Meaning And Purpose

"I finally understand why religious people find so much meaning and purpose in religion and why they keep coming back for more even if there's nothing there."

Christians uniformly talk about the satisfying spiritual experience of delving deeply into their Bible for truth. Atheists usually are curious about reality and experience the same emotions when they focus deeply on the search for skill and/or knowledge. Click on the link below for one of the better explanations of this human phenomenon:

I Got Holy Ghosted!

Meaning Trumps Happiness

 "Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but what if there's a more fulfilling path? Happiness comes and goes, says writer Emily Esfahani Smith, but having meaning in life -- serving something beyond yourself and developing the best within you -- gives you something to hold onto. Learn more about the difference between being happy and having meaning as Smith offers four pillars of a meaningful life."

God-belief not required. Click on the link below:

There's more to life than being happy

The Absurdity Of Life Without God?

"William Lane Craig asks, 'Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?' Modern man has tried to answer those questions without reference to God, but the answers that came back were not exhilarating, but dark and terrible.
"But do our wishes determine what is true? Do our fears determine what is true? Or is reality what is true?"

This is another example of William Lane Craig's poor understanding of the mind of the atheist regarding meaning and morality. Click on the link below for a rebuttal to his ignorance.

"The absurdity of life without God" Response

Click on this link for another example of how freethinkers can lead a purpose-driven life.

Meaning

Many religious claim that, without a belief in a god, life has no meaning.

I was raised in a deeply religious Catholic environment. That included over 15 uncles and aunts on both my mother and father's side. Oh, I have about 50 first cousins as well.  Think about that. Imagine the social influence in support of Catholicism. That said, my mother's favorite brother, Paul, was an atheist, as was his wife.  I never had deep discussions with them regarding their lack of faith, but my aunt Alice (wife of Paul) told me that when we are gone, she believed that we only live on in the minds of those who have experienced us.

Now, think about how many of our family BEFORE our parents who have departed are still in our memories.  Ya, some of us do have recollections of grandparents.  However, what about THEIR parents and grandparents?  My point?  Simple: life is short and in a few generations EVERY person we have impacted and have impacted us in the world is gone.  However, living a life promoting science-based thinking and humanistic values WILL live on in some degree, whether we can see it now or not.  THAT is MY meaning in life, in addition to loving and helping my family and others.

Peace.

Viewing The World As It Is Is Fulfilling

"Imagining away the bad parts of life without evidence is something atheists won’t do, and our lives are as fulfilled as Christians’ are. We take pleasure in a child’s laugh or a beautiful sunset just like anyone else. Because we accept that this life is all we have reasonable evidence for, we know that every day is precious. If instead you imagine that you’re en route to heaven, and life on earth is just a brief and insignificant stopover, you may treat life differently."

The Atheist Worldview: Is Life Without God Bleak?

E. O. Wilson: I’m Not An Atheist But Religion Should Be Eliminated

"This transcendent searching has been hijacked by the tribal religions. So I would say that for the sake of human progress, the best thing we could possibly do would be to diminish, to the point of eliminating, religious faiths. But certainly not eliminating the natural yearnings of our species or the asking of these great questions."

Note:  watch the two videos on "Meaning" at the end.

Link

Meaning

One of the first questions many theists asks atheists is, "Then, how do you have meaning in your life if you don't believe in an afterlife?"  Simple: we live for reality as we understand it.  If one has the acceptance that THIS life is it, then one wants to make it as good as possible for him or her self, and all others (from empathy through evolution and socialization).  The problem atheists see in the theist's frame of mind is this:  you are really living for the unevidenced hereafter, not for the present reality.