As an atheist, I'm curious to know other ....let's say non religious... think their purpose is in life.
We came and arose from chance, and will most certainly die and become nothing. So I have to ask, what's the point in it all?
I understand that I'm here, and I'm in thick of it all enjoying life's pleasures, but there is always that loneliness that reminds me that it's ultimately all going to end. So what part do I play in it?
Life's purpose to an atheist
Moderator: Moderators
Post #2
Hi Imt531 and welcome to the forum. As I am not an atheist, I will let others respond.
I think as a moderator I will move the thread to another subforum, as this area is more to discuss forum operations than the type of question you are posing.
Cheers.
I think as a moderator I will move the thread to another subforum, as this area is more to discuss forum operations than the type of question you are posing.
Cheers.
" . . . the line separating good and evil passes, not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart . . . ." Alexander Solzhenitsyn
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McCulloch
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Re: Life's purpose to an atheist
Post #3Life is its own purpose. You have it for a time. Enjoy it. Feel good about it while you have it. Do not invest in imaginary treasures in heaven to be enjoyed in an afterlife.lmt531 wrote: So I have to ask, what's the point in it all?
Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
First Epistle to the Church of the Thessalonians
The truth will make you free.
Gospel of John
First Epistle to the Church of the Thessalonians
The truth will make you free.
Gospel of John
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Cathar1950
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Post #5
I like the idea that when we are gone we are remembered fondly because of things you did. But it is all about how we live now even in our imagined afterlives. What if there is an afterlife and it is nothing like anything we could have imagined? 
What good is it now?
I see life having all kinds of purpose.
Does a star have a purpose when it explodes and make more complicated elements or energy that shapes other stars?
It seems to have created some space where we make purposes.
We are meaningful creatures that are always looking for meaning and creating it in the process, is it any wonder we look for some ultimate meaning we may not even be capable of understanding?
A better question might be to ask what doesn't have purpose or even what purpose does it serve?
What good is it now?
I see life having all kinds of purpose.
Does a star have a purpose when it explodes and make more complicated elements or energy that shapes other stars?
It seems to have created some space where we make purposes.
We are meaningful creatures that are always looking for meaning and creating it in the process, is it any wonder we look for some ultimate meaning we may not even be capable of understanding?
A better question might be to ask what doesn't have purpose or even what purpose does it serve?
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realthinker
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Re: Life's purpose to an atheist
Post #6You're human. Your purpose is exhibiting humanness. Why should you or anyone think there's more to it than that? How would our lives or the universe be better if there were more to it than that?lmt531 wrote:As an atheist, I'm curious to know other ....let's say non religious... think their purpose is in life.
We came and arose from chance, and will most certainly die and become nothing. So I have to ask, what's the point in it all?
I understand that I'm here, and I'm in thick of it all enjoying life's pleasures, but there is always that loneliness that reminds me that it's ultimately all going to end. So what part do I play in it?
If all the ignorance in the world passed a second ago, what would you say? Who would you obey?
Post #7
I'm not an atheist, but I think the heathen perspective is relevant here, if you'd be willing to hear it.
Asatruars are not typically inclined to believe in or long for some kind of afterlife. If such a thing is meant to be, then so be it, but it is not something we strive for.
Instead we are inclined to believe that midgard (Earth) is our world and a place meant for us to inhabit. As such, it is our purpose to try to improve the world we live in, the world we have now, our world.
Why labor your life away for some vague promise of another world when the world we live in could be so greatly improved to the benefit of all mankind.
Asatruars are not typically inclined to believe in or long for some kind of afterlife. If such a thing is meant to be, then so be it, but it is not something we strive for.
Instead we are inclined to believe that midgard (Earth) is our world and a place meant for us to inhabit. As such, it is our purpose to try to improve the world we live in, the world we have now, our world.
Why labor your life away for some vague promise of another world when the world we live in could be so greatly improved to the benefit of all mankind.
Post #8
As an atheist, I would say that there is no purpose in life. We inhabit a planet that, in the grand scheme of things, is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the desert.
The things that stop me from collapsing into a state of pure misery and grief, are friends, family, music and those little things that make you smile.
The only way you can live, is if you want to. Don't dwell on "the purpose"
The things that stop me from collapsing into a state of pure misery and grief, are friends, family, music and those little things that make you smile.
The only way you can live, is if you want to. Don't dwell on "the purpose"
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Tired of the Nonsense
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Post #9
What we know about the universe is that it is made up of very tiny particles of stuff clumped together due to the action of positive and negative charges attracting and repelling each other. The same stuff that makes up the stars and the sun and moon and planets, also make up us. We are, in every real way, the universe contemplating itself. And for all we know, this may be the very first time such a thing has occurred in the entire history of the universe. How terribly, incomparably cool is THAT? And how therefore could our existence, even if temporary, possibly have any more meaning?
Post #10
Just go for it! Nothing matters except that you have fun and are happy. And anything which you see as fun is acceptable. There's no need to concern yourself with others, it's way too restrictive. You really only need to consider and care for yourself in any way you can regardless of others because like you, they are nothing. They came from nothing and will return to nothing, and what came before you is nothing and what will come after you is nothing either.
Just obey the law, but only if you think you can't get away with not obeying it, i.e., if you don't get caught, you haven't done anything wrong, and that's a good enough reason, and it opens up a whole new world of ways to pleasure yourself.
Good luck with that, I think you'll need it.
Just obey the law, but only if you think you can't get away with not obeying it, i.e., if you don't get caught, you haven't done anything wrong, and that's a good enough reason, and it opens up a whole new world of ways to pleasure yourself.
Good luck with that, I think you'll need it.
