# Is the atheist worldview depressing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 4, 2019, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996 "2019-06-04T02:59:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/161 "2019-06-06T09:04:17Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Anyway, all this is why I prefer to think of myself as a skeptic (small “s”). I am a skeptic about all kinds of claims, and that includes claims about religion or anything else supernatural. Also, your feelings are not evidence of any truth outside your own mind. The universe is a wondrous place and does not need any gods to attempt (and fail) to make it more so. I will die one day and my soul will go out like a light; there may be some faint residual flicker for a moment or two, like an old incandescent bulb, but that is just meaningless movement of electrons. You are entitled to think what you want to about these issues; you are not entitled to tell me what I can call myself for what I think about them. I’m pretty much exactly in line with you (though I probably wouldn’t use the word “soul”…but I know you are using it in a metaphorical way). I’ve said on many occasions on various threads that “atheist” is a useless term in describing what a person thinks other than an absence of a belief in a god or gods. Just as describing your sister as a “theist” would tell you zero about her other than she does have a belief. They are starting points and nothing more. As you have done you need to expand beyond that to give an idea of your worldview. You can and should describe yourself in terms that you feel explain your position as fully as you feel comfortable. As such I would always describe myself as a humanist, liberal and sceptic. I happen to be an atheist, as are you and we cannot escape that fact but that alone tells people preciously little about yourself. My quibble with **Dibble** probably harks back to them saying they were not _exactly_ an atheist and me challenging that. Had they said they were not _simply_ an atheist then I’d agree because clearly they aren’t, neither am I, and neither are you. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/162 "2019-06-06T11:41:18Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > If anyone does make such such a claim (i.e. for a pre-big bang/eternal god or gods) then they are stuck with also explaining why that cannot also apply to a far simpler universe or proto-universe. I’ve heard no coherent explanation so far that isn’t merely special pleading and so remain unconvinced. It’s [del]gods[/del] bangs all the way down. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/163 "2019-06-06T12:31:29Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > My quibble with **Dibble** probably harks back to them saying they were not _exactly_ an atheist and me challenging that. You know what I missed? The bit where I asked you for your opinion on my religious stance. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/164 "2019-06-06T13:03:28Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You know what I missed? The bit where I asked you for your opinion on my religious stance. Since when is your permission required? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/165 "2019-06-06T13:14:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You know what I missed? The bit where I asked you for your opinion on my religious stance. I know, an opinion? in \*this \*of all forums? shocking. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/166 "2019-06-06T14:27:41Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Yes, the big bang seems to be the best explanation that fits the observable facts, _at the moment_. If the facts change then the scientific consensus will change. > > _But I’m not making a claim_ that there was anything prior, nor that there was \*anything \*for \*anything \*to be in. So, do you have a best guess or you just don’t care? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/167 "2019-06-06T14:35:50Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > So, do you have a best guess or you just don’t care? A guess for what? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/168 "2019-06-06T15:01:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Since when is your permission required? It’s not required. It’s only polite. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I know, an opinion? in \*this \*of all forums? shocking. Your opinion on the OP is just fine. Your unsolicited 2 cents on whether my worldview fits your narrow binary logic? Not so much welcome, no. It does nothing to address the OP or further debate. Just atheist bullying, basically. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/169 "2019-06-06T15:06:08Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s not required. It’s only polite. Perhaps in a private conversation…which this isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/170 "2019-06-06T15:12:17Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Your unsolicited 2 cents on whether my worldview fits your narrow binary logic? Not so much welcome, no. It does nothing to address the OP or further debate. Just atheist bullying, basically. If you don’t want to continue responding then don’t. There’s plenty of other on-topic posting going on. A civilised disagreement is hardly “bullying” ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/171 "2019-06-06T15:16:43Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > A guess for what? A guess for whether there was anything before the theorized big bang. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/172 "2019-06-06T15:30:32Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > A guess for whether there was anything before the theorized big bang. You do realise I’m not the one making a claim here right? Personally, I don’t know and I’m perfectly comfortable not knowing. Why on earth would I want to guess? If the evidence starts to point in a particular direction I may be convinced one way or another. But I’m confused. Why are you asking \*me \*this. Ask those that do make a claim about it. There are theists and deists who \*do \*think there was something before the big bang or that was eternal. Ask them why they think that, how they know that, and how the conditions that would apply to their god couldn’t also apply to the universe. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/173 "2019-06-06T15:40:55Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I happen to be an atheist, as are you and we cannot escape that fact but that alone tells people preciously little about yourself. What more is needed? It tells someone whether or not you are “one of us”. That is the forefront feature of religion: othering. Expansive, mostly meaningless labels are very useful for that. > [@Isamu](#): > > A guess for whether there was anything before the theorized big bang. Not a meaningful question. Time begins at the Big Bang. There can be no “before” if there was no time to which “before” can be applied. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/174 "2019-06-06T16:24:35Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Perhaps in a private conversation…which this isn’t. No, I’d say it’s pretty much always considered polite to ask permission before giving your opinion of someone’s beliefs if they didn’t (implicityly or explicitly) ask you first, online forum or no. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > If you don’t want to continue responding then don’t. No, I’m going to continue to correct you for as long as you persist in wilfully misbeliefing me. > [@](#): > > There’s plenty of other on-topic posting going on. Yes, I know, I was taking part in some, before you started questioning my religious thought. > [@](#): > > A civilised disagreement is hardly “bullying” Telling people, unasked, that they’re mistaken about their own religious thinking isn’t civilised disagreement. I’m starting to see what theists have against certain stripes of atheists, I can say that much…which is, ironically, a pretty depressing thought. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/175 "2019-06-06T16:34:36Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > No, I’d say it’s pretty much always considered polite to ask permission before giving your opinion of someone’s beliefs if they didn’t (implicityly or explicitly) ask you first, online forum or no. Apparently not. My cite is this message board. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/176 "2019-06-06T16:37:35Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Apparently not. My cite is this message board. I wouldn’t use this message board as a guide for what is and isn’t considered polite. For instance, even online, “Why are black people dumb” isn’t considered a polite thing to ask outside Stormfront. Here it skates just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/177 "2019-06-06T16:39:48Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I wouldn’t use this message board as a guide for what is and isn’t considered polite. For instance, even online, “Why are black people dumb” isn’t considered a polite thing to ask outside Stormfront. Here it skates just fine. I _will_ use this message board as a guide for how to behave on this message board…with your permission, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/178 "2019-06-06T16:40:38Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Here it skates just fine. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/179 "2019-06-06T16:42:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I _will_ use this message board as a guide for how to behave on this message board…with your permission, of course. Use it however you like, but don’t tell me it’s polite. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Cite? [Sure](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21670570&postcount=61). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996/180 "2019-06-06T16:54:20Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > No, I’d say it’s pretty much always considered polite to ask permission before giving your opinion of someone’s beliefs if they didn’t (implicityly or explicitly) ask you first, online forum or no. You didn’t ask me, but I’m gonna tell ya that I think is ridiculous. You posted your position on a discussion forum; anything posted on that forum is fodder for commentary: it’s the nature of the medium and therefore your permission is implicit by posting there in the first place. Or was that impolite of me? :dubious: :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-atheist-worldview-depressing/834996.md?page=10)