I'm a christian and i hear atheist say to me that the world would be better without religion. I disagree BUT this is not about that. I would like to know how atheist can live their lives everyday knowing as soon as they die they will stop thinking forever and turn into dirt? If i was atheist i would see no motive to move on in life and i would prob. just kill myself or go do whatever i felt like to anyone, knowing there are no other consequences other than death itself. So what is an Atheist motivation to stay alive?
This is mainly for atheist answering my question, please no religion flaming, thank you.
Ehh, you do know religion has not always existed right? Nor are animals religious. It seems to you that its a magical phenomenon that someone who doesn't believe in God is able to live.
Hmm... I had an argument with a girl in my class on Tuesday who wanted to know the same thing, sadly, she is also the person who keeps us all behind in math asking the teacher questions he had already answered, and lost when she hadn't thought of decomposition as an explanation to why Christ's remains hadn't been discovered.
Of course, finding anyone's remains after 2000 years would be difficult.
But just because you can't comprehend what others are able to, doesn't mean the others aren't able to comprehend it. I'm quite at peace with my belief that when I die, that's it for me.
What the girl then answered to that, was, if I don't believe in an afterlife, what's the point of living!
I assume everyone here can point out the logical fallacies in that statement.
Oh, and mate, if you were an atheist, I'm sure you would see motive in living, and not just kill yourself the moment you realized that you couldn't believe in a higher power.
What's the point of life, if the point of life is to die and go to heaven?
Religious thinkers only think they will go to heaven. They just like to dwell in their own fantasies, for the most part.
Atheists, on the other hand, have already questioned orthodox opinions, have gotten pass the fact that heaven may not exist, and have accepted that God is probably a made-up figure.
I would like to know how atheist can live their lives everyday knowing as soon as they die they will stop thinking forever and turn into dirt?
I don't know either, but they do. Because most atheists are good people and live comfortably, then it is quite evident that to live in such way is possible.
Do you honestly think you need God to have a purpose in your life? Do you honestly need God to love others? Every church that preaches that it is impossible to love others without loving God is merely speaking from their digestive bowels.
Let's talk about you. You beleive that if there is no life after death, that it's worth living in the first place? Maybe this will answer your question. Atheists live their lives because they take what they have, 80 years of life if they are lucky. If they were afraid of being nothing but dirt, what would be the point in making their life end at 20? Life is what you make it, therefore your goals are not set in stone or the bible, they are what you wish for them to be.
What is the point of loving and being a good person if you're atheist? Have you not seen a dog drown in depression at the loss of an owner or it's puppies? Have you not seen an atheist cry? God isn't the motive behind being a good person and showing love, the feeling of being apreciated, a good feeling, is the motivation.
Tom, God is not the only possible motivation for love and good gestures.
Ehh, you do know religion has not always existed right? Nor are animals religious.
This doesn't really answer the question. You are speaking from an atheist point of view. Any theist to read this will simply reject such an answer. The only way for such an answer to make sense is if you were atheist in the first place.
This doesn't really answer the question. You are speaking from an atheist point of view. Any theist to read this will simply reject such an answer. The only way for such an answer to make sense is if you were atheist in the first place.
Its a simple answer, which you have raised as well with your example of the dog crying. It simply shows that life after death isn't a driving force for living. Theists reject that animals are not religious?
The question itself is very un-scientific. Why do atheists live? I dunno, because humans don't want to die? The answer is more or less very simple unless you want to go into a deep scientific analysis of human nature and thought. Though the substitution of such scientific research with the theory that religion is the cause of wanting to live is ridiculous.
The answer to the question is clearly present. You have an atheist, and his living. Thus religion is not a factor in human motivation to live.
Personally, I don't think about what happens when I die, nor do I think other people do. You will have a very bland life if your life constituted of just that - living to reach the after life.
Well its not a very good title for a thread anyway. Im an Atheist and I live my life just fine. My modivation for life happens to not be god or other things like that. Your question in my opinion is very well... stupid. No offense it's just an opinion.
I find your opinion to be in reverse. Why would a religious person seek to live if they know they will live forever, in some way shape or form?
Indeed. I, myself am a Christian. And sometimes I think: "Well, since I'm gonna live forever and live without any hardships in heaven... how come I just don't die right now so I have a perfect life?"
So what is an Atheist motivation to stay alive?
I'm not an atheist, so I can't answer your question. But, I can give a guess. If YOU were an athiest and if YOU knew you would not live forever. Wouldn't you try and escape the inevitable? Thats my guess.
Your question in my opinion is very well... stupid. No offense it's just an opinion.
So, like, you can't just insult somebody and then say it's just an opinion and expect what you've said to go away. This isn't a stupid question at all - it seems to be a legitimate attempt to actually understand a different point of view. And that's something significant and appreciated.
So what is an Atheist motivation to stay alive?
I'm actually kind of afraid of nothingness. I know that I won't be afraid or in pain once my death happens, but I'm scared of the process of dying. Thinking about that moment when I can feel my eyes getting heavy and knowing that I won't ever open them again. I won't ever think or feel or imagine again. Of course, I could just get hit by a bus one day and not even see it coming. I'm not really scared at all of this scenario, though, now that I think about it.
My point is there is so much to appreciate about life and living that you don't need a God for. When I see a sunset, it's just a much a "miracle" of nature as it is to a theist. But it's just a different kind of experience for me (I presume, at least). I've reached a point in my life where I know that I'll never believe in a God or a soul, and I've actually started looking at and interpreting the world in a very different way. Where someone sees evidence of God's omnipotence and love within nature, I see how remarkable physics and biology are. Both theists and atheists can be amazed at the wonders of the world and enjoy everything about living. In fact, I'd conjecture that it's far more up to the atheist to appreciate more about life. The theist is looking forward to an amazing afterlife, but they don't have any idea of what it's experientially like. I know what my afterlife will be like, so I know that I have to get as much out of this existence as I can.
I would like to know how atheist can live their lives everyday knowing as soon as they die they will stop thinking forever and turn into dirt?
I'm not living for death. In other words it's not the destination but the journey that matters. A finite exists is far more precious then an eternal one, just because it's finite. We are giving just a short time to experience it so there is far more motivation to try and make the best of it while we can.
knowing there are no other consequences other than death itself.
There are plenty of consequences besides that of death. You can be hurt or restrained for instance. I don't want to be killed, you don't want to be killed so we can agree not to try and kill each other. The one's who can't agree to this don't get to be allowed to be in the group who do agree to this.
