posted on Mar, 19 2009 @ 09:27 PM
I'm an athiest, and I live a fine life. I have come to the conclusion that the idea of a god and an afterlife is basically used to make someone feel
better about death. Not only that, but by believing in a god, many questions are answered: Who created life? God. Who created the universe, the
planets, matter, atoms, everything we can see and cannot see? God.
The idea is a crutch, and this is where science comes in, to help REALLY explain where everything came from and how everything started.
I had a evangelical Christian come up to me in my local mall the other day and ask me a few questions: "Do you believe in God?" "Do you believe
Jesus Christ died for our sins?" etc etc. Obviously I stated I was an athiest, and that I didn't believe in the idea of a god. He seemed
shocked...I guess he doesn't talk to many of us. The conversation was great though...the first thing he did was point at a bench and say "Who made
this?" Now, I cannot answer that. The bench is matter, and matter came from somewhere...scientists believe everything supposedly started with the
Big Bang, which I'm not totally familiar with. I'll still believe that (which I'm not even familiar with, ironically) over the idea that some
supreme being created it.
I'm not against religion though. Many people seem to think that. Look, if you are living your life in a better way because of your faith and
religion, good for you. And as Christians may or may not look at athiests as sad and hopeless because they are not following God, and will thus be
sent to Hell, I don't view them in a nasty light. Sure, I think they are wrong, and that when they die they aren't going anywhere, but at least
they may lead a fulfilling and happy life, which is the point.
As horrible as the idea of death is, my opinion is that there is nothing after this. When you physically die, you are gone. Your mind shuts down,
you can't think, you can't feel, your life is over. There is no happy afterlife or misfortune Hell. As sad as it sounds, after this life, you're
only life, it's over.
On a somewhat unrelated note, I just want everyone to remember how small we are as humans. The universe is so large, and we are so very little and
tiny and nothing. Many of us are here (and on ATS) want to find what else is out there. The idea of there being life outside of Earth is
fascinating. There is more space than just us. As I stated, humans are so tiny and small. What sets us apart is our ability to think for ourselves,
which is amazing, yet it still doesn't make it that there is a god that created us and is ready to take us in when our physical bodies die. Our
physical bodies are all we have. Aside from having a functioning brain, humans are more like a flower or blade of grass than you may think. We live,
and we die. And that is it.
So regardless if you are religious or not, I hope you got from this that you should really live THIS life to its fullest. A lot of us (including
myself) may try to do so and not succeed, but all we can do is try.