Atheists: I have a question...?

Question

I'm asking this as a firm, Christian believer
I'm don't want to be judgemental, I just want to "hear" a view of atheism from atheists...and be nice about it

do you feel complete in life?
where do you go when you feel lonely, sad, depressed, or lost?
are you satisfied in believing that there is no afterlife?
how do you explain the untouchable things in life, like love, happiness, anger, excitement, etc.?

to me, it just seems that believing in nothing beyond this life is depressing.
yes, there is suffering and evil in life, but without darkness, there is no purpose for light. Suffering makes us stronger, makes us appreciate the good in life more.
every law in the Bible has a reason for it; though we may not know the reason for all of the laws now, one day we might.
and not all christians judge people, either...one of the greatest joys in my life is being with other christians who love me and pray for me when i need help
Atheists: how did you come to choose atheism and why?

i dont mean that you cant be happy not believing in god...it just seems empty to me

but everyone's differen

to godless...
i never said atheist=emo

im just wondering about the other side, because of all the controversy and arguments

i also do not think that one cannot have a happy life w/o god, but He certainly makes me happier, and its nice knowing that I am in control of my life, because He gave me free will, but I'm also never, ever, ever, EVER alone

Answer 1

I do not believe in nothing, I believe in something different than you.

I feel complete when I give blood or help another person in need. I feel complete when I cheer up a friend or make a stranger smile. I feel complete when I see the kindness of humans and look into the eyes of my loved ones. I look to my friends or family when I feel down, although it is very seldom that I feel that way.

I choose atheism simply because I am honest in my belief that there is absolutely no proof that any god(s) exist.

Answer 2

That is way more than one question, and it's way too much to thoroughly answer (so that you really understand it) in one sitting, so I'll sum it up for you the best I can:

All atheist are not the same. Some may very well believe in an afterlife, since atheism is about disbelief in a deity.... nothing else. My life is somewhat complete. I'm always trying new things and meeting new people and I guess I wouldn't have the urge to do that if I felt there was nothing more I wanted or needed. But I certainly don't feel empty inside. Far from it. All those untouchable things/emotions are part of the amazing functionality of the brain and body and how it reacts to our experiences. When I'm sad or lonely I feel it for a bit and then I start working on fixing the reason for feeling that way in the first place. A positive outlook is helpful too. I didn't choose atheism. I educated myself and found that atheism was where I fit in the definition scheme of things. But it doesn't define my life as a whole. It is only a small part of who I am.

Answer 3

Do you feel complete in life? Yes. There are a few things that are missing, but that is going to change very soon here as certain things I've been working forward to finally come to fruition.

Where do you go when you feel lonley, sad, depressed, or lost? Nowhere. I talk to those I love about how I'm feeling and then I rely on my own strength. I don't need the strength of anyone else to bolster me up, I can do it myself.

Are you satisfied in believing there is no afterlife? Who says I believe there is no afterlife? Honey, I believe in ghosts. All Atheists are different. I just don't think ghosts are from heaven or hell, I think they're simply things science has yet to explain and that they may live on an alternate, but parallel, plain.

How do you explaintouchable things....? I don't. I keep searching for the answers until I find REAL answers. And I learn to accept that I may never have them. As for emotions, they're already explained. They are chemical processes in the brain. If you can't understand that, then its your own problem. None of them point to any god existing.

God is a weak persons explanation for things because they're too lazy to continue the search for answers and too weak to accept that they may never have them.

No, its not depressing, its freeing.

You see, I don't live my life in fear. I know that this life is my only life and therefore I cherish it, and those lives around me, more than anything else. Knowing there is no other life makes you want to take care of this one instead of saying "god will fix it" or "next life will be better" or "it will be better in heaven". THIS life is important because its the only one you know for sure you have.

Yes, I know there is suffering, so what? It makes you cherish this life. It teaches you, makes you stronger.

You mean like the law that says you can't wear clothing of mixed fibers? Do you know how stupid that is? Do you listen to it? Or how about the one that says you can't eat shellfish? Or how about the completely idiotic one that says you can't use the lords name in vain? Why? That doesn't hurt anyone, especially since your god doesn't exist.

There is not a reason for every law in the bible except to make people miserable.

You talk to the homosexuals and see if they say they're happy considering the way they're treated by you people.

And most Christians judge honey. Just because you think that you don't, doesn't mean a damned thing. I'm sure the Mormons don't think they're pushing their religion on people when they knock on your door, but that doesn't make them right.

I didn't choose Atheism, I grew up. I don't believe in fairy tales.

Answer 4

1) Why wouldn’t I. I have a great wife and a wonderful darling daughter. After that things are just extra. To assume otherwise is judgmental.
2) Why would I need to 'go' somewhere? If I feel like that I have family and friends to discuss tings with.
3) Satisfied? That is a strange way of putting it. Let’s just say that I am happy in the knowledge that whilst alive, I will live life for living, not focusing on death. Life is for living not dying.
4) What do you mean explain? They are what they are - feelings, nothing more nothing less.

Why try and over complicate you life with fables and horror stories from a book of fiction about an invisible sky fairy??

