Hi Everyone, 

This is my first attempt at a discussion, I am hoping this is a topic others find worthy of discussing.....in my opinion, this is the heart of what it means to be an atheist, and coming to terms with this issue. For theists as well, this is the heart of their delusion.....that this life is not as important as the "next", after their rapture, reincarnation, etc. 


I admitted to myself about a year ago, once and for all, that there is no rationale basis for the existence of a god/gods, and trying and failing countless times to "convince" myself to believe in the Christian god....and even tried my hand at Buddhism briefly-to no avail. My rational, scientific mind would reject it every time. Even a confrontation with my father, who is a retired Pentecostal Christian Pastor, just further pushed me toward atheism....not out of spite, but just seeing a prime example of someone who has given their life, their mind, over to the delusion that the Christian god offers. 


Since embracing atheism, I have found myself thinking frequently about the finality of this life, that I am truly "mortal". And that whenever the few decades I have left on this planet are over, that will be it. I have found my initial response to this fact to be at times anger....particularly as it pertains to my inability to be there for my 2 children, ages 3 and 13 months, once I pass away from this life. Were I a theist, I could comfort myself with the thought that I would see them again in "heaven" and be with them eternally. 


I am curious what atheists, particularly those that have come from a theistic background, have done, or are doing, to address this hole that seems to emerge when a deity is taken out of the equation. Perhaps I am even generalizing too much, and there are those that do not share this feeling. 


All comments welcome! 

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It is a challenging topic, isn't it? Anyway, thank you very much for the nice comment!

Yes, it saddens me to think that when death separates me from someone I love, I may not ever see them again. I think if I were dying, or if someone I loved were dying, this would trouble me greatly.


But..... many things in life trouble me greatly. Just because something troubles me, I can't just pretend or try to convince myself it is not so. I beleive when you start closing parts of your mind off to knowledge, you stop growing, and in a way, stop living also.

Good points. Yes-I do not want to STOP thinking about this subject. It is a point of distress, but at the same time one of strength, strength to go on living, to teach my children HOW to think for themselves, not what to think. To pass on my knowledge and life philosophy to them. Thanks for the comment.

Atheism only implies one thing - rejection of theism- after that, it's all up to you.


Forunately, my career is based on science and evidence - and there is more scientific injuiry and evidence out there to fill any "hole" potentially created by leaving religion and a belief in a god.   


With respect to death, I see death as nothing more than a transition to the state I was in before I was born.


This post also brings to mind Penn Jillette's piece, "There Is No God" (Portable Atheist):









Thanks for the comments! Good quote to put things in perspective.
If you transition back to the state "you" were in before you were born, then what is to preclude that "you" might experience being born again (no, not in the Christian sense) eventually? If you were nothing before, and then you were, then why couldn't that happen again?
I have often wondered what, given eternity, is the chance I/we would exist again? I believe one could argue 100%.

First I have to say, isn't it odd that those who believe the whole God/heaven thing are the ones afraid of death?  Damn! If I believed there was a cool place to go, I'd jump off a bridge in a heartbeat!   I guess I'm more of a pantheist than an atheist.  We are made up of energy; part of an energetically connected universe.  Our physical bodies turn to compost (unless your pickled and put in an airtight metal box -- how freakin' bizarre!) but our energy?essence just goes elsewhere (other entities, including trees).  Reincarnation part of that.


Thanks Karin. Good points. I have often thought of my energy, raw materials being recycled by the earth/universe, to be reborn in other things, or as energy. What I refer to is loss of consciousness, despite the continuation of the matter and energy I am comprised of in my physical body.
When we were young, so many years ago, once a year we would go to the local carnival. It was a most enjoyable experience, all the new sights and sounds. Of course it went by so fast, and at the end of the day there was a longing to go back and ride the rides and get sick on cotton candy. It didn't take us long to realize even as stupid kids that we were on borrowed time as my parents were not going to stay too long, so when the next year came we were sure to ride every ride there was eat everything possible and enjoy it to the fullest. Still on borrowed time I understand how precious time is and living life to it's fullest while hopefully encouraging others to do the same. Years later, old but still stupid I took my children to the carnival and rode one of the rides with them, damn near killed me!

I read a post by someone who I believe puts mortality without belief in a deity quite poetically. Morbid as it may sound, it is something I want to have read at my funeral one day. The last paragraph is very meaningful to me and I think it shows that there is just as much (if not more) poetry in viewing death from a scientific point of view rather than a theist one.

The paragraph is as follows:

Compared to the great vastness of the cosmos, the ocean of deep time, my individual existence is a blip, a bubble in the foam on the surface of a flowing river. I am a momentary arrangement of atoms and molecules - an arrangement that lives and moves, to be sure, an arrangement that thinks, laughs, appreciates beauty, dreams, and loves - but a mere arrangement nonetheless, a transient state, an ephemeral gathering. Soon the blip will go out, the bubble will pop, the arrangement will dissolve, molecular bonds released by entropy. My consciousness will cease. But the molecules that once were me will still exist. The atoms that made up my body - iron, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, all the heavy elements forged in the crucibles of dying stars - will remain. Liberated from their temporary home, they will rejoin the rest of the planet, taking new shapes, finding new arrangements, becoming part of other life. I will become merged with everything.


And the cycle will begin again.

If you are interested in reading the full piece, it can be found at: http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/stardust.html

Love it. Thanks for contributing.


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