Atheists The New Theists ?

That gave me a giggle.

Hey! I see that! Still fighting the good fight I see. I lost so much steam on the last one. LOL!

These threads are purely about endurance.

Yeah you don't want to ride em too hard or they'll explode too early and that doesn't usually bode well for threads.

this almost belongs over in the cheesy pick up line thread :P

YES!
exactly my intentions!
I did forget to bold the word "endurance" in the quotations.

Any chance at testing said endurance.

*evil smile*

Incoming shitstorm!

sev bait only works when i'm awake :/

Hate I missed all that.

I got in for work this morning, so sorry for the late reply. I have never feared or not understood someone because they were atheist. I bear no ill-will to someone based on their choice to disbelieve (disbelief is more natural to the human condition anyway... it's me who made a choice TO believe so I would think I am the unnatural one).
As a rule of thumb however, I dislike anyone whom judges someone based on religion, or lack thereof. It's not a pre-determined condition, and it's entirely the choice of the person. That would be like saying "I hate this mf'er because they DRIVE FORD." Granted, the hipster clown who comes up and says "yeah well i dont believe in cars maaaan, i walk because thats like... what i evolved to do" doesn't "jive" with the way I work, BUT i just smile an know that that person is happy. Who gives a ***what someone else thinks as long as you're content with what youre doing and not interfering with someone else's happiness (unless they're wearing full aurore and brown belt, that's just stupid).

Don't you mean you dislike anyone that acts on such judgements?
We are judgemental creatures.
I've made a judgement on what you believe because you have expressed it, for example.
Do you mean people who vocally and prolifically judge others without looking inwards?

this whole judgement deal shouldn't be exclusive to religion really. :/
i'd say it'd be easier to say that you like people that tend to communicate without inciting outrage, because we've all judged and been in the wrong at some point and time, or at least I would like to think that is true, if it's not correct me. :P

The only person that should be offended by this knows it's fully in jest. I think you are

well, you get the idea.

It just seems to me that if people would spend more time trying to prove their own point than trying to disprove someone else's, a lot more progress could be made.

bolded related words.

Explain further what you mean please.

people get too frustrated and impatient and rather than going through the methodical procedures they'd rather take the easy router which is either focusing on others rather than proving ones own point or BS-ing.
it's always easy just to use what you know/what you believe to know rather than seeking information.
no work involved, IE we all can get too impatient to do the necessary steps in conductive reasoning.
it's not directly connected to solely ridiculing others, but in a discussion if your whole point is to shoot holes through another argument without bringing up your own content you are being impatient and aren't really helping your case by muddying the other case without bringing your own information to the table.

Except it's impossible to prove a negative, so the only one who can prove something is a theist and I really don't see them doing that anywhere.

People advocating patience in this thread and humility in another...


I feel like I missed something.

I heart you wombat

Forum change for the better?

EDIT: Both threads aren't jumbled up by certain people's presence.

Not naming names, but a certain group is in neither thread, and both seem to be moving forward fluidly

I like converging ideas.

I like pie.

I concur

I need help understanding the motivation for atheists, this thread is as good as any to ask in I suppose. The other thread disappeared before I could look over the last day or so which makes me sad 'cause I had a story that related to multiple posts. Anyhow...
As a theist I believe I am going to experience a metamorphosis into a higher state of existence. What do atheists hope for? I hear about improving society / survival of the species, but do you believe the species is going extinct at some point? Are you satisfied with the prospect of being forgotten in a few decades or any contribution you leave on Earth evaporating when society falls? With a belief in an infinite God there is hope no point in time, no data is ever lost. Meaning will continue forever. (meaning on a level where I as a person am worth more than a tree that my atoms might contribute to the growth of)

Do you attribute sentience or Godhood to the universe itself, and hope for reincarnation therein? I really am curious if you are content with the prospect of being space dust only. Am I being selfish to expect more? Are you more than the sum of your atoms?

I really do want to know your point of view, thanks for sharing.
If the answer to the question is repeatedly "that's an unknown", what do you hope for, what would be your ideal scenario?

Motivation/Inspiration is a singular experience and changes between every atheist. As atheists however, our motivations to live/aspire derive from our desire to make the one life we have as meaningful as possible.

That could be through charity, betterment of mankind, or simply laying on the couch and relaxing.


Nothing. We don't attribute magic immortality simply because we're not comfortable with dying. You'll find atheists are a lot less afraid of death than theists, which is pretty odd if you think about it.


