Feeling of emptiness

Confused · Post by **Confused** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:33 pm

After finally accepting the truth as I see it and finding a sort of comfort with it, I still feel this emptiness that I can't quite fill. After weighing the information and making an informed decision, I feel I have made the right decision finally. But I can't help feeling as if I am mourning the loss of some sort of hope. Is this normal or am I going insane now to boot?

Cmass · Post by **Cmass** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 3:17 am

K-nug said:

As I began to change my worldview, I began to see just how special I, and every human on the planet, is. I am the only me in this vast expanse. There is no other. I am unique in this universe, therefore I am special. At the same time, I am not alone. There are 5 billion others here with me, and we together, are also unique.

Well said. I actually think the God concept renders people LESS special, because they are instead all part of a big plan that another creature made up for himself: "God's plan". You are a pawn in a Godly game. You and everyone else become far more unique - and important - if you came about through random processes than through design. It also increases your responsibility to the survival of your species - which is something I think most organized religion seriously harms.

bernee51 · Post by **bernee51** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:18 am

Cmass wrote:K-nug said:
As I began to change my worldview, I began to see just how special I, and every human on the planet, is. I am the only me in this vast expanse. There is no other. I am unique in this universe, therefore I am special. At the same time, I am not alone. There are 5 billion others here with me, and we together, are also unique.
Well said. I actually think the God concept renders people LESS special, because they are instead all part of a big plan that another creature made up for himself: "God's plan". You are a pawn in a Godly game. You and everyone else become far more unique - and important - if you came about through random processes than through design. It also increases your responsibility to the survival of your species - which is something I think most organized religion seriously harms.

It it is something DAwkins has alluded to as well...just how extraodinarily lucky we are to evem exist. And, as we each create our own reality...6 billion people - 6 billion worlds

Cryopyre · Post by **Cryopyre** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:23 pm

when I first became an atheist/agnostic I felt extremely empty, as if life was without purpose, as if I was lonely.

I think it's a normal step, now I feel better, at peace with myself. I think it's a normal step in becoming agnostic. I believe that you face much change in yourself and your views when you drop your previous religion.

Anyways, yes, it's normal.

Cryopyre · Post by **Cryopyre** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:33 pm

Humanism, I'll have to look into that. I guess I do consider myself a humanist in many ways.

Anyways, I felt loss when I too became an Agnostic/Atheist. God fills a purpose however fictional he may be, but my rejection of him and my mourning gave birth to years of change in my own philosophies. Now I have gotten over the mourning and feel slightly empowered.

Cmass · Post by **Cmass** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:52 pm

Cryopyre wrote:

Anyways, I felt loss when I too became an Agnostic/Atheist.

I think some of the loss that enlightened (ex) Christians feel when they leave the Church is due to separation from an established social support group.
BTW: You say you became and Agnostic/Atheist. I would think one is either an Agnostic or an Atheist. They are quite different.

God fills a purpose however fictional he may be, but my rejection of him and my mourning gave birth to years of change in my own philosophies.

An Atheist can't "reject" God any more than he can reject empty space. Also, God cannot fill a purpose if He is fictional. It is the the belief of a God - for better or worse - that may serve a purpose (there may even be a "God gene") but God does not because He does not exist. It is the belief or the concept that we are speaking of & not a real thing.

There is no Tooth Fairy, no Santa Claus, no Count Chocula nor are there any ghosts divine or otherwise. Nor is there a God. I can't reject a Him or a Her or an It that does not exist. Life is more precious and amazing and beautiful when seen without the clouded glasses of religious dogmatism. (And what I can learn in current science journals in a weekend - in subjects ranging from physics to ethics - far exceed any teaching the Bible offers.)
Life is better without the God fantasy. And life on Earth has a better chance of thriving without the associated cancer of organized religion that is contributing so mightily to it's decimation.

McCulloch · Post by **McCulloch** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:20 pm

Cmass wrote:BTW: You say you became and Agnostic/Atheist. I would think one is either an Agnostic or an Atheist. They are quite different.

One could be an atheist with regard to most common definitions of God but agnostic toward, for instance, deist idea of God. This is a hard idea to convey. The very fact that the theists are such a diverse bunch who cannot all agree on what they mean by god, means that a-theism is also a difficult thing to nail down.

Cryopyre · Post by **Cryopyre** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 9:17 pm

Yes, I didn't want to explain my whole reason for being an Agnostic/Atheist, it would take up space and nobody wants to hear a lifestory when we're talking about something else. I only put it their because the only thing that matters is I can relate.

Cmass · Post by **Cmass** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 2:16 am

McCulloch said:

One could be an atheist with regard to most common definitions of God but agnostic toward, for instance, deist idea of God. This is a hard idea to convey.

Too difficult, apparently, to convey to me. I looked it up and found Wiki to have the most complete and interesting definition(s). My personal bias is obviously at work here because I often sense that when people say they are atheist/agnostic they are really saying "I don't believe in God. Sort of". Which doesn't make much sense. Upon further reading/reflection it appears you are right:

The very fact that the theists are such a diverse bunch who cannot all agree on what they mean by god, means that a-theism is also a difficult thing to nail down.

Well said.

McCulloch · Post by **McCulloch** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:53 am

Cmass wrote:Well said.

Thank you.

I would add that in a technical sense those who believe that the probability of any sort of god or God's existence is very very small are agnostic not atheist. Not all agnostics believe that the probability of the existence of God is 50%. Like many things, such classifications are not as clear as we would like them to be.

Openmind · Post by **Openmind** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:36 am

Confused, I'm probably in the same situation as you. Like you - I was never Christian, though I have recently concluded that God doesn't exist (after quite a long and considered discussion with myself).

I also do feel that little sense of emptiness occasionally. That little thought - all I am is a bunch of atoms acting in a pre-programmed manner. If I love someone, what does that mean? All it means is that my atoms are acting in a manner they are told to! Sometimes that gets me down. It loses meaning if it just for instinctual processes rather than something ephemeral. And that is the rubric, I believe. We want it to be something special/supernatural/ephemral, because it defines us in a very characteristic manner. This is probably an evolutionary trait - the man that can explain his surroundings lives longer than the man who cannot. (As understanding breeds understanding).

We are probably not that much more free without God than we are with, though the truth is rarely pretty.

Take heart in your consciousness. You are a conscious being who feels real emotions. Who cares where they come from. The fact is, what you feel is real