# I hate being an atheist **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 8, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727 "2009-05-08T05:38:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/61 "2009-05-08T15:33:28Z")
[http://www.mega.nu:8080/atheist\_quotes\_1.html](http://www.mega.nu:8080/atheist_quotes_1.html) Here’s what our forefathers thought. Dispensing with religion gives you your freedom. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/62 "2009-05-08T15:35:15Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Nothing noble about it. Bunch of wiggly molecules produce other wiggly molecules, you are one of the latest carriers of the same and by no means the most efficient. Labelling it as “noble” is just a childish attempt to keep away the scary darkness by slapping an anthropomorphism onto a purposeless random process. Now _that_’s a sad and contemptible prostration for a self-proclaimed rationalist to engage in. :dubious: Ah, but I _know_ I’m using “noble” metaphorically. I don’t need the crutch of believing it in any literal way. At the very least, the evolutionary process as it relates to to development of knowledge (i.e. useful ideas aid in survival and increase, while useless ideas gradually fall away) is more appealing to me than any metaphorical fruit of the tree of knowledge and divine punishments for daring to step into the realm of things “man was not meant to know.” Fuck _that_ noise twice, with a jackhammer. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/63 "2009-05-08T15:49:46Z")
I’d agree with a lot that’s already been said. For me, being an atheist is a blast. I get to look beyond the concept of a god for the scientific explanation. I don’t have to waste time with wondering what my friends believe or don’t believe before I trust them, and in fact, most of my friends are theists, from all different creeds and walks of life. I have more diverse friendships as an atheist that I ever would have had as a churchgoer. We don’t cross lines, and we just chill. Point of fact, the perspective of an atheist gives me a whole new attitude towards theology. I’m actually much more interested in Christianity, Islam, and even Buddhism, now that the whole question of personal belief is dead and gone. Especially Islam. While I’m leery of its more fervent believers, I’ve seen enough to know that the vast majority of Muslims are just fine. It really is a fascinating religion once you start learning about it, and it is a religion I never would have even _begun_ studying as a Catholic. I have trouble believing it myself, sometimes, but there you are. As far as an afterlife, well yeah, I agree with you that the idea of The Big Empty is a heavy thought, and when I became an atheist, I had to spend a little time getting my head around it, especially as I was in the military at the time, but once I did, I was fine. Make this life count. Is there something you want to do in life? Better start on it soon. And anyway, I have a problem with an afterlife in which I would be judged by a supposedly all-powerful being that let over six million of his various faithful perish in the camps 65 years ago. Believers have all sorts of explanations from the mysterious (It is not for us to know the will of God.) to the disgusting (The Jews had it coming for rejecting Christ.), but I’m with Sidney Hook who called the Holocaust _the_ 20th century argument against the existence of God. As bad as eternal oblivion is–and I agree that it’s kind of going to suck–it beats the alternative. Take that for what it’s worth. You just have to face your convictions and deal with the consequences. That’s the way to be consistent and intellectually honest. I hope it helps. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/64 "2009-05-08T16:19:43Z")
> [@Carmady](#): > > Yes, your existence is not completely erased right after you die. If that is your point, fine. But what I fail to understand is what real difference it makes that you extend your short life by another short time of memory after you die. You are just delaying the question. > > Your existence, as well as the existence of humans at all, will be utterly erased. Wiped out. Your memory will be gone long before that. As I said in my post, it’s important the impact I have on people _now_, and the impact I’ll continue to have on them after I die _however long or short that may last_. Sure, it’ll all go phut someday. (Or maybe not; I don’t think this question is settled yet.) But who cares? It truly happened and was experienced, _now._ Other people and their experience are important and matter, however long they may last. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/65 "2009-05-08T16:25:49Z")
> [@Casserole](#): > > (In other news, I just realized that “deity” violates the “i before e except after c” rule…) No, it doesn’t. The full rule is “I before E except after C, or when sounded like A as in neighbor and weigh.” Deity has an A sound, so the E comes first. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/66 "2009-05-08T16:41:07Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > No, it doesn’t. The full rule is “I before E except after C, or when sounded like A as in neighbor and weigh.” Deity has an A sound, so the E comes first. Not necessarily. Though I just found out through Merriam-Webster that day-uh-tee is an acceptable pronunciation, in my 48 years, I have never pronounced it, nor heard it pronounced, as anything but dee-uh-tee. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/67 "2009-05-08T16:57:08Z")
> [@Casserole](#): > > (In other news, I just realized that “deity” violates the “i before e except after c” rule…) Meh, what can you do? We live in a weird society. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/68 "2009-05-08T17:01:18Z")
I like not having to think about living forever. Eternity is a big responsibility. I can barely handle a weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/69 "2009-05-08T17:12:40Z")
