More inside the Mind of an Atheist

[KristiS11384]

This come from the Answers section of cafemom. The original question/s will be in Bolded black.. This is just to give everyone an insight of HOW an atheist thinks. I'm really enjoying the Answers section as of late because it is thought provoking. If it is in Blue it is a LINK to the original question.

What does your religion say about why we are here?

I don't really care to know our "origins" to the extent of trying to explain WHY life exists. I just know it does and it is what we make of it that matters. Not where it began or what happens after it ends. As far as I am concerned Nothing happens after it ends. We live our lives, we die, our bodies decompose and we are no more. If I only have one life to live it is in my best interest to live it as responsibly and as best as possible to get the MOST out of the experience. If I waste it by bad decisions and engaging in bad behaviors I have effectively wasted what little life I have.

The world itself is very complex in that we don't have all the answers, but it is also very simple in that we don't necessarily need all the answers. The answer of the origins to life is inconsequential in contrast to the very fact that life exists. I don't need to know why life exists, only know that it does and therefore Live it. We will never have ALL The answers. The more we explain the past the less progress we make towards the future. The more progress we make to the future, the less we know about the past. Either way we lose aspects of the present by focusing too much on the others.

How can anyone live a life of joy and happiness have that point of view? Drugs,alcohol?

Drugs and alcohol would make a waste of the one life we have to live. No thank you. Happiness and joy comes from the appreciation that this is the one life we have. The beauty in the little things. A smile, a hug, the smell of freshly cut grass on a rainy day. These are the things that make life worth living. The little things.

How about Love?

What about it. It is an emotion much like anger or jealousy, or happiness however it is one that encompasses compassion and empathy. It is no more divine than any other emotion, it is not unique. It is STRONG. Just as Strong as Hate.

Hate can be just as strong in a person. A person can hate and feel no remorse for their hate. Be absent of all Love. The Balance, the ability to feel both, is what keeps us in check. We have no concept of one unless we have the other as well. Still they are only emotions. Emotions that influence to do bad, or do good, but emotions nonetheless. Not from a higher power or a god, but from within ourselves. And as each of us is individual and each of us is different we will feel these emotions to different degrees.

Isn't the thought that this is all there is Depressing?(roughly sumarized)

For a Christian such as yourself XXXXX you feel that this life being our one and only to be a depressing thought. You look forward to a life beyond this one.
As an atheist I find the thought that there is a life beyond this one to be depressing. It gives one the impression that this life would be meaningless if there is supposedly a greater one waiting. I find no comfort in that.

I find my comfort in the knowledge that this is all there is. Nothing more, nothing less. Just this one life and what I make of it.

I often find that people tend to blame God for all the wrong things and praise the wrong thing when something goes right.Could this be the case for you?

Some do. Personally I never have(it would kind of be contradictory since I don't believe in a god). Bad things that happen are usually a result of my bad decisions and I have no one to blame but myself. Others are simply cause and effect.

Common misconception that we either partake in unbecoming behaviors and actions and that is why we choose not to believe in god. It's actually not that way at all. We find the peace without God because we find it within ourselves. We know each of our actions will bear a consequence and therefore to keep from bad consequences we make wiser/and better decisions for ourselves.

It's as much liberating as it is grounding. it is liberating because it means we are the ones in control of our own lives. We hold our own power. It is grounding because our bad choices will result in bad consequences and we ourselves are to blame for our own mistakes. Just as our good choices result in good consequences.

For those of you who used to be believers in God, did you stop believing gradually,or did you just wake up one morning and say "I don't think I'll believe in God anymore?

I would say it was more a gradual transition. As I grew older and learned more my views regarding religion went from a specific denomination, to non-denominational, to theistic, deist, agnostic, and finally to atheist. Nothing happened to change my beliefs from one to the other, I simply grew up with a different understanding of things. The more I learned and the more I grew, the more my views changed from one thing to the next. However at the same time, looking back I don't feel I ever really believed to begin with.

If you Do not share the Christian beliefs on Heaven and Hell.Where do you thing or what do you believe happens to the really bad people?

I believe simply that when we die that is it. Our bodies decompose and there is no spirit that lives on (aside from what you pass down to your children in their memories, though I do not consider that a "spirit"). With that said there is no "justice" per say for the truly evil people out there, aside from they have to live with what they had done until they die. The memories of their actions will remain with their living families.

I don't believe they would live long and happy lives. They may live long lives, and the outward appearance they give is one of happiness but deep down it would eat them up and haunt them internally. That punishment itself can be far worse than any other. The prison of the mind is one that none can escape.

What then if one has no guilt and takes great pleasure in torment? I also wonder if you would feel the same way if you were a victim of one of these monsters.

Let's say I were a victim of some crime. If it kills me well my killer will have to live with his actions of killing me and no doubt he will come to know the kind of person I was and let his guilt take it from there.
Let's say I survive. I can let HIS actions eat me up, or forgive him and let HIS actions eat at him while I move on with my life.
I don't believe any man is without a conscience, eventually it WILL catch up to them.

If you once believed in God,Jesus,and the devil.What major event in your life changed your mind?

Nothing happened to change my mind per say. I just "grew" to a different understanding of things. Kind of like a child that "outgrows" Santa. Most don't have some startling revelation that Santa doesn't exist like seeing their dad take the costume off. Most just sort of come to terms of understanding that there is no Santa.

[nobakecheezcake]

Mar. 16, 2009 at 2:46 PM

Love it. I'd like to post it on myspace. :P

[KristiS11384]

Mar. 16, 2009 at 2:48 PM

KNock yourself out. Feel free to snag the first one too. Found HERE

(Original Poster)

[older]

Mar. 16, 2009 at 3:03 PM

I ENJOYED IT TOO!!!!

[clairandamjones]

Mar. 16, 2009 at 3:12 PM

Fascinating.  I totally relate to the thoughts about life being cause and effect, and about people having to live with their own conscience as the worst punishment there is.  I really enjoyed reading this. 

Thanks for sharing! 

[IhartU]

Mar. 17, 2009 at 9:47 AM

You are so much better at explaining things on the Answers than I am! I get so frustrated and end up sounding angry. Thank you for being the grounded, intelligent person you are!

[coffeefirst]

Mar. 17, 2009 at 10:10 AM

Your posts are always thought-provoking and informative. That's rare in this world :)