[Renderofveils]

I am proud to not be a TRUE atheist by your definition then.

Your argument is that since there is no higher power to judge, there is no right and wrong for atheists. And for those that THINK there is, they are lying to themselves? Therefore, atheists cannot aspire to have honor, nor integrity, nor any other positive trait because you do not see the motivation behind it?

I am an atheist. Have been for a long, long time. Haven't killed anyone, do not steal, try not to lie, feel remorse like any human should when things go wrong, get teary-eyed when I read/hear about people sacrificing their lives to protect others, and treat every other living thing around me like I would want to be treated... and yet by your definition I'm a hardened criminal on the inside?

I submit that life is more precious to some atheists BECAUSE this is all we have. To me, there is no time for judgement, there is no making up for the wrongs we do in this life after it's over, and that makes our time here MORE valuable. But that's just me, I guess.

[orionblamblam]

> I submit that life is more precious to some atheists BECAUSE this is all we have.

Indeed. To atheists and agnostics... this is our one shot at doing good. There will nto be an opportunity to recieve reward for havign done right or take punishment for having doen wrong; all we can hope for is to leave the world better off for having been here.

Why some people would be horrified by that idea, I can't guess.

[BikerNYC]

I submit that life is more precious to some atheists BECAUSE this is all we have. To me, there is no time for judgement, there is no making up for the wrongs we do in this life after it's over, and that makes our time here MORE valuable. But that's just me, I guess.

No, it's not just you, it's many of us.

We can't say, "Shoot them all and let God sort it out." We have to figure it out here and now because there is nothing else for us after we die. Purpose and meaning are more important to us because we have to figure it out for ourselves and not pretend that it is being handed to us on a silver platter.

Theists, too, create their own meaning in life but they often don't see how they do. One can always ask a theist, "Why should we do what God tells us to do?" In answering that question, the theist creates his own meaning and purpose and morality apart from any God, because he is judging independent of God that God is worth listening to. He is setting up his own morality by saying, "I value what God tells me and I deem it important."

But anyay, thanks for the good post.