Do Any Atheists Feel This Way? (page 5)

tetrapod.sapien

wow. i am quite impressed with all the brilliance in this thread. all you atheists coming out of the woodwork for this one. nice.

big dog,

again, i am sorry about your loss. in an emotional sense, atheism is not a lot of help to someone on your position, and someone rather new to the concept of non-belief. my condolences.

dazz mentioned an article at ebonmusings. great site, and i have another one. actually, you may have read it already, but just in case you haven't: http://ebonmusings.org/atheism/stardust.html

here is a cool quote from it that i think is worth repeating:

But even if this conclusion is mistaken and there is an afterlife, wouldn't it get boring eventually? As argued in "Those Old Pearly Gates", no matter how blissful Heaven is, it cannot possibly keep a human being engaged forever, not when there is literally an infinite amount of time to grow accustomed to, and then bored of, every new distraction. Soon a glorified soul will have checked off everything on their list, accomplished everything they ever wanted to do during life, met all their idols and heroes in person, obtained answers from God to every fundamental or nagging question, and still the afterlife drags indefinitely on. After a few thousand trillion eons, it is virtually certain that eternal bliss would become eternal monotony. Eventually, oblivion would become a reward, not a punishment. Who really wants to live forever?
Furthermore, this afterlife doctrine devalues our existence here and now. Life on Earth is all the more precious because it is brief. What is the point of improving yourself or cultivating your mind now if there will be infinite time after you die to do those things? Why bother fighting for justice or defending the downtrodden when a perfect world awaits us anyway? Although arguments could be concocted for why God still wants us to do these things, the existence of an afterlife would remove all the urgency from them. In the theist worldview, life on Earth is ultimately pointless. It is atheism that provides a real reason for living life to the fullest.

take care man,

josh

tetrapod.sapien

As for the vengeful exacting god, that is the god of the watchtower not the real God of love, needless to tell you that I don't believe their version of god and the way he deals with mankind.

if this is the case, then i guess atheists and theists both win. see you in heaven!

TS

AlmostAtheist

what I meant was that you atheists by the nature of your beliefs have no real hope after death.

Imagine you meet someone on the street that tells you he bought a "golden ticket" and when he reaches 60 years old, he gets a million dollars. You look at the ticket, and it's clearly fake. Someone sold it to him long ago and he's placed all his hopes in it. But you know it's a false hope.

He offers to tell you who sells them so you can buy one, but you politely decline. "You'll never be a millionaire," he says, and you know it's true. "You'll retire with nothing, and I'll be rich! I pity you non-believers."

I don't intend to demean your beliefs, I'm just expressing how I see them from my perspective. I haven't bought the golden ticket because I don't think the payoff is real. You do. And just like the man with the ticket, you pity me for my non-belief.

As long as your religion brings you happiness now, and doesn't control your life ala Watchtower legalism, then I don't pity you. I'm glad you're living happily and well. Enjoy. You've no need to pity me, though. I'm ok, too.

Dave

greendawn

Kid A that's because life is sweet who wants to part from it? Anyone given some extra good quality years of life would take them. Pretty women, good friends, great scenery, delicious food, intellectual pursuits.

TS "those old pearly gates" author can't perceive human nature as it will be after it gradually evolves into something higher and far more dynamic, life will never be boring in that context.

How could anyone believe that a God of love would ever operate in the fiendish way the WTS describes, they are ignorant bastards. They project their own psychopathic feelings onto their cheap image of god.

love11

I used to feel this way for quite awhile. Then I came to the conclusion that the purpose in life is life itself. To enjoy life to the best of my ability and not hurt anyone else in the process. (I try) I know scientifically and logically that the idea of god is man made. But something in me needs more than just what a scientist can prove to be accurate. As humans I feel we need magic, the hypothetical kissing of the "boo-boo" to make it all better. So if I want to pray to the air and believe that by doing so takes all of my problems away, then I'm going to do it. Do whatever works for you, regardless if scientist can prove it or not.

tetrapod.sapien

How could anyone believe that a God of love would ever operate in the fiendish way the WTS describes, they are ignorant bastards. They project their own psychopathic feelings onto their cheap image of god.

so, greendawn, in your worldview, am i in heaven with you when we die anyways?

please advise,

TS

GetBusyLiving

This is a sad thread Big Dog. Your the good shit, man. I don't get any sort of pompous satisfaction from accepting my disbelief in God and talking about it, and sometimes it can be damn tough.. especially when I think about my nan dying recently and the mortality of my mom and dad.

I recommend watching "It's a Wonderful Life" sometime, with your newfound thoughts. It changed my life.

GBL

Big Dog

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone that responded to this thread, it meant alot and it gave me plenty to think about. GBL, Greendawn, Love, all of you, thanks! Just when I think i have a grip on things something flares up and messes with my equilimbrium.

Life is pretty strange, so much of it is perspective, and the highs and lows, what an odd lot we have. Still trying to get my head around it, for the last 20 years I just didn't think about this stuff, it was school, marriage, family, build my practice and I just sort of went along with the flow not really giving things much thought. Then I stumble on this site and I say, hey, great, I'll chat with some ex-jw's, something I never have done in all my years since being out and I end up getting much more than I bargained for. Bunch of apostates get me thinking about a lot more than just how much I despise the borg, they get me thinking about everything.

Damn the whole lot of you!!!!

KLS, you asked if I think my loved ones were suffering, no, I never got into that end of it, but I hoped maybe they were someplace better, and hey, who knows, even if I do decided to disbelieve fully, still doesn't mean its not possible.

Seeker4

Big Dog,

Thanks for letting us "talk" through this one. It's not easy for any of us who have moved from knowing we would live forever and never die to coming to grips with our own mortality and loss of our "god." I'm still working this out.

For me, when I think of death, it's knowing that it's the end of my time with my kids, grandkids (hopefully great-grandkids, or great-great!) and the end of a wonderful life, that disturbs me. I just hope I'm so old and ready to go that I'll see death as the final adventure.

Like today. I have a six-year-old grandson in first grade who is struggling with school. Smart enough, but always getting sent to the "planning room" for times out and that sort of thing. Told me a couple of weeks ago that he "hates school" - in first grade! So, I decided I'd trade off some of my weekly extra hours at work to go volunteer in his classroom an afternoon a week, and now I find myself back in first grade working with him and his schoolmates on learning math, providing some comfort and peace to a troubled little boy in pain. More than one little boy or girl, it seems, considering how they flock around me.

THAT's what I'll miss, and that's what makes me sad about death - not being able to be there to ease the pain and the struggle of those who are coming after me. That's why it means so much to make the most of everyday. That is the hard part, thinking of no longer having all this, or being able to give like that, and thanks for giving us a chance to talk about it.

S4

Darth Yhwh

Like today. I have a six-year-old grandson in first grade who is struggling with school. Smart enough, but always getting sent to the "planning room" for times out and that sort of thing. Told me a couple of weeks ago that he "hates school" - in first grade! So, I decided I'd trade off some of my weekly extra hours at work to go volunteer in his classroom an afternoon a week, and now I find myself back in first grade working with him and his schoolmates on learning math, providing some comfort and peace to a troubled little boy in pain. More than one little boy or girl, it seems, considering how they flock around me

That is absolutly fantastic seeker4. Not only are you getting closer to your own grandson but your contributing to your community and helping other kids who may need it. Kudos to you. I lift my beverage to you

Do Any Atheists Feel This Way?

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