Why do people think that atheists are Unhappy
Posted in Uncategorized on Feb 26th, 2011 No Comments »
Why do people think that atheists are Unhappy
I am an atheist by choice, I come from a very religious Roman Catholic family. My beliefs are mine and i never try to " Convert" anyone, I hate though when Christians especially baptists think I need to be saved, Saved from what ? Hell? What exactly is hell? where is it? I guess it really cant be much worse that what we have now. i don't believe the fire and brimstone bullshit no one has ever been there and came back with pictures of hell or came back with a t-shirt saying My Grandparents went to Hell and all i got was this lousy t-shirt, I am a very happy person I have two great kids who are High School grads Honor Students Both were Student body presidents, Both have great jobs, I have been married to an incredible woman for 25 years. I even have a kitty cat that i love very much, I am respected in my community for the good things i do/ By the way we are all atheists by choice. and very happy. The main reason is we do worry about where we are or are not going when we croak. It is unimportant us about that, We do not have to live like " good christians" nor do we have to read a book of parables and fables to determine our lives, I DO NOT push my beliefs on anyone, i have seen so many unhappy christians,Worried about what the preacher said worry about the hundred dollar bill they HAD to put in the plate to by the pastor his rolex, So dammed worried about where they are going when they croak. Why worry at all? Just be happy. Enjoy life to is fullest. Love your family and love yourself. Be kind to others, Do not judge a person by whom they want to share their lives with even if it is of the same sex. Do not be jealous of your friends and family and most of all remember "It is not what you think of others it is what others think of you"Answer
Amen, brother!
You don't need "god" to make you feel safe. You have your own spirit in your family, your community, your life!
Good for you 
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Well said. *applaud*
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Religion is all some people have to cling to. Without, their own lives would be empty, so they assume that anyone else who doesn't have it is empty as well.
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Religious people assume us atheists that we're depressed because we have no happy imaginary afterlife to look forward to.
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They have the highest suicide rates of any group, and by quite a large margin.
Seriously…google it. American Psychiatric Journal, they have a website
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because they are?
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Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast.
He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were
reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic . They dreaded the
awful storms that raged across the Atlantic , wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.
As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job , he received
A steady stream of refusals.
Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached
the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him.
"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help,
Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from
dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore.
Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed
next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the
little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming!
Tie things down before they blow away!"
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No
sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."
Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on
the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.
To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had
been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens
were in the coops, and the doors were barred.
The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.
Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his
hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while
the wind blew.
When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically,
you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the
wind blows through your life?
The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he
had secured the farm against the storm.
We secure ourselves against the storms of life by
grounding ourselves in the Word of God.
We don't need to understand, we just need to hold
His hand to have peace in the middle of storms.
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Wow man, awesome. I had no trouble reading all of that.
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Probably because suicide rates are so high and many of us have lost atheist friends to suicide.
When I was an undergraduate I lost two atheist friends my sophomore year and another the following year. Because I had never known any of my Evangelical Christian or Moslem friends to commit suicide during those years, I started researching published studies and statistics on rates of depression and suicide among self-declared atheists. I wanted to know if the suicides of my atheist friends were atypical or simply part of a general trend.
It is interesting to me that my post quickly received two thumbs down. You asked "Why do people think that atheists are unhappy?" and I have simply and honestly stated why that opinion is so common (which the question itself states as a common belief.)
If someone has proof that that is NOT why many people think that atheists are unhappy, I would certainly be interested in their view and their view and their evidence for an alternate theory.
The questioners "biography" doesn't seem to have anything to do with the question posed except to try to explain why a common opinion about atheists is false. But the posted question doesn't ask IF atheists are unhappy. It asks WHY DO PEOPLE THINK THAT ATHEISTS ARE UNHAPPY? (So why does the fact that a particular atheist had two children who were student body presidents have ANYTHING to do with the question? Is the questioner claiming that children who are student body presidents have happy parents??)
So based on the questioners biography and reasoning, it appears that the INTENDED question must have been, "Are atheists unhappy people?" Of course, then we would have a question about atheists in general but which the questioner somehow believes is answered by providing one atheist's testimonial and sermonette.
So this isn't a Religion & Spirituality question that complies with the community guidelines of asking an honest question and avoiding what is prohibited as a "rant". The poster is not seeing knowledge by asking a question. The questioner has written a pro-atheist "tract" that attempts to promote a personal belief system while trying to denigrate someone else's. (Such as by raising the irrelevant claim that somebody is worried about putting money in a collection plate and finding it spent on a pastor's Rolex. I don't know many pastors who can afford — or even care about — a Rolex watch. Nor do I care if some atheist celebrity on the speaking circuit spends his speaker's fee income on buying a Rolex.)
I still miss my atheist friends who committed suicide so many years ago. Rather than denying that they were so unhappy, wouldn't it be more helpful if we were to understand their unhappiness? I would especially like to understand why my friends became increasingly bitter and anti-religion [i.e. anti-Christian, anti-Moslem, anti-theist in general] during the last months of their lives. Each was such a wonderful person and each had a lot to contribute to society. And despite speaking so rabidly (and obscenely) against the Bible and the very concept of God (my one friend during his last few year of life used to shake his fist toward the ceiling and seemingly try to curse God in the most vile terms he could think up), he often came to my dorm room to talk and asked me to accompany him to parties and to include him in social events. Indeed, he seem to prefer the company of a lot of the Christians and Moslems on the dorm floor over the two philosophy majors who lived next to him and shared his beliefs. Steve was a likable guy and he especially liked to tell us why he was an atheist. He seemed to bring up his atheism a lot more than any of his Christian friends brought up the subject of Jesus. I always wondered why that was. But that was also true of the other two atheist friends who committed suicide back then.
In fact, your posting reminds me of my three friends. All three seemed to want everybody to know that they were atheists and how wonderful it was to BE an atheist. I remember a number of people who sort of felt "overwhelmed" by the near obsession each had with informing everyone that they were atheists. It kind of became a joke on the dorm floor where people would say, "OK, Steve. We get it. You were an atheist yesterday and you are still an atheist today. And you are really really really proud of the fact that you can shake your fist at the ceiling and cuss out a god which you claim doesn't exist in the first place. So doesn't that seem a little illogical that you are so focused on getting all worked up over a god that doesn't even exist or hear you??? But, hey. If it works for you, fine with me."
I suppose I could post a question similar to yours. "Why do people [like me] have memories of atheist friends who seemed to be so obsessed with denying and cursing a god that they didn't even believe heard them?"
If you have a good answer for that, I will gladly post the question so that you can explain that to us. Now THAT would be interesting.
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Because when an atheist has to get on here and tell how happy they are, that could mean something
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Because we were created with a spiritual need and atheists cannot fulfill this need because they don't believe in God. They are missing a major psychological need and instead of ceasing to fight against this need, they try to fill their lives with material things and seeking riches and glory for themselves. Then when their short life nears its end they realize they lack fulfillment in their lives. They have nothing.
Wise king Solomon was the richest of his time and he had everything yet listen to what he recognised:
"And I, even I, turned toward all the works of mine that my hands had done and toward the hard work that I had worked hard to accomplish, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing of advantage under the sun."(Ecclesiastes 2:11)
He understood that there was a limit to the joy and sense of accomplishment in this world. He knew that these secular things were just "a striving after the wind". There is nothing of substance that one can do without spiritual fulfillment. This can only be reached by belief in and our worship to the One who Created it all. We were made that way.
God's Son Jesus wisely stated: ?
