Ask An Atheist

[Theophage]

(waquinas;60481)
why do you exist?
Howdy waquinas,Of course, the glib answer is that I exist because my parents had sex.

For a deeper answer, I'd have to understand your question a little better. Do you mean why do human beings exist? Do you mean why does life itself exist? Do you mean why does anything exist as opposed to nothing at all? Or do you mean what is my purpose?I believe that things exist as opposed to there being nothing, simply because "nothingness" cannot exist; there never was a point in time when there was nothing. I am simply one of those things that exist.But if your question is more about purpose, then I would have to say that I don't believe that there is any overarching purpose. Cause and effect, physics and chemistry, biology and sexual reproduction forced me to exist; I didn't have any choice in those matters. The only thing I do have a choice about is what I do after that.Atheism itself cannot give any answers to one's purpose. Atheism is simply lack of belief in a God. If God does not exist, it does not necessarily mean that there is no overarching purpose, but it does necessarily mean that such a purpose must come from somewhere else if it is there.I haven't seen any overarching purpose for anyone's life, but what I have seen is that some people do contribute to making life better, and some people do contribute to making life worse and, of course, some people do a little of both or a lot of neither. I think we all get to pick which one (or neither) that we want to do in our lives. We make that our own purpose.

 

[waquinas]

(Theophage;60496)
Howdy waquinas,Of course the glib answer is that I exist because my parents had sex.

For a deeper answer, I'd have to understand your question a little better. Do you mean why do human beings exist? Do you mean why does life itself exist? Do you mean why does anything exist as opposed to nothing at all? Or do you mean what is my purpose?I believe that things exist as opposed to there being nothing, simply because "nothingness" cannot exist; there never was a point in time when there was nothing. I am simply one of those things that exist.But if your question is more about purpose, then I would have to say that I don't believe that there is any overarching purpose. Cause and effect, physics and chemistry, biology and sexual reproduction forced me to exist; I didn't have any choice in those matters. The only thing I do have a choice about is what I do after that.Atheism itself cannot give any answers to one's purpose. Atheism is simply lack of belief in a God. If God does not exist, it does not necessarily mean that there is no overarching purpose, but it does necessarily mean that such a purpose must come from somewhere else if it is there.I haven't seen any overarching purpose for anyone's life, but what I have seen is that some people do contribute to making life better, and some people do contribute to making life worse and, of course, some people do a little of both or a lot of neither. I think we all get to pick which one (or neither) that we want to do in our lives. We make that our own purpose.
Guess I was looking more philosophical. Is it good that you exist?

 

[Theophage]

Thank you for clarifying, waquinas.Is it good that I exist? It's good for me, I suppose, though if I didn't exist it wouldn't particularly be bad for me. I didn't exist for milennia before I was born, and I don't remember minding very much.I simply don't think that "good" is something that can be applied to my existence. Kind of like asking if red is "good" or not.Now as for my wife, she will tell you that my existence is good, because I make her happy. But if I didn't exist, I cannot be sure that she wouldn't have been happy with someone else. So I guess I really don't know.I hope that helped.

 

[waquinas]

I think it is good that you exist and I do not even know you. And I would hope everyone could look at themselves, not consider what others may think or feel, and be able to say that it is good that I exist. Further that is better that one exists than not. Assuming you truly do not know, would you fight for your survival, your continued existence?

 

[Theophage]

Okay, on that yes, I would agree that it is good that you and I and others exist.I was looking at it from a "as opposed to how things were when we didn't exist" angle, rather than a "should we continue to exist" angle. That I why I'd said that it is indeed good to me that I exist. I find it quite handy when I want to do things.

Yes I certainly would fight for my survival, and those of my loved ones too. I was also in the US Army, meaning that I was there to fight for the continued survival of my countrymen, and their continued freedom to enjoy their lives the way they choose.I don't believe anyone's life is worthless, but I do believe that some people choose to do worthless and even harmful things with their life. I am not a supporter of the death penalty (mostly because I don't think the justice system is mistake-free enough to be responsible for life and death), but I understand that absent a better way to change or protect ourselves from some people's totally harmful behaviors, that their death is sometimes the best available choice.

 

[SoldierforChrist]

What do you believe will happen to you once you die?

 

[waquinas]

I guess am curious why you think it better that you or I or any of us exist, as opposed ot not existing. At first you said you were not sure. Why is it better that things are this way and not some other?

 

[Theophage]

(SoldierforChrist;60514)
What do you believe will happen to you once you die?
Howdy Soldier for Christ. At last! A simple question!I don't believe that I existed before I was born, and I don't believe I will exist after I die. Once the brain turns to mush, that's it.It should be noted that this isn't necessary to believe because of atheism. Some atheists believe in the soul or spirit, and some believe in reincarnation.I simply don't.

