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There is no sorrow or pain because of my atheism

“More theological criticism of atheists: we’re not despairing enough”

http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/more-theological...

Some say, “New Atheists don’t follow their beliefs to the logical conclusion—the despair and nihilism that emerges when we realize that there is no God, no afterlife, and no supernatural basis for morality. When we see that ... we lose all hope.”

Belief and faith in delusions are parts of the problems with religion. In the limited time we have life, we find meaning, joy and fulfillment in family, neighbors, and friends who enrich our lives with beauty and love. Pleasures abound in books, music, food, drink, and pets. Standing with and speaking out for weak, helpless, hopeless, dominated people and against the institutions that manipulate and exploit others keeps atheists focused.

I am delighted to be happy about these things and not rely on a sky-father who may or may not be there. There is no sorrow or pain because of my atheism; sorrow and pain come from ignorance, hunger, thirst, homelessness, loneliness, disease, injuries, infections, wars and those who would proselytize their religion.

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Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on May 2, 2012 at 2:52pm

The believers expect us to react the way THEY would if their god was all of the sudden absent to them (which it is - don't tell 'em!). They haven't reasoned out WHY we don't believe in god. They haven't been through that process, so the conclusion makes no sense to them. We have, and mostly, dealing with issues such as purpose and lack of afterlife are doable once the woo of religion is disposed with. Sometimes that's not trivial, but removing the aftereffects of indoctrination rarely is.

The thing is, atheism is a CONCLUSION, a rational deduction, made by a person, usually as a result of their honest examination of the facts regarding religion. Generally but not exclusively, until you've been through that process, no, the conclusion doesn't make sense and cannot stand on its own.

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Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on May 2, 2012 at 3:15pm

Loren, yes! I agree! It is easy not to raise a fuss about these ignorant comments, unless and until they continue to bugger us. Interesting how all their damnation directed toward us has awakened sleeping giants. Paradigm shifts always come out of unresolved problems caused by the status quo. Galileo, Copernicus, Darwin and many others experienced it, so why should we expect an easy time? Well, the good news is, we are up to it.