QFT. Look at the people that you avoid when you are out. When I look at them I think "You have not been bought up right"
If there is a god, then believers are set and non-believers ("infidels") are screwed, but if there isn't a god then it does not matter. Therefore it's best to believe. I remember hearing this (or some version of it!) as a quote, but i can't remember who I thought Atheists and Agnostics were different, as Atheists believe there is NO god, but agnostics do not believe either way?
Atheists are a definite NO to the existence of a divine being or creator. Agnostics are basically glorified fencesitters with a point. They hold that religious teaching has merit, but that its fruitless to use religion to define the existence of a god, since it can't be proven either way its best to learn the good and bad points of each religion and assimilate them into your personal reasoning for being a good human being.
Agnostics think there's no evidence to prove the existence of gods, so are neutral; it's sound scientific logic. Come up with some evidence and it will be tested. You can't be a fanatical agnostic, we're open-minded about the god question.
On the atheistic topic, I really don't know what drives me. I've left my family, most of my freinds, striped down to the basics you could say. Not much to go for after that eh guess its that I dont want to die heh.
Get out. Spend time with friends. When I'm stuck in the house for long periods of time (like I am now) I get moody, it totally sucks. I find that if you make something it feels better, right now I'm concentrating on some coursework for school (the practical side, at least) and it makes the days go a lot faster. In the religious side of things, I personally find a great deal of comfort in knowing the truth about something, whatever it is. It doesn't make me grim, it makes me happy.
I suggest you try learning something new, maybe with your kids, or just put a day a week aside to hang with them. Go on a walk, picnic, bike ride, whatever, just enjoy some quality time with your kids.
I second the idea of getting a nice camera (if you don't have one) and going out and just taking pictures of stuff (at night if the day is too hot). I did this recently during an interesting weekend (long story) and it was amazing what you can find looking into that view finder, each picture was its own little world. Another thing i've found that makes the world more tolerable for me (non religious) is just searching for beauty. This ties in with the camera thing too. You can really find beauty in almost everything and the search to find it can be almost as fulfilling. One last thing, appreciate what you have. Sometimes just taking a step back and seeing everything from an outsider's perspective can help you realize that you're doing pretty damn good.
This too, as its much more accessible than learning an instrument. It can be frustrating, trust me, I'm a guitar player.
Yeah, you think it'll be relaxing... Until you spend 3 hours trying to nail that riff in Crazy Train. You know the one. The cheeky *******...
Can I recommend volunteering? I've been a volunteer firefighter for the past 5 years, and I'm on the board of the Railway museum, plus a few other things. I find it to be a wonderful thing to be able to work at somthing you love without having to worry about punching the clock, tracking your hours, blah blah, etc. Look for somthing you can do where you can help people, say at a soup kitchen or an organization that works with seniors. Nexxo's idea about visiting a cancer ward is not a bad one, but it's better when you can leave it a little better place.
What kind of religion or lack of religion is it where, you just don't really care. You lead a perfectly fine life and are happy. You don't really care what other people's views are and you don't care to share with them, what your's are.
Hardly. I don't believe that God, who is supposed to love everyone, would send someone to an eternity in hell for having made some mistakes and not owning up to it. I live by the golden rule, and whether I've got but one life to live or will start over anew when my time comes, I want to make sure that the time I know I have is as pleasant as possible and to avoid causing unpleasantness to others. I don't need the threat of eternal damnation to stop me from being an ass, and don't know why I'd have a meaning in afterlife if I don't know my meaning in currentlife either. Anyways - I've had bouts of feeling like that before. I've started doing some new things to combat the feeling, like photography. Not only is it something that I very much enjoy, it's something that's mentally stimulating and (as I've painfully learned) expensive enough to give me a reason to work, which in itself is motivation to pursue some of my other interests.
I hate seeing this argument dragged out. You're exactly right; because of these criteria, it's absolutely better to believe. Unfortunately, belief isn't a conscious decision. You can't actually force yourself to believe something, you can only act as though you have. As an example, if I were to make cookies and then go to work, and the cookies were all gone upon my return from work, I would ask my roommate if he had eaten them. If he were to claim he had not eaten the cookies, I would probably not believe him. In the absence of other evidence, I might accept his claim of innocence, effectively acting as though I believed him. However, I still wouldn't actually believe him - if I don't believe him and no further evidence is offered, that's the end of it. I don't believe him, and no matter whether I act on that notion, it is still the case. It's the same deal with religion. If I don't believe in a deity, I can't suddenly make a choice to do so. I can claim to, and I can attend church every week, and I can convince everyone around me that I believe. Unfortunately, without more evidence I can't actually convince myself, and I doubt if I'm going to get into heaven by pretending.
As long as you are alive, you have something to live for. If you don't see it right away, look for it. I find this to be true in both a religious point of view and a non-religious point of view - either the service to God or the service to the survival of your species (which would be humans, unless you are the first chimp to ever use the internet ). You have a family. The kids may be growing up, everything may become more and more routine, but that does not disavow you of your responsibilty as a father and husband. Your legacy is right in front of you, in your children - they are literally your blood, your genes... Maybe you feel like you have nothing more to do, but you sure as hell do - no matter what age they are, kids always need their parents... if not for money when they're 17, it'll be advice or just someone to talk to. Your role as a parent continues until you, well, "expire". Ultimately, all human life is useless. When we finally cease to exist, all of us, we shall not be missed. But that does not mean that we should not try to enjoy life (as it is all we know), to learn new things, and most importantly to pass on those skills, that wisdom and knowledge you gained over the years. Your children and your entire family will always need you - whether you feel bored or not, someone quite close to you will be thinking about you; again, whether it's thinking about asking you something (advice etc), reminiscing, anything. You've already left your mark on several people's lives, and now it appears to be time to continue to do so. Because even when you sit around all day and do nothing, let's say you even live off state welfare - certain people will still depend on you for certain things. We're all part of a (IMHO absolutely ridiculous and stupid, but hey, what do I know ) society, in which we are all proverbial little pieces of a huge machine. One piece breaks down, and an entire fraction of the big machine breaks down. Though it can be fixed, that fraction of the machine will never be the same again. I know I'm rambling, but (rather unsurprisingly) I'm fairly drunk, and I'm not even sure myself what I am trying to say. I'm one of those idiots that turn to hate as a "solution", so what do I know - I dismiss everything as uninteresting until I am forced to face it and form an actual opinion of it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's always new things out there, big things to see (not literally), etc. If all else fails, you could always enroll into a part-time or so university programme, so you can learn more and gain even more knowledge. You'll always find something that interests you. And of course, never lose hope. You've got a family,children... people who undoubtedly love you and respect you, no matter how they might act or what they might say... at the end of the day, you're their dad/uncle/brother/..., and you are part of their lives. And no matter how you look at it, that's a ****ing important thing. And of course, get down those stairs and get working on those projects
