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As An Atheist Can Your Life Have Purpose and Meaning?

I was wondering what other people thought about this.

I realize we weren't born with a purpose. No creator or "higher calling".

But as a non believer can your life have meaning and purpose without god?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 16, 2012 at 11:14am

I love zombies! Just kidding.

I don't reproduce myself John.

Educating others would be a purpose of sorts.

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Permalink Reply by JP Carey on November 16, 2012 at 6:50pm

right #1 is just 'A' purpose, and not a very high one at that. The #2, making your own path, is the real gem here, -educating others, turning people away from ignorance would be a great purpose.

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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 16, 2012 at 7:04pm

Thank you very much John for adding to the discussion. Appreciate it!

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Permalink Reply by Glen Rosenberg on November 16, 2012 at 9:32am

TNT666, No offense intended, was only poking fun. Have seen many of your responses on AN and consider you quite bright. Was mostly poking fun at notion of having a purpose.

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Permalink Reply by TNT666 on November 16, 2012 at 9:44am

I had thought the same of you until reading your previous post :P
But pray tell, why do you start a new nest (nested postings) instead of replying to mine directly?

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Permalink Reply by Glen Rosenberg on November 16, 2012 at 10:01am

Technological troglodyte, I am. Only know of one way to proceed. You tree frog devil. I see the beast disguised as a comely tree frog. I fear parley with the demented demon satan. Arggghhhh

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Permalink Reply by TNT666 on November 16, 2012 at 8:09pm

LMAO!

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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 16, 2012 at 5:47pm

Damien thank you so very much for that educational response. I agree that we should not tell other nonbelievers what they should think, believe or feel. There are many types of Atheists. I think we should have more of a united front. It's the religion we should be fighting and not each other.

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Permalink Reply by TNT666 on November 16, 2012 at 8:36pm

But think of this Steph, a majority of atheists here are recent de-converts from religion. I can't tell you how many times, when criticising the society that has begath from 2000 years of religious thinking, I am told "don't throw out the baby with the water", because a great many atheists are still so attached to all the koolaid that they were raised with.

So hell yes, throw the baby out with the bath water and lets start anew. And those atheists who cling to religious values, yep, I will fight that as strongly as faithers, because if the only change in mindset is refuting Gawds, but the rest of the thinking remains similar, then frankly, why bother to fuss about it?

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Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on November 16, 2012 at 9:04pm

Yes, throw out the baby. It has polluted the bathwater and will continue polluting it.

Babies (real ones) stir humane emotions. Only fearful people and charlatans use the baby metaphor.

When I was looking for a path away from Catholicism (55 years ago), I found skepticism and pragmatism helpful.

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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 16, 2012 at 9:14pm

Thank you TNT666 we should start anew. I don't want to cling to any religious values.

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Permalink Reply by TNT666 on November 16, 2012 at 8:31pm

Short and sweet, for all the reasons you stated earlier on, I'm a proud atheist, since birth, who refuses the word atheism. The "ism" is a suffix imposed upon us by moronic faithers who can perceive nothing else than "belonging" to a dogma. Because I was never taught any dogma at home, I resisted all dogmatic ideas that appeared to me through the years. I suppose refuting dogma is easier when you've never known dogma. A vast majority of atheists on these forums have only left god recently, and there's still a whole lot of religious thinking left in their ideas.

So there's not one type, or 10 types, or 100 types, we are individuals, nothing more, nothing less.