Atheist & Meaning
Can atheists have any meaning in their lives?
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One of the most common complaints about atheism is that it must result in meaninglessness - specifically, in the meaninglessness of life. According to believers, there cannot be any meaning or purpose in life unless it is provided by God and/or religion. Atheists, lacking belief in any gods and generally lacking any religion, must therefore necessarily lack meaning in their lives.
But is any of that true? Can we really not have meaning and purpose in our lives without God and without religion? Perhaps that is where believers get meaning from for their lives, but this doesn't mean that everyone must get meaning in that way. What is true, however, is that it may not be possible to have any objective meaning in life without God. That does not prevent us from having subjective and personal meaning in our lives even without God.
-->Atheism, Depression, & Meaning
This is a very common claim heard from theists, and from Christians in particular. It is also a very curious claim because it sidesteps the issues which most atheists would regard as central: does God exist? Is theism reasonable? Is atheism reasonable?Atheists & Deathbed Conversions
Sometimes atheists will hear from a Christian that this or that famous nonbeliever converted to Christianity on his or her deathbed. Other times, atheists simply hear the very general claim that atheists tend to convert to Christianity when they are on their deathbeds, facing their immanent and certain demise.Atheism & Worship
This complaint runs along lines very similar to the claim that all atheists have faith like theists, and sometimes this idea is also expressed by claiming that "atheism is a religion." Since they cannot imagine living their life without worshipping their god, they also cannot imagine atheists living without worshipping something, like money or humanity.
