Why should there be a meaning to life? There is not a meaning. I do not believe in a diety. It has nothing to do with the actions of the followers of a certain faith. That has nothing to do with each other.
I think human beings have a deep seated desire for 'meaning' as a result of our consciousness. We are aware of our own mortality for one thing. And aware of our standing within our social group so that we are driven to make an effort. The meaning should be to promote a better life for yourself and everyone else you can... health, happiness, fun, productivity; (says the hermit) to advance the civilization toward peace and prosperity and to obtain peace of mind for the self. The antithesis is to succumb to the animal instincts of promoting the self at the expense of others. There is always a underlying guilt nagging away at any satisfaction for self-promotion. I think that is the underlying drive of liberalism and the basis for the popularity of religions i.e. human beings are social animals that recognize the multiplier effect of using their individuality to work cooperatively.
Most "atheists" are actually anti-theists. Some sort of God is possible. The chance that it is the one described in the bible or the Quran is ZERO. An obvious lie...
Honestly, I've never heard anyone give a good answer to that "simple" questions. The thought provoking answers to that questions mostly come from philosophers, not some religious person.
Having 3 religions spreads originally among my grandparents ,it is always a matter of faith first but Science does not contradict with religions ,it often used to prove the later legitimacy . [youtube]D9eznETdw04[/youtube]
Interesting answer... I keep reading a lot of the same things in this thread... The only thing is being an atheist means Not Believing in God. So it seems like a lot of people believe in God, they just don't believe in the religion. T_Man
Because the question doesn't have a logical answer, as "meaning" is a man-made term that doesn't really follow science and isn't any existing part of the Universe. The BS reasoning many religious people come up with ("we live for god, to atone for sin blabla") isn't any kind of substantial or logical answer, as it's completely without any 'technical' reasoning or logic behind it. Saying atheists need an answer for that kind of subjective question is nonsense.
As usual, atheists get all flustered and defensive when challenged. Then they lean on "science" - as if a process proves anything as their defense. Science explains very little of our world. We'll look back in 100 years and be embarrassed at some of the things we think "science" explains, much like we look back 100 years ago and can't believe how primitive we seemed.
It's not defensive or being flustered. The term "meaning" is completely made-up by humans and has no logical meaning. No answer has any validity in that regard, as the question itself relies on philosophy instead of nature and existence. The answer "we live to make Pikachu happy" has the same validity as any religious or philosophical answer, because there's no logic or foundation behind the word "meaning". Trying to fight atheists by using a question relying on a made-up term makes no sense and doesn't prove any point.
I dont know if you realize it but you are also an atheist when it comes to Zeus, Rah, Poseidon and all the millions of other religions that was invented by man. We agree about 99.9% on all those other religions. The only difference is that you decided to believe in one while we didnt.
Pretty much this. The arrogance astounds me. I have respect for the true scientists. Its the self proclaimed intellects who run off to college to study the hard work of true intelligent people that disgust me. It doesnt take a genius to regurgitate information. Flat earth syndrome at its finest.
I attend a Methodist church and pray to an Abrahamic God, but I cannot reconcile immaculate conception nor resurrection. I understand that by definition, I am not a true Christian, and I am completely fine with that. I do however consider myself a follower of Christ, in that one of those truest tenets would be to love unconditionally and forgive others. I will never be able to accept Christ as some sort of savior that will get me a free pass into heaven. I'm completely fine living this life.
I'm saying the question regarding "meaning", a made-up term with no validity, has no logic behind it. That's not arrogance, it's just the truth. You guys can't try to discuss something by using a made-up term that doesn't exist in nature. The question itself can't have a real answer when it's based on something that doesn't exist. The whole discussion is pointless.
You seem to be using science and scientists as the same thing. One is a methodolgy and the other is a practioner. If one uses the protocols of science to prove something, the conclusions are usually sound.
Your reply reminds me of this blurb on Atheist.org. Apparently these days, anyone can redefine words to fit there meaning.
You are absolutely correct. Just as the flat earth belief was also once science. The truth and the facts are not always the one and the same.
If Greek mythology was the major religion today and you did not subscribe to the idea that Zeus is real, what would the majority label you as?
A few years back on this subject someone (maybe Mo) defined the terms of the discussion pretty well and atheistic agnostic is the term for" it doesn't seem logical, but there is not enough information (no information) to decide anything. The origin of the universe is pretty big deal, "let there be light" did actually happen. That's an interesting concept for 2000 years ago.
Yes, people BELIEVED it was science. But that was not the fault of science but rather the ones who accepted that claim to be true because the majority did not take the time to check how the scientists came up with that conclusion. That is more of a testament of how blind faith leads you to false conclusions.
Flat earth was never science. The first attempt at a mathmatical/empirical approach to discovering the shape of the earth, it was found to be round. Just using basic trig also. It's a very common misconception held by many naive laymen such as yourself that 'flat earth' was a long held belief in the scientific community. It wasn't
