Question for Atheists?

I clearly can't speak for all atheists, but here is what I believe:

Life has the meaning that YOU give it. It is the very fact that this life is temporary that makes it precious. If the time we spend on this world is all there is it makes me feel the need to treasure it more and be more responsible in my actions.

When those I care about die, I truly believe that they are gone for good. That is why we have to make the most of our relationships while we are alive! let me put it this way: would Disneyland continue to be special if you lived there? Probably not. It is the very fact that you only have a short while to enjoy it and then savor the memories that makes it fun. That's just my thoughts on this rainy morning.

I'll take a swing at this; I think it's a great question for a dialogue, although probably a fruitless one.

Atheists, like Christians, aren't a monolithic group who share the same (non)belief or perspective. No two people will answer this quite the same way.

Next, not believing in a God doesn't necessarily mean not believing in a soul -- I'd like to think that something happens with my intelligence/awareness/soul when I die, but I have no idea if that's true or what form it will take.

As to the purpose of life: biologically speaking, we're here to survive, pass our genes on and help our offspring to survive as well. Spiritually, for lack of a better word, I believe we're here to strike a balance between living rich, rewarding lives through our relationships with each other and our experiences, and with helping others to do the same.

Why do good and help other? It makes me feel good, and it helps to create the type of world that I want the people I love to have after I'm gone.

As to losing loved ones - first off, my point of view compels me to be much more appeciative of them while they're still here. And as I said, I don't know what happens to any of us after we're gone.

Maybe I'm more of an agnostic. I don't know that there is no God or afterlife, I only know that there is absolutely no proof of either's existence, and the explanations offered by all the major faiths fail to address that with anything more than stories and circular logic.

Anyway, that's one person's perpsective.

Firstly I can only tell you what I personally believe. I cannot speak for other atheists.

I think there's a paricular purpose to life - other than procreation. Do you think spending eternity worshipping a diety is a good purpose?

Yep we just die and thats it. Animals don't get an afterlife - do you see them all commiting suicide? As many others have pointed out - you only get 1 life and it's pretty short. Enjoy it while you can. Do you honestly believe that many xians put much effort into life despite believing in an afterlife?

I don't see how wanting something to be true makes it true. How do know that your loved one isn't right this minute being tortured in hell? I mean every believer is so certain they have the exactly correct religion but someone must have got it wrong.

The reason I am an atheist is that I do not believe.

I am here. Why do I need a greater reason for it? I can make my own reasons to keep existing. Partially for me to enjoy my life, partially to give my kids a good start in theirs, partially to make the world a better place for me, my family, everyone on the planet.

If you go to a 'better place' when you die why are you hanging around here? Go take up skydiving. Get a job with the New Orleans police dept. Clean windows on very tall buildings on the side.

I do not know what happens when we die. All the evidence is that 'you' are just the electro-chemical activity of your brain. When that stops you stop. When it stops in my brain I expect I will cease to exist, just like I did before I was born.

When I lose someone close to me it saddens me, especially if they died young. I try to remember their life and how they lived it.

But why does it sadden you? This should be no worse than them moving to another country, a much nicer country. Are they not in that 'better place' are you not going to see them again? Why are you sad that they stopped suffering in sin on Earth and are now in Heaven?

Could it be that deep down you know that this is just a fairy story, that there is no heaven or hell and that is why you feel sad.

Do me a favor. Look at what your religion says. Work out the implications of that. Compare those to the reality of the world we see today. If you think that the world and your beliefs are compatible that is fine, but at least you actually seriously thought about it.

They believe that there is no such thing as God.

The know we are on this earth because this earth had the right proberties to sustain life and we evolved and are here.

There is no BIG purpose perse, but most atheists believe that we should try to leave the world a better place than it was when they got here. There doesn't have to be a purpose. Sometimes things just are.

They put effort into life because it's the only opportunity they think they will have to live!

When a loved one dies, they grieve like everyone else, and remember that they are lucky to have had that person in their lives.

I love nice people. For us atheists our purpose in life takes a little more time to explain since we can't sum up our purpose in a single 3 letter word.

Humanity invents its own purpose. Even if you have God as a purpose, I would argue that you assigned that purpose to your life, you didn't inheret that purpose.

Yes I do believe we are here because of natural causes, but if we want our lives to have purpose we can invent it for ourselves, this is our right as children of the universe.

So then it's a matter of coming up with some goals that we can all share and work towards. Some things that come to mind are equality, sustainability, understanding where we came from and where we are going, exploring space together, outlasting the earth as a species, etc.

It may lack the pizazz that comes with invoking the supernatural but I don't need pizazz, I need something real that affirms our interdependence and our ability to overcome our problems.

Yes death of a loved one is very difficult for us to deal with, but it's something that must be dealt with. However religion being comforting during times of sorrow doesn't give it any more likelihood of being true. You don't give yourself enough credit, I think you could deal with death once you accept the fact that it is real. Dealing with death is a very foreign concept for you, because you believe it can be circumvented. If not, your perspective would be different.

I hope I wasn't rude I wasn't trying to be.

Sadly another question that fails miserably to understand what an atheist is!!!

ATHEIST - someone who does not believe in a God – any God – not just the Christian one. But that does not mean they do not hold strong moral or religious beliefs! They can follow any religion that does not have a god and there are a lot of those!!

Buddhism and many other religions are actually atheist!!!

Please stop using atheism like a dirty word!!! The majority of atheists whether religious or not, respect your right to believe and worship as you wish if you would only stop ridiculing and berating the non Christians!!!!

Atheism is not a whole set of beliefs. Atheists are a diverse group. All atheism means is that someone doesn't believe in God it is not a life philosophy in itself. Just a word to denote lack of belief in deities. This doesn't mean necessarily that atheists don't believe in anything but that they derive their belief systems elsewhere; philosophy, culture, experience, education, etc... Atheism is not a total life philosophy as religions attempt to be.

I personally also identify as a Humanist which comes with its own set of beliefs which I agree with based on philosophy, experience, education, and my ideas of the kind of world I would like to live and leave for my children and others. My purpose in life is self derived but fulfilling and meaningful to me. To experience the joys life has to offer, to be the best friend, wife, mother, daughter, etc.. that I can be. To contribute to the betterment of my world and the future to the extent I can. Would it be better to be dead? Since I don't believe in an afterlife I would think not. I get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction from being alive, loving, and experiencing the world. I know that we create the world we have with our actions so that makes me want to treat others and the world as well as I can. I understand that its hard for you to think of losing someone you love but its something you just accept and deal with as reality. I think it helps me appreciate life and my loved ones even more perhaps. It helps to have their memories and know that they live on in the many ways they touched my own and others lives and impacted the world. Every person leaves the world a bit different by the way they lived. I don't think living forever would be that pleasant after awhile. What lives forever? You incorpreal soul? When I have really thought about it I just don't see eternal life as that great a thing, I think in reality it is beyond our comprehension. I think when I am really dead I won't know it so it won't bother me.

There isn't a purpose, other than what you make of it.

Why put any effort in? Because we're alive, right now, naturally. Are you saying Christians are so apathetic that without God they would just curl up and die?

Loved ones aren't gone forever. I have my memories of them, and the changes they made to the world. I find that far more reassuring than believing them off on some other plane somewhere.

The purpose of living is whatever you decide to make it.

We put effort into life specifically because there's nothing afterward. We only live once, so it's important not to waste the time we have. Sure it won't matter when we're dead, but personally I'm much more concerned with what matters while I still exist.

As for dealing with the death of a loved one, it's difficult but you get through it.

Of course those are only my personal thoughts and not a representation of other atheists or atheism itself.