- In a recent conversation with a fellow journalist, I voiced my exasperation at the endless talk about faith in God as the only consolation for those devastated by the unfathomable murders in Newtown, Conn.
The author doesn't touch on what I find to be the largest blessing of atheism, which is that life has no inherent meaning. I see this as a blessing, because the only meaning we are left with in life is that which we ascribe to it ourselves. That is, for an atheist, life is what you make of it. Also, while I respect her enthusiasm, I'm not sure I agree with her speaking of atheists as a monolithic bunch who should be doing some community outreach. Personally, I don't think there is a unified atheist ethos, and that is why we're relatively invisible in society, despite being so numerous. But that's the catch 22. If we want out voices heard in politics, we have to act like a bloc. But being part of a bloc, with its rules, stated principles, ideologies, and groupthink mentality, is one of the many things to reject about a unified ethos.
This is a very good take. Many people seem to fall short of it & miss the point when they kick and scream about how atheists don't have anything to live for, or how life without God is meaningless, etc... The simple assumption is that without a larger-than-life deity, we're somehow left empty and unfulfilled. But it really is the opposite, in my opinion - the deity is in fact not truly fulfilling; it is a poor substitute for the meaning you can find by actually doing some introspection and figuring out what change you want to affect on the world. And as an added bonus, there is no ambiguity in the reasoning for why you're doing good things - it's fulfilling, and, well, they're good.The author doesn't touch on what I find to be the largest blessing of atheism, which is that life has no inherent meaning. I see this as a blessing, because the only meaning we are left with in life is that which we ascribe to it ourselves. That is, for an atheist, life is what you make of it.
Yes, that's exactly the point. If someone asks me what the meaning of life is, I'll reply that its an awesome movie by Monty Python. Other than that, I don't really give a shit. I can have whatever meaning I want, and I'm never wrong. Its completely liberating.
"only perfect rest". i've never heard that before, it's quite beautiful.
"Only assholes quote themselves." ~Stephen Buckley