Answer 5

How do you explain the untouchable things like god?
The religious doctrine that your bible preaches should make you more prone to suffering depression and unhappiness what with the hell and all.
If you find comfort in God why not create your own religion and remove all those nasty things in the bible that stand against any decent morality?
If you want to believe something why not believe that real progress in science is elongating the one and only life we have while you go to church learning how to repent your sins in order to avoid hell. That seems to me a depressing and wasteful life.
I see life as an opportunity since any of the million of sperm could have become you. You are given one chance at life, make the most out of it. Learn the most you can before it is too late, don't give in to the tyrannical being in the sky asking for your undevoted attention.

Answer 6

Yes, I feel complete. If I feel lonely or sad or anything I have friends to talk to. I don't explain love happiness, anger. It's all part of being human. I agree that suffering makes us appreciate the good in life. I don't think that nothing beyond this life is depressing. I think spending eternity anywhere would be depressing. I didn't choose atheism. It chose me.

Answer 7

I feel like my life is incredibly complete. To make it more complete I'd eventually want to be married, have a home, and a family - but for now, it is as good as it gets.

When I am upset I tend to contact my boyfriend, and if not that go sit outside.

There is no proof of an afterlife, I'd rather believe in something that there is proof of it exsisting, than something imaginary. Or that has the chance to be imaginary.

Those are emotions that everyone has.

I went into this because there is no scientific proof of anything supernatural exsisting. And I am very happy putting all that faith into myself. I'm pushing myself and challenging myself - I feel great. :)

Answer 8

Do you feel complete in life?
There are still things I want to do but I don't need to hold on to a myth for my completion.

where do you go when you feel lonely, sad, depressed, or lost?
Friends, family, thought, a good book, the pub, a walk in the bush, etc, etc

are you satisfied in believing that there is no afterlife?
Absolutely.

how do you explain the untouchable things in life, like love, happiness, anger, excitement, etc.?
They are just that - love, happiness, anger etc. There is no need to mystify the emotions because there just isn't.

Answer 9

Yes, I feel complete.

When I feel lonely, sad, depressed or lost, I turn to my family and friends. If they're not there, I turn to my past and remember that everytime things were bad, they sooner or later got better and I remembered, "This too shall pass."

I actually prefer there is no afterlife. Eternal life renders life utterly worthless. Life is only of value if the supply of it available to each of us is limited.

Love, happiness, anger, excitement, etc are all emotions, all neurological effects. They are not as intangible as you might think. You cannot, for example, touch a running copy of Windows XP, but you know it is running because of the state of the computer running it.

I didn't choose atheism. In fact, I spent four years fighting tooth and nail trying to avoid being an atheist -- I wanted so much to continue to believe in God, but it just wasn't possible.

Answer 10

Feeling "complete" is not a problem for me. Life has lots of loose ends, rough edges, plans that don't quite come together. I am not sentimental enough to think everything should be "perfect" or "complete".

When I'm depressed, lonely or "lost", I can contemplate my problem and figure out a solution, or I can seek out a trustworthy friend or family member, just like a theist. I do have friends, and they are as real and responsive as I am.

The idea of an end to my existence could be bothersome, but I realize that my self-awareness has changed and developed over time, and that I am often unconscious or sub-conscious without any ill effect. So a final loss of awareness is hardly something to fear. If I'm worried about the "meaning" of my life, I can see that even the most famous people are eventually forgotten or turned into charicatures that scarcely resemble themselves. Why is it so important that I be remembered as an individual? What matters is my contribution to all of consciousness. Whether it's an invention, an idea, a child or a simple gesture of kindness or affection, individual humans are responsible for all the progress humanity has ever made and the lessons it has learned. WE survive, even if I do not.

Atheists have emotions as genuine as those of theists. Scientifically, one could deconstruct them as neuro-chemical reactions developed as survival mechanisms over time, and that may help us become aware of how we may manipulate ourselves and each other, but the feelings are quite real. Love, anger or enthusiasm do not require belief in a supernatural world. We form relationships as easily, and treat them as seriously, as anyone else.

In fact, many of us agree that a solitary, self-absorbed atheist is as useless as a Christian might think. Because we are all individuals, we see the need to construct social relationships and rules of conduct. We base them on experience and revise them as a result of further experience. Laws come from the community, not some dictator, and we understand how and why each came about. If a law no longer makes sense, we feel no anxiety about discarding it.

Yes, there is mishap, suffering and intentional abuse in the world, and we have the power to reduce it, before or after the fact. Suffering can sometimes teach us things about peoples' characters, but that's a philosophical excuse. It's not something to be desired or promoted. Do we really need someone to tell us how to treat other people? Can't we recognize ourselves in others and treat them accordingly? The Golden Rule does not mention a deity.

To an atheist, believing in "God" is a way of escaping reality. Why fantasize about an invisible super-parent when we can be working on actually dealing with our own problems? It's not "arrogance" but self-reliance and responsibility. It can be a very satisfying to work out obstacles and conflicts without resorting to imaginary rescuers.

While allowing for the peculiarities of individuals, atheists have no basis for judging other people other than their behavior toward others. People need to get along, that's all. Allow each other their freedoms to the point where they begin to interfere with each other, not on the basis of some arbitrary and unjustified mandate from the interpreters of "scripture".

No offense intended. The general Christian ethic has some admirable elements, but atheists assume these derive from ancient community experiences, overlaid with religious superstitions to command authority. And atheists don't have hangups with ancient, incomprehensible traditions. People are more important than any doctrine or book. Laws and ethics should serve humanity, not the other way around. If our common interest is not humanity, we are all truly pitiful and alone.