I guess atheists do not have faith but I'm just curious to find if they have hope in life.Like me, as a believing & practicing Christian, whatever bad happens in life, I know that God is in control of my life & tuns everything around for good.No matter how bad the situation may 'seem', even when prayers don't 'seem' to get answered I can always see the light at the end of the tunnel because I have faith in an unfailing power that far exceeds anything on earth.The hope of being healed,the hope & faith of having my sins forgiven,the hope of living a blessed & prosperous life...& the hope of having an eternal life, these are a few blessings of having faith in a God & it is such a positive feeling.I look around the world I live,people go through all kinds of stuff,some live depressed & hopeless with no one to cry out to, but some have hope & smile through the storms & make it through because they hope in a God who is able.
Sensible answers to this sincere question would be appreciated.
2007-10-29 11:07:06 · 48 answers · asked by God is awesome 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
In reply to this someone said that the 'light at the end' is their family,friends etc.What do the family & friends hope in or do they have any hope at all? Christianity,is not a religion but a relationship with God.Religion is man made, & therefore in a way atheism is one too.Christianity revolves around faith, something more than hope & not just wishful thinking as someone termed it here.The Bible does not advocate Christians being lazy & expecting God to do everything.On the other it talks about doing our best in everything & to be a shining star.Sadly,if the atheists profess having a hope,that hope rests in themselves & will remain there only as long as self remains & well self crumbles, hope will crumble.
2007-10-29 11:31:15 · answer #1 · answered by charvette3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Religion does not have a monopoly on hope. Hope is a very human thing to feel when things don't go your way. I have to bite my tongue when people ask how I go on in life with no moral compass, with no purpose to my existence and nothing to look forward to in the afterlife. I grew up in an atheist family. I didn't even know about the details of religion till I was much older and became interested in why people thought I was "weird" for being a non-believer. Until that point, I like to think that I led a very happy, purposeful life while respecting the lives and feelings of those around me. One might have mistaken me for a good "Christian child" if they didn't know me. Anyway, back to the point. I have had no issues with dealing with my problems-without needing an invisible cruch (God) to lean on. In fact, I might even argue I had a better time dealing with my problems because I have never felt the disappointment of not having my prayers answered. So do I have hope as an atheist? You bet, but this has been the case my entire life.
2007-10-29 11:20:44 · answer #2 · answered by Free Thinker 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps you might want to visit the countries that are "Christian" and see the poverty and sickness along with the hopelessness they endure. Its pretty easy for you to sit back on your nice comfy couch, grab a TV clicker and change channels, call someone on your cell phone, perhaps go to your ref. and grab a snack. Apparently you are unaware of what really goes on in this christian based world. The monies the faithful send that is spent on aggrandizement's for the preacher's and priests.
The Africans that are dying of AIDS because the church claims it is a sin to use a condemn. The people in South America that live in such poverty that you can little imagine, eating Guinea pigs for dinner, maybe. Where is your wonderful god, why isn't he there for them? The claim their christianity too!
You take care of your sins and get forgiven while others live in a hell beyond your small minded belief. Smiling through storms is a mythical conception of what is going on in this world, and you see only the wonderful way you live, and care nothing of others who cannot even imagine the way you live.
It breaks down this way, you are selfish, self serving and believe in a non existent entity. You are self righteous and ignorant of the way other christians live. Send your message of purity to those who would laugh in your face in a single minute about how loving your god is.
And to condem atheism? You have your christian pious nerve! Time to grow up my friend and really learn about your wonderful deity, who is so loving and merciful. I’m sorry for being so harsh, but truth is TRUTH.
2007-10-29 11:30:15 · answer #3 · answered by Tricia R 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Athiest just believe that there is no god. I believe in myself, I dont need to lie to myself and tell myself that "everything happens for a reason" I am logical in my thinking, bad things happen because bad things happen, I dont believe that god is testing me...for what?? "oh he wont give me more than I can handle" Most of the time what else are you gonna do when faced with a disease or problem? Curl up in a ball in the corner sucking your thumb? Why wouldn t an athiest have faith? you have have faith in yourself, that you will make the best decisions in your life, and if you dont, you have the faith that you will learn from those mistakes. You can have faith as an athiest, and you can have hope that the human race wont continue on being sheep and start to think for themselves one day.
2007-10-29 11:16:11 · answer #4 · answered by oldwise1 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, of course we have hope.
We hope that people will stop having to rely on an imaginary friend in the sky, and start living their own lives.
We hope that people will start living for the here and now, rather than hoping for a better life to come.
We hope that people will start recognising that it is their own efforts, not those of an imaginary god, which can improve their lives.
We hope that people will stop thinking there is such a thing as sin, and start accepting the good and bad things in their own characters as well as in other people's.
We hope that people will start accepting the evidence of the world around them, and stop imagining the existence of a magical friend.
And of course we hope that religious people will stop thinking all atheists think the same things about everything.
2007-10-29 11:15:32 · answer #5 · answered by Daniel R 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I have hope. That's not to say that I don't get depressed sometimes, or know that bad things will happen, because such things happen to all people regardless of their beliefs. But the absence of a belief in god does not prevent me from having hope in finishing school, finding a lovely wife, starting a great family, and enjoying all that nature has to offer. I know that nothing is permanently good or permanently bad, needn't seek (divine) forgiveness for my transgressions, and know that once I die, I shall not suffer, just simply rot and enrich the soil. I still have hope in mankind, even though we screw up a lot.
2007-10-29 11:14:45 · answer #6 · answered by Rat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not exactly atheist, but I am agnostic. I guess I can say that we do have hope but just in a difference sense. I don't hope for some of the things you listed, However, I do have hope for other things such as: graduating from college, starting a decent career, starting a family, and just overall having a nice, healthy and comfortable life.
2007-10-29 11:14:19 · answer #7 · answered by LD 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not a hardcore Athiest, but I still am one. I completely respect people who believe in god as long as they don't try and shove their beliefs down my throat. I do have faith, I just usually don't think of it as 'faith.' Instead of having it in something that may or may not exist, I have faith in people.
The only reason I do not believe in God is because there is no proof. Most religions thing they are right but there are so many that there is no way to tell. It also causes a lot of problems as we see in today's world.
I am still happy even though I choose not to pray. I don't think I will go to hell because I believe there is no 'after-life.' Just a hole in the ground. I am just happy that my parents stopped forcing me to be something I'm not.
I still have hope. I feel that religion is definitely a good influence on people's morals which is why I highly respect most religions. I just choose not to make them my own.
2007-10-29 11:16:13 · answer #8 · answered by youripmyheartrightout 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"The hope of being healed..."
I'll put my hopes for that in medical science, thanks.
"...the hope & faith of having my sins forgiven..."
Since I don't believe in a god to sin against, there's no problem there.
"...the hope of living a blessed & prosperous life..."
That's pretty much up to me and circumstance, isn't it? I am unaware of any god raining gold and silver on anyone.
"...the hope of having an eternal life..."
An illusionary hope at best. There is no evidence of any kind of "eternal life", and anyone who promises you such is whistling in the wind.
Your definition of "hope" is too scattershot. Maybe you'd better hone it down some to get a more satisfactory answer.
2007-10-29 11:19:02 · answer #9 · answered by Scott M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No we do not have any hope in an ancient mythological Hebrew god. You are quite correct.
However I have plenty of hope for real things. Like people will wake up and stop burning up resources faster than they can be renewed. I hope my daughters wedding will be great, I hope my mums knee gets better. Hoping doesn't do anything, but it is a natural emotion we all as humans feel. It has nothing to do with god(s) or zombies.
2007-10-29 11:26:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