if they don't genuinely exist. If the doctor had said the pill would not only cure him but would give him the ability to fly, it wouldn't have worked any better. So that's what we have to offer the world. Our genuine view of reality. There aren't any bells or whistles, but still a solid view. As for hope, it's helpful in situations where things could improve but misleading and possibly damaging in situations where the result is inevitable. As for how I feel about life, let's go back to my analogy. I bet if the man listened to the first doctor, he would have spent time making calls to loved ones and trying to use his time as well as possible. If he took the pill, it's possible that he would do the same, but he wouldn't know the urgency brought on by knowing what was waiting for him. So we try to make the best of our time.

Answer 6

I am not atheist but I would like to answer that question anyway. I do not find the idea of religion or god appealing and not because I believe that god does not exist, since I could never know an answer to such a question. I believe that the idea of god is not necessary. If I have learned something in this life its that we have to live for the here and now, and try to make the world a better place for future generations. That is all we can do since neither me, you or even the pope can say with certainty what awaits us in the afterlife. We have to embrace peace and love and spread it across the world, and that can be done with or without a belief in god. I don't want to live my life in fear of eternal punishment or expecting a reward because that will only make my decisions and actions insincere. If god does exist, I'm sure he would want us to be good people over believing or worshiping him.

Answer 7

Boy these guys are misguided.

SCIENCE SAYS, conclusively WE ARE GOING TO DIE

The SUN is GOING TO GO NOVA, there IS NO DOUBT about this.

Einstein says we can't travel FASTER than light, therefore we can't travel to the stars in conventional vehicles and avoid the SUN GOING NOVA

Part of sciences NO LONGER agrees we came from monkies or apes

Atheists live in a similar, but different, imaginary world from Theists

POLAR OPPOSITES

YING and YANG

The END is coming

SCIENCE says so. It's coming, maybe in 4 billion years

SCIENCE is KNOWN to be wrong

Look at PLUTO

It got DEMOTED

Maybe the end is CLOSER than 4 billion!

But the END of times is coming

SCIENCE SAYS SO

RELIGION SAYS SO

Religion says GOD will come and TAKE some of us to a better place

ATHEISTS say that's baloney

ONLY time will tell

ATHEISTS you time is now

STAND AND BE COUNTED

SAY that IF GOD REALLY COMES TO TAKE THE FAITHFULL AND GOOD AWAY that YOU WILL NOT GO because you'd rather STAY here and DIE with the NOVA

Come on ATHEISTS

COMMIT

I dare you

I double dare you

COMMIT

AGREE to TURN GOD DOWN if he says YOU CAN COME TOO!

AGREE NOW

SHOW us what you are made of

GIVE UP you ONE LAST CHANCE in advance

COME ONE do it!

LET's see how big the CHAUNNAHS of ATHEISTS ARE!

Answer 8

Non-believers have a lot to look forward to while they're alive. New things to be discovered, to learn. If there is a soul and an after-life, no one has explained it perfectly b/c no one can be completely certain what happens. There's a lot of wonder in the world. Think of the things you can't do either b/c 'it' has not been invented yet and/or you do not have the knowledge. As long as humans are alive, there will never cease to be new ideas and things to learn.

Answer 9

The crucifixion was certainly not good news for Jesus. Yet He said just two verses earlier that it WAS good news for humanity: "Now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.' He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die." He was alluding to how He was the fulfillment of the bronze serpent in the wilderness; the snake-bitten Israelites had to look up to this bronze serpent Moses made if they were not to die. Sinners have to look up to the crucified and risen Lord to be saved from their sin. There is no disharmony here with what the rest of the New Testament says about the blood of Christ covering our sin. The different illustrations (light / shed blood / the good shepherd / the door etc) all fit together. Only by the light of Christ can we understand the gospel of salvation.

Answer 10

Excuse me? What message of hope is there for mankind? I'm sorry to tell you, there isn't one. There is no god, jesus or anything else, it's a fairy story. What there are is people. We who have built this civilization. Yes we still have problems. I doubt there will ever be a time we don't.

You're asking for celestial ice cream, sorry all out of toute fruite.