To a religious person, atheism can seem like a strange an unimaginable world view. Religion can give people a set of values, a structure in life, and a sense of purpose.
Life and Death – The Religious View
There are as many views of life and death in the religious world as there are religions, i.e. tens of thousands. Even within religions, views and opinions differ from person to person.
However, some general points are fairly common to most. Life is typically seen as a gift from one of the many thousands of gods worshipped around the world and throughout history. It is therefore expected to thank the god for this gift on a regular basis, and to perhaps ask the god for various gifts and favours throughout life.
Life is also seen in many world religions as a test, the outcome of which may determine the individual’s fate in an afterlife. If the god is pleased, some sort of heaven may await, if displeased, horrendous pain and suffering is expected by some.
In general, life and death are seen as events overlooked by a personal god, watching, noting, and structuring that person’s day-to-day existence.
To the religious person, the purpose of life is to worship a particular god, to please a particular god, and to spread the word of a particular god to others.
Life and Death – The Atheistic View
To the atheist, life was not a gift from a god, nor is there a god watching over them, nor is there an afterlife. This mindset is the complete antithesis of a religious person. The typical atheist, however, is a moral and content individual.
To the modern atheist, life is a great privilege. It is clear from history that most human beings that have ever been born have suffered and died from terrible illness and disease. Modern science is defeating these conditions with every passing year, and the quality of life for many has improved thanks to modern technology.
It is clear from the study of nature that the world is cruel and survival for most organisms is a day-to-day struggle. For most animals in the world, hunger, thirst, disease and pain are common-place.
And it is clear from biology and statistics that for every person alive today, billions could have been born in their place, billions who will never get a chance at life.
To the atheist, to be alive and to have a comfortable life is amazing, but no worship of a god is required. After all, for every privileged person, there are millions who are suffering.
Life is given purpose through family, friends, and experiencing all that the universe has to offer. Morals come from empathy and social awareness, which stem from humanity's evolutionary past. The "afterlife" is seen as the passing on of genes, and hence characteristics, in children, the deeds done in life which shape the world, and the memories left in the minds of the living.
Thoughts of a personal god and eternal life may give immense comfort, but as a late Carl Sagan once said, "For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."
Sources:
- Dawkins, R. The God Delusion. Black Swan; New Ed with additions edition (21 May 2007).
- Hitchens, C. Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer. Da Capo Press; 1st edition (15 Nov 2007) .
- Sagan, C. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (1 Mar 1997) .
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