 

[Theophage]

(waquinas;60525)
I guess am curious why you think it better that you or I or any of us exist, as opposed ot not existing. At first you said you were not sure. Why is it better that things are this way and not some other?
Well, again, I'm really not getting what you mean by "better" or how to judge it in such a sense.If I'm already alive, then yes, I find it better to be alive. Being alive I have hopes, dreams, desires, friends, family, and interests. I really don't want to give any of these up, even though I know it will be inevitable that I will.I have three children and a wife, and I am very glad that they are alive, but it's not like I'm sad or missing 10 other children that I don't have. And I don't think it would be better to have 10 more children!

Ulitmately, I guess I simply don't get what you mean. I'm sorry!

 

[tomwebster]

Why are we wasting so much time on this trash? It's throwing pearl.

 

[Theophage]

If no one else posts questions, then this thread will disappear off the page, like all old threads do. If you find this thread to be against the purpose of these forums, then you have administrative reasons to remove it.I have no problem with it either way. I just figured people would be interested.

 

[jeffhughes]

(tomwebster;60540)
Why are we wasting so much time on this trash? It's throwing pearl.
It's called learning. It's generally considered useful.Theophage, here's one for you: What explanation(s) would you give for the miraculous things that happen in this world?

 

[Theophage]

Well, that really depends on the individual miracle. Some are intentional fakes (oil crying statues come to mind). Some are rare but natural occurrences (cancers go into remission at the same rate for atheists and non-Christians as they do for Christians). And some simply aren't miraculous at all, but are mistaken for miracles for various reasons (post hoc ergo propter hoc type stuff). It would be impossible for me to address them all.What I think is more significant is that miraculous things happen to people of many different beliefs and religions all over the world, and they are usually always attributed to those beliefs. A Muslim receiving a miracle attributes it to faith in Allah, A Hindu receiving a miracle may attribute it to Ganesha or Sai Baba, A Christian receiving a miracle may attribute it to Jesus, and a Voodoo practitioner receiving a miracle may attribute it to Baron Samedi.It would be one thing if only protestant Christians of a certain group received miracles. If that could be shown statistically I think that would be excellent evidence that they were the only ones believing the right things to receive miracles. But every group everywhere receives them. No group has the monopoly or even the majority of miracle claims.They cannot all be correct in what they attribute them to, and if any one group can be wrong in their attributing of the source of the miracle, then all groups can. That's how I look at it.

 

[waquinas]

(Theophage;60532)
Well, again, I'm really not getting what you mean by "better" or how to judge it in such a sense.If I'm already alive, then yes, I find it better to be alive. Being alive I have hopes, dreams, desires, friends, family, and interests. I really don't want to give any of these up, even though I know it will be inevitable that I will.I have three children and a wife, and I am very glad that they are alive, but it's not like I'm sad or missing 10 other children that I don't have. And I don't think it would be better to have 10 more children!

Ulitmately, I guess I simply don't get what you mean. I'm sorry!
Am not talking about feelings or desires. Probably we all feel glad to be alive at times, and at others times just tired of the daily struggle. We are all happy at times that we have families, children and they in return are happy to have us around. Most of desire to better ourselves and the lives of our offspring. Those are feelings, desires. Am asking for the reasoning behind asking yourself is it really better that I exist. Why?I guess if I could not answer why it would be better for me to exist than not exist, I would wonder why I have hope. If I did not really matter as far as existing or not (neither good or bad that I exist), then on what is my hope based. If I say it is good, how did I arrive at that conclusion? Again not feelings or desires - logic. And it goes beyond myself. I could take it to a univeral level, is it better that universe is this way than some other, or that it exists at all? On what would I base my hope based on if I can see no reason to say it is good that I exist at all (or the universe exists at all) as a starting point for that hope.

