fellis: While you may really be the type of guy that is charitable and giving regardless of the fact that you are not looking forward to the rewards in the after-life the fact is that there are a lot of people, A LOT, who are only interested in their own welfare and how to further themselves in life, whether the means of doing so is honest,considerate or humane.( You see the things going on in this world so you should know this.)
These people, the only reason why they refrain from going on an all out rampage to destroy others in their bid move ahead in life is because they are afraid of what will meet them in the after-life or essentially because they are theists.
I have heard people say, “If I was not a Muslim/Christian I would____” and then proceed to recite all the abominable and atrocious acts they would carry out. Personally, I refrain from indulging in a lot of evil acts largely because I am theist.
(I have planned a heist in my imagination that could keep me filthy rich for decades, so many times. Ha ha ha )
Anyway, summary of my long story is that your explanation of why you exist as an atheist is unique to only you and a majority of people’s reasons for existence will vary from what you described (in a bad way) if they become atheists.
So stop generalizing with byour topic/heading (do atheists have hope, what is their purpose in life? what keeps atheists alive ?)

Lastly,youy don't know billgates or warren buffet personally and so you cannot conclude that their giving charity meant they are good people and that they had no ulterior motives for doing so.

logicboy01:


Thanks for your perspective. My story is not totally unique. Most atheists will tell you that there is no absolute purpose in life and that we have the choice to do good or bad before we die. I choose to do good deeds just like many other good atheists

fellis:

How nice.Please try to stick to being good, no matter how tempting it might be to be otherwise.
Again, logicboy please stop trying to turn theists on Nairaland to atheists with your arguments.
I honestly belive this world will be a terrible place to live in if more people were atheists. No offence intended.

Kay 17: Fellis is absolutely right, some peeps are held back by religion from going on a wild rampage. Freethinking is more helpful to less bestial ppl

Kay 17: The only flaw in religion is the sheep-like obedience and unquestioning nature of the followers. It could be helpful, but dangerous.

fellis:

How nice.Please try to stick to being good, no matter how tempting it might be to be otherwise.
Again, logicboy please stop trying to turn theists on Nairaland to atheists with your arguments.
I honestly belive this world will be a terrible place to live in if more people were atheists. No offence intended.

sauer:
It's quite deprecating to consider other people not as sane as you are. There is absolutely no evidence that "the world will be a terrible place to live in if more people were atheists". Apparently, you haven't exactly considered this statement before making it. The world's sanest places have always been the places that are less religious in the overall.
Personally, I believe the world will be a better place if we did away with all gods. However, this will probably not happen. Rather gods will evolve and will forever exist in one form or the other, so long as we humans continue to have an intangible side to us that yearns for worship.

sauer:
It's quite deprecating to consider other people not as sane as you are

logicboy01:



What evidence do you have supporting that?


I have evidence against your claim; The most peaceful countries are secular and all have a significant amount of atheists.

http://epiphenom.fieldofscience.com/2009/06/atheist-nations-are-more-peaceful.html

fellis:
I think this survey is biased.
It does not include countries that are atheist band still violent e.g. countries in the USSR and North Korea. Why? Another reason why I believe it is biased is cos NZ, which showed up as the most peaceful country is not a secular country. It is a Christian country.
Assuming the survey is correct, those countries at the top might be peaceful because the government has strict laws regarding breaking laws and general 'bad behaviour'.
Secondly, the reason why those peaceful countries are peaceful might be because they enjoy a good standard of living and don’t face the stress and frustration that come with living a hard life so they are calm.
Another thing tI consider is that my conversations and interaction with people has shown me that people are far more likely to do good than evil if they have no punishment to fear.

The International Social Survey Programme was conducted in New Zealand by Massey University in 2008. It received mail-responses from around one thousand New Zealanders above the age of 18, surveying issues of religious belief and practice. The results of this survey indicated that 72% of the population believe in God or a higher power, 15% are agnostic, and 13% are atheist (with a 3% margin of error).[8]

logicboy01:


The standard of living is also correlated with atheism/secularism. The human development index shows this;
http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=pzuckerman_26_5

logicboy01:
New Zealand has a significant percentage of atheists;



New Zealand is listed as a secular state.

logicboy01:

USSR was communist.
North Korea communist.
Communism is a state religion

fellis:

How nice.Please try to stick to being good, no matter how tempting it might be to be otherwise.
Again, logicboy please stop trying to turn theists on Nairaland to atheists with your arguments.
I honestly belive this world will be a terrible place to live in if more people were atheists. No offence intended.

fellis:

First of all, you are referencing a secular humanism site that is likely to be biased towards secularim when writing their articles, secondly if their survey is correct, maybe the regions with higher standards of living are mostly atheist because if times are hard, people tend to turn to religion for solace, so the regions with lower standards of living are partly theist cos they have low standard of living and need a God to turn to. Just suggesting a cause.

Ptolomeus:
I do not bother the atheists.
The only ones I bother to me, are the religious fanatics.
A world full of religious fanatics would be impossible to tolerate.
I clarify that I am not an atheist.
No offence

Ptolomeus:
I do not bother the atheists.
The only ones I bother to me, are the religious fanatics.
A world full of religious fanatics would be impossible to tolerate.
I clarify that I am not an atheist.
No offence

logicboy01:

I see the problem. Please have a look at the Human development index and the peace index, so that you understand what they are;


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Peace_Index
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index

logicboy01:

read up on communism as a state religion.

fellis:
I read through your sites and didn't see anything that voids the suggestion I made. Can you point it out to me if you don't mind?


I have seen communism being reffered to as a 'state religion' in write-ups. I always took it to be metaphorical because there are some aspects or characteristics that Religions have which communism lacks. I and a number of people don't take communism as a religion, regardless of what similarities I see in those write-ups. You may take it as a religion if you wish. You are entitled to your opinion.

logicboy01:

What does religion have that communism doesnt? A set of beliefs? Deities? Doctrines?

Nope. The point remains the same atheism/secularism is a major factor for peace and development in countries. The most peacefeful countries are all secular.

fellis:
Ya.

fellis: Logicboy were you banned again or why are you browsing with 'Atheist :-D' ?

logicboy01:


My position/claims are backed with fact. Not just an opinion but facts. Peace index, human development index, statistics etc


You make claims based with no evidence. Just opinions.

fellis:
Your statistics are not evidence. Even if they are true, it does not prove that the peace or whatever the country was shown to enjoy in the statistic was as a direct consequence of the citizens being atheist.

fellis:
Your statistics are not evidence. Even if they are true, it does not prove that the peace or whatever the country was shown to enjoy in the statistic was as a direct consequence of the citizens being atheist.

fellis:
Your statistics are not evidence. Even if they are true, it does not prove that the peace or whatever the country was shown to enjoy in the statistic was as a direct consequence of the citizens being atheist.