If God was real, life would somehow have meaning?

Christians (or other similar believers) believe that without God, life is meaningless. In other words, atheists have a shitty existence that is devoid of meaning because we don't believe we are created in the image of a sociopathic attention-whore (I'm not sure if they would word it exactly like that). But what kind of meaning is that? To believe that the only meaning is found in 1). believing in an invisible being that can't be proven to exist 2). worship it and 3). obey its laws (i.e. obey whatever you believe it wants you to do). And of course the cherry on the sundae is that God has an infinite love for everyone, even those He casts into hell and/or punishes with AIDs *rolls eyes*

...and with all this meaningful existing that Christians believe they are involved in, it is the atheists that are left out!

[What's funny are those goofy atheists that wishes God was real, but are just slightly too logical to believe but not logical enough to realize that such a thing would make existence much worse (for obvious reasons like hell and having to worship an invisible attention whore for all of eternity). I guess these atheists are between a rock and a hard place.]

The point here is that I fail to understand how God somehow makes life meaningful. Being an objectified pawn is not very meaningful in my book. No, atheism doesn't hand people false-hope for a crappy afterlife (as already mentioned) or some "divine purpose" (to feed God's ego), but isn't it important for people to come to conclusions about purpose/meaning on their own? I suppose a Christian would see meaning in such a worldview (as an atheist I obviously don't). But I believe that to leave questions of meaning untouched detracts from a meaningful existence more than anything. An atheist can find meaning in life merely by being open to think about meaning.  If your brain automatically concludes "God", then it shuts itself off to thinking about the meaning of life.

So if you're a Christian, and feel as if life is meaningless, try seeing the world as if the atheist's view is correct. The conclusions you will come to will be very different (and probably much more thought-out). 

Are any Christians completely void of skepticism?

I remember having skepticism as soon as I started being indoctrinated, and that was when I was in grade school (before I knew anything about evolution, or any other alternative views). One of my earliest memories of skepticism was when we were told to draw a picture of God in Sunday School. I drew an old looking man with a grey beard, and thought "this looks a lot like Santa Claus" and then I thought "how can I know this is what God looks like, I've never seen him". Then I asked the teacher "what does God look like", and she said "no body knows". I then remember just being overwhelmed with skepticism/doubt (for the obvious, logical reasons).

I wonder if any Christians go through life have no skepticism of their religion. Obviously Christianity frowns upon skepticism (a protective mechanism of the belief system), but it seems hard to believe that all true-Christians don't seriously doubt their faith from time-to-time.

I believe most Christians are closeted atheists that hope they are wrong. 

Argument about atheism on a bathroom stall

So I went to the bathroom (I live in a dorm), and I noticed this conversation on the bathroom stall. Someone wrote some quote about how life without God is pointless...then the atheist wrote something like "the only thing God gives is false hope"....then the Christian tried to cross it out....etc. etc.

The point here is, aren't some people precious? Arguing about religion on a bathroom stall like it's an online chat room....

It was funny because the atheist had some witty comments, and the Christian didn't exceed expectations (to put it nicely). 

Anyways, I've been neglecting this atheist-centered blog because I've been sort of uninspired/unmotivated. What I might do is make this blog more centered on me giving my opinions on news related to religion and/or atheism, but I'm not really sure.  

Ron Paul 2012 (spread this video around)

<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DpbP_vUMxog" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

If you want Ron Paul to win the Republican nomination, it's important to get the word out. Spread this video (and ones like it) around. I strongly believe he has a good chance at winning the nomination. Donating to his campaign is also suggested ($$ wins elections).

As a side note, I've come across many more atheists that support Ron Paul than do Obama. Anyways, feel free to give your thoughts about the election below in the comment section. Debate is also welcome :)

http://www.ronpaul.com/

Red State Update Meets Westboro Baptist Church

As an atheist, I love the Westboro Baptist Church, and I don't think it's hard to figure out why. They are to Christians what TheAmazingAtheist is to atheists.

Changing thinking habits (causes of anxiety, depression, stress, anger)

For problems like anxiety and depression, many people are unable to understand why they feel the way they do. Chances are, if you are experiencing depression or anxiety, it is caused by the way you think. I know that perhaps this seems obvious. But I believe many people are unaware of just how much their thought-process affects their well-being. Many people with problems like depression and anxiety rush to take medications to fix "chemical imbalances" without wondering why such an imbalance is occurring in the first place. For example, try the following (warning: it will make you feel bad)...