 

[Follower]

(Lunar;60410)
So first off, Pascal's Wager does not rule out any potential religion.
It's like this: Someone brings up Pascal's Wager. You explain why you think the Wager is meaningless. I tell you why your argument is wrong. You repeat your original argument without responding to the reasons I told that your argument is wrong.An unknown religion or god, if true, cannot be complied with, so it belongs in the Atheist column. It belongs on the no-win side of the wager.A god that doesn't reward or punish belongs in the Atheist column. There's no benefit if picking this god over no god. Gods conceived of, or potentially conceived of, are false. They belong in the Atheist column. God exists independently of our conception so any true religion is necessarily a revealed religion. You know nothing about the odds of God choosing to reveal himself through religion.Even if my assessment of Christianity vs. God is wrong, I still always come out equal or better than an Atheist. Equal if I'm wrong and better if I'm right. That's the point of Pascal's Wager. Your argument against Pascal's Wager is the assumption that Christianity has zero chance of being right. It's an assumption because your argument to diminish the odds of Christianity to zero is severely flawed (see above for some of the reasons).
When my teacher put 2 beans in front of me and then another 2 beans and then asked how many there were, the reason that I answered "4" was not because I wanted a gold star or a good grade. It was because it was binding upon my reason that it had to be 4.
Fine, then search the whole universe and all that is outside of the universe and when you see that there is no God than you can say with equal reason as counting two plus two beans gives you four that there is no God.

 

[Theophage]

(waquinas;60549)
Am not talking about feelings or desires. Probably we all feel glad to be alive at times, and at others times just tired of the daily struggle. We are all happy at times that we have families, children and they in return are happy to have us around. Most of desire to better ourselves and the lives of our offspring. Those are feelings, desires. Am asking for the reasoning behind asking yourself is it really better that I exist. Why?
As I'd said, I don't really think that "better" is applicable here. It's like asking if it is better that red exists or not. Not all possible questions are meaningful ones.
I guess if I could not answer why it would be better for me to exist than not exist, I would wonder why I have hope. If I did not really matter as far as existing or not (neither good or bad that I exist), then on what is my hope based. If I say it is good, how did I arrive at that conclusion? Again not feelings or desires - logic.
I think it is true that you and I simply have different hopes. Whereas you place your hope in eternal life, my hopes revolve around more mundane and temporal things. I base these hopes on my feelings and desires, and to me that is enough.
And it goes beyond myself. I could take it to a univeral level, is it better that universe is this way than some other, or that it exists at all? On what would I base my hope based on if I can see no reason to say it is good that I exist at all (or the universe exists at all) as a starting point for that hope.
I would answer this is a similar way: What does it mean for it to be better? I think that being better is only meaningful relative to the idea of some overarching purpose. For example, to achieve God's purpose (whatever that is), then yes, it is most certainly better that the universe exists than that it doesn't exist.But if there is no one universal overarching purpose, then what is better can only be in reference to smaller individual purposes. And then we're back into the realm of feelings and desires.I guess your question really only has meaning in your worldview, not in mine.

 

[jeffhughes]

(waquinas;60549)
Am not talking about feelings or desires. Probably we all feel glad to be alive at times, and at others times just tired of the daily struggle. We are all happy at times that we have families, children and they in return are happy to have us around. Most of desire to better ourselves and the lives of our offspring. Those are feelings, desires. Am asking for the reasoning behind asking yourself is it really better that I exist. Why?I guess if I could not answer why it would be better for me to exist than not exist, I would wonder why I have hope. If I did not really matter as far as existing or not (neither good or bad that I exist), then on what is my hope based. If I say it is good, how did I arrive at that conclusion? Again not feelings or desires - logic. And it goes beyond myself. I could take it to a univeral level, is it better that universe is this way than some other, or that it exists at all? On what would I base my hope based on if I can see no reason to say it is good that I exist at all (or the universe exists at all) as a starting point for that hope.
To add a bit to Theophage's answer, I would say that it is not that we live or exist that is good or bad, but how we live or exist. I would have a difficult time saying that it is "better" that Hitler existed, but I would have no difficulty saying that it was "better" that someone like Mother Teresa, or any other person who has made the world a better place, existed. For those who contribute to the well-being of others, I think that we can say it was better that they existed. Of course, since all this must be done in hindsight, it may not make much of a difference, but I think it is intuitively how most humans perceive life, at least at a basic level.

 

[waquinas]

Theophage,Such questions have meaning in many worldviews, not just mine (Christian). And I would suggest that for most of us the answer to which color is better or similar questions have far less significance/importance than to whether or not I think it is better that you exist. Are you suggesting that for the atheist, existence is no more relevant or important than favorite color?Are you saying those questions have no meaning in the atheist worldview? If so, I guess that is what I thought. Your hopes are based on temporal things, yet you realize those things are limited in time. So how do you balance having your hopes with the knowledge those hopes are based on with limit (temporal limit).

 

[Christina]

Jeff I notice on your profile you claim to be a Christian you either were not being truthful or you have christianity confused with atheism.

 

[Jordan]

(Christina;60557)
Jeff I notice on your profile you claim to be a Christian you either were not being truthful or you have christianity confused with atheism.
All I know is he said he is a fairly new ex-Christian.