Theists are just as likely to be forgotten, so the only thing theism buys you in the "will I be remembered" department is the self delusion of immortality. When your brain ceases to work, you cease to exist as a person, it's that simple.

As an atheist, I'm not worried about what happens after I die, that's irrelevant. I'm more concerned about what I do while I'm alive. Something theists often waste.


You're atomic structure will not vanish upon death, just your conscience. So in essence you're body does live forever. If you're looking for some desperate attempt to capture your individuality/intelligence, it's gone when you die. Just because you want to be immortal, doesn't mean there is a fairy tale land when you're brain stops firing.


We wouldn't be atheists if we assumed there was a higher power to the universe. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, to back any theory of an intelligence to our universe. EVERY observation of our universe points towards random chance and entropy playing itself out.

We are a sum of our atoms and nothing more. It makes life that much more precious.

If you were truly an immortal adopted kid of a supreme inter-dimensional being, this life would be pretty worthless to you in the grand scheme of eternity.


I hope only for a successful and enjoyable life. Betterment of mankind is simply a derivation that I pull out as a matter of increased self satisfaction and empathy for my fellow human being.

I also hope that people stop pretending to be immortals, that or back it up by sword fighting for the prize.

"As a theist I believe I am going to experience a metamorphosis into a higher state of existence. What do atheists hope for?"
My 'hope', my 'motivation' is that I can make people realize that it's okay to be human. So much of what religion teaches puts down the human being. I want to help humans realize it's okay to be humans. It's okay to embrace yourself. Love yourself.

But more than anything, I hope for a world where the human thinks for itself again.
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"I hear about improving society / survival of the species, but do you believe the species is going extinct at some point?"
One day the species will die. But I'm for the betterment of it. Everything has an end; does that mean we should just keel over and wait?

I personally believe that society, that the human should reach for new heights and never stop reaching. I believe that the human, that society, should climb until we can't climb any higher and then keep on climbing even higher. Take the limit, break the limit, set a new limit, and repeat.

The end goal? For us to know, to have created enough that we can take any obstacle and go beyond it.

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"Are you satisfied with the prospect of being forgotten in a few decades or any contribution you leave on Earth evaporating when society falls?"
Hey, I don't like the idea, but I accept it. One day I shall be forgotten. One day Earth shall be destroyed. Meh. So?

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"With a belief in an infinite God there is hope no point in time, no data is ever lost. Meaning will continue forever. (meaning on a level where I as a person am worth more than a tree that my atoms might contribute to the growth of)"

Yeah. People could believe that. It's a nice feeling.

I know. I was once such a devout Catholic that I wanted to become Bishop, or Cardinal.

It's a nice feeling, but that same feeling devalues the human experience while it is being lived. It spits in the face of our time constraint.

i really just think when we die that's it

needing motivation just seems to be accepting how weak you are to me, but that's just my opinion

i mean i guess i just want to live a good life before i die

i don't care about heaven or hell and i dont care about giving money to scams like churches

I can only speak for myself but what I hope for is a world where we can look beyond ancient text and come to a stark realization that we've got one planet, we're all on the same team and no ascended beings are going to get us out of the messes we put ourselves into.

We'll never get along perfectly but religious belief often divides us instead of uniting us all for what we are - human beings.

If believe you're on your way to a higher state of existence then you really don't care what happens to this planet as it happens to only be a rest stop on your trip to immortality. This is dangerous thought as it creates people who pollute, destroy and disregard wildlife/habitat destruction because hey, this Earth doesn't matter.

But what if it does matter?

How many people have died and will continue to die simply because someones religious belief commands it? Conveniently, the deities never appear to right the wrongs and I am forced to take everything on faith. Right...

If I was designed then the designer knows my nature and my inability to take things without evidence.

What I hope for is a world where people attempt to solve the problems of the world instead of relying on supernatural beings, a world where we stop discriminating upon others simply cause some text says to and a world where we respect the planet that sustains us and realize that the thought of dominion over animals/land is dripping in arrogance.


It doesn't matter if you're theist or atheist, at some point you will be forgotten.

The best you can do is live a good life and realize every day on Earth is precious. Do your best to leave the planet for future generations better than you found it.

Even with the promise of heaven, questions start to arise when you think of a place without any negative aspects. What is positive without negative anyway? It seems like a place where humans would lose their humanity to say the least.


As stated before, given the evidence we have one life and it's your job to live it out to the best of your ability. For me, that's helping people in need and staying a positive influence for those around me. When you die, you won't have time to contemplate being atoms so why even worry about it?