> [@Victory\_Candescence](#): > > Am I the only atheist who feels this way? > I’ve been an atheist for about 8 years, and I hate it. Maybe people who’ve been atheists their whole lives have nothing to compare it to, but I was happier then. > > I’ve tried to force myself to believe in God, but I just can’t because there’s just no evidence. Sometimes if I try real hard I can sort of trick myself for a few days, but it just doesn’t work in the long-run. I wish God would come to me and give me irrefutable proof of Its existence. > > Atheism is such a bleak worldview. I’m still horrified that: > > [ul] > [li]There is no one looking out for me and no one who gives a shit. I’ve lost that warm feeling of comfort that I had as I child when I fell asleep each night thinking that God was looking out for me and always would.[/li][li]I’m going to die, and then there will be nothing. What’s the point of doing anything if it’s all going to be erased?[/li][li]Bad things don’t happen for a “reason”. It’s just random.[/li][li]My dead relatives _are dead_ and I will never be able to speak to them again. Corollary: I’ll never get to meet Arthur C. Clarke.[/li][/ul] > You might say “Well, at least you’re not deluded anymore!”, but I say **it’s better to be wrong and happy**. It’s not like I was the “kill the infidels!” kind of religious that certain posters seem to think all religious people are. > > Does nobody else feel this way, too? > > I’m curious what both theists and atheists have to say about this. > > –Jack It seems like you’ve chosen to take the most pessimistic view. For me - knowing there is no God means knowing that I am my own boss. I am responsible for me. I also take comfort in knowing I’m one of those who can see the world and existence for what it is, not believe in nonsense. That there isn’t a God doesn’t make me sad. What makes me sad is knowing what the world is like because of people who think there is a God. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/70 "2009-05-08T17:27:32Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > That there isn’t a God doesn’t make me sad. What makes me sad is knowing what the world is like because of people who think there is a God. People are people. If we didn’t have religion we’d hang our hatred and prejudice on something else. There are many people without belief who are complete cunts as well. IMO most of the big problems in this world stem from tribalism, stupidity, greed and selfishness and not religion or the lack of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/71 "2009-05-08T17:34:47Z")
That’s a bit like saying guns don’t kill people. People kill people. And I am inclined to disagree anyway. I think Religion genuinely does make it easier for people to behave like dickheads. Just like guns make it stupidly easy to maim or kill. Even if the intent is with the person, the Gun/Religion make it a whole lot easier to carry out that intent. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/72 "2009-05-08T17:37:59Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > People are people. If we didn’t have religion we’d hang our hatred and prejudice on something else. There are many people without belief who are complete cunts as well. > > IMO most of the big problems in this world stem from tribalism, stupidity, greed and selfishness and not religion or the lack of it. Word. Also, I don’t think _anyone_ out there can see the world or existence for what it is. Everything’s just too damned big and complicated. Losing my faith didn’t make me smarter, wiser, or worldlier. It just made me see the world differently and reboot. There are plenty of people who believe in a god who have done good. Quite a lot of good. You can’t lay the world’s ills on any one thing, not even religion. I lost my faith almost 15 years ago, but I still remember learning the 11th commandment from my grandfather well before then: Thou shalt not fool thyself. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/73 "2009-05-08T17:39:13Z")
> [@Linty\_Fresh](#): > > I lost my faith almost 15 years ago, but I still remember learning the 11th commandment from my grandfather well before then: > > Thou shalt not fool thyself. Where’s that in the Bible? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/74 "2009-05-08T17:45:36Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I think Religion genuinely does make it easier for people to behave like dickheads. No, **Lobsang** , religion doesn’t do that. Angry, maladjusted people with grudges, charisma, and access to many more angry people with guns do that. They might couch their terms in religion, just like they couch them in Marx, or anarchy, or anti-semitism, but armed dickheads have been around for as long as Homo sapiens with clubs have donked Neanderthals over the head to see who got to sleep in the warm dry cave. And after religion goes by the wayside–and I _do_ think it will, although not in our lifetimes–those same angry, maladjusted people will just use other means to get their way, and their way will usually involve getting as much as they want as violently as they want. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/75 "2009-05-08T17:47:11Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Where’s that in the Bible? :dubious: It’s not in the bible. It’s an _expression_ to describe a little piece of additional wisdom. I’ve heard the phrase used to describe all sorts of things. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/76 "2009-05-08T17:50:44Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > The full rule is “I before E except after C, or when sounded like A as in neighbor and weigh.” [Brian Regan]And on weekends and holidays and all throughout May, and you’ll always be wrong no matter WHAT YOU SAY! That’s a rough rule. :([/BR] ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/77 "2009-05-08T17:58:12Z")
> [@Linty\_Fresh](#): > > It’s not in the bible. It’s an _expression_ to describe a little piece of additional wisdom. I’ve heard the phrase used to describe all sorts of things. Please don’t take me seriously. This was a(n apparently poor) joke. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/78 "2009-05-08T17:59:50Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Please don’t take me seriously. This was a(n apparently poor) joke. :smack: :smack: :smack: Sorry 'bout that! I’m in the college library alternating between the SDMB and this chewed-up online grad school class I’m in. My clarity is a little under 100%. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/79 "2009-05-08T18:22:52Z")
I mean no offense to the OP, but I just don’t think it was written by an atheist. And **Jinx** , since when is a Gaussian distribution a “natural law”? A Gaussian distribution is a description of natural phenomena, but it is neither a law, nor the distribution describing all natural phenomena. Not everything is normally distributed. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727/80 "2009-05-08T18:27:09Z")
You know, earlier in this thread I said that I don’t even have enough faith to be an atheist, which is something I’ve been saying for years now. But lately I’ve been having my doubts, and reading this thread has crystallized some things for me, and… I think I am an atheist. Really. So, thanks, guys. I think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-an-atheist/495727.md?page=5)