-Think of the worst memory you can think of..
-Imagine it again, but try to fill in even more detail.
-Exaggerate it, perhaps add something that makes it even worse!

How do you feel? Probably pretty bad. That feeling is caused by "chemicals". If you engage in enough stress-inducing thinking, there will be side-effects (e.g. mood swings, depression, anxiety, brain-fog, poor focusing ability and memory). Think of the chemicals that get released during stressful thinking as being like a drug (thoughts do alter the way the brain and/or body functions); and like a drug, there are side effects to negative (i.e. stressful) thinking. For many anxious or depressed individuals, negative thinking is so habitual that it goes unnoticed--it is the default the mode.

We are so good at thinking that we can process large amounts of information without even realizing it. When confronted with a stressful situation--like being face-to-face with a bear--we don't need to spend a long time trying to remember what we know about this creature (even though the information we have gathered about bears is why a fight-or-flight response would typically occur). We have "feelings" about everything in the world because of labels and associative emotion-producing memories. A person can get over a fear of bears by consciously thinking about bears differently.

Think as optimistically as possible (while still maintaining rationality). Even if in your heart you don't believe the optimistic thoughts, keep thinking that way and eventually your mind will accept them as truths. Ask yourself: I enjoy life, but why? Do this sincerely, and your brain will try to figure it out--which is much better than alternative.

What I am referring to is positive self-talk and positive affirmations (which are both very similar). Try to look for reasons for why you love yourself and look for positives in the world. Oftentimes, when a person feels depressed, their brains use this train of thought: "okay, I'm depressed, why?" or "I'm angry, why?". The brain will then search for reasons to explain the emotional state. When something makes us feel bad, we try to understand why--with anxiety and depression--the explanations often only add fuel to the fire.

I'm hoping to be able to make a section on this blog for positive affirmations an tips for optimistic thinking. If you have any questions let me know.

Disclaimer - All of these ideas are just ideas, they aren't intended to replace professional help. If you are dealing with a serious mental issue, go see a doctor. Either way I assume no liability or responsibility.   

Moral Accountability (atheism vs. religion)

Moral accountability has been lost--at least in my opinion--as religious institutions in the United States continue to lose influence. People have lost interest in behaving morally, and now seem to act more within the law as oppose to acting within a moral-framework. We have all seen that "well, it's not illegal" rational be used to "justify" immoral behaviors (e.g. cheating, abortion, lying, stealing). Religions like Christianity (unlike atheism) provide a moral structure for people (or at least attempts to). Many people unfortunately lost their sense of moral duty when they lost religion. Obviously religion is not the only source of morality, and in fact I don't think it is the best. That said, I believe the masses need to be guided in the right direction when it comes to thinking morally--they need a reason to be moral.

With the issue of abortion, it is clear that pro-life is the moral position. It takes an immoral and psychopathic (I know, redundant) worldview to end an already existing and developing HUMAN life for the sake of convenience (typically financial). Many believe that killing human life becomes more morally justified the younger it is. It seems the morally-deficit need a reminder that morality is not about the flourishing of bank accounts or lack of accountability, but is about engaging in behaviors that promotes the flourishing of human life. There is a big difference between preventing life from coming into existence (contraceptive) and destroying an already existing human life. It's like if we have some lead and gun powder on a table with a casing (all separated into three parts), and claim that such a thing is same as a bullet being shot out of a gun (let that that resonate for a bit). The fact that the majority of atheists are pro-choice is reflective of a lack of moral-intelligence. For those that wanted to have sex with people they didn't want to have offspring with, tough luck--actions have consequences--and murder is not justified because of some inconvenience. Putting a baby up for adoption is way better than killing it (even though the giving away of your own offspring isn't moral either, it's the lesser of the two evils by far). In other words, if you accidentally got/get pregnant, and don't want to have a baby, wait the 9 or so months, and put it up for adoption--it's the least you could do for your son/daughter.

Obviously not all atheists are pro-choice and not all believers are pro-life. The problem is not with atheism or religion, but with lack of moral accountability. Religion (at least at the moment) has an advantage over atheism in that it has moral accountability already built in (God). Another problem I see is that religion provides morality, but gives no real reason for why people should behave morally (God is not a "real reason" for a nonbeliever). Our society's moral well-being has become reliant on religion, and without it we (as a whole) don't know what to do with ourselves.