The Christian Guide to Atheists: Life is Meaningless

March 18, 2013 by 23 Comments

The Christian Guide to Atheists

 

Myth: Atheists find life meaningless

When Jason deconverted, I don’t think I bought a lot of the common misconceptions about atheists or atheism. Most seemed kind of silly to me. But I admit, this was one of the few that gave me pause and made me wonder if it had some teeth.

I think this is because, in a round-about way, there is an element of truth to it. And that small kernel of truth makes the whole thing seem true.

The problem lies in the word “meaning.” I would suggest that while religious and non-religious people are using the same word, we do not use it in the same way. And as happens with words when they are used differently, we can end up with some fairly substantial misunderstandings.

Generally, when Christians are speaking about life having meaning, there is a grander notion behind it. We were formed by God and we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139). There is also the idea that God as a plan for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11). Through these and other verses, we see an inherent meaning in life given to us by God. If God has a plan for us, clearly our lives have meaning.

Because atheists eschew the notion of a divine plan, they would not use “meaning” in the same way. Instead, we are here by chance, we exist, we die. There is no inherent significance to being a human any more than there is any inherent significance in being a bacteria or blade of grass. Our time on earth is short and this is the one life that we are given. They will often state that there is no objective meaning to life.

This has led a number of Christians to believe that atheists find life to be meaningless. That without some sort of imposed purpose, there can be no meaning. This was taken to it’s more extreme conclusion in this billboard from Answers in Genesis a few years back:

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The message is that without God, one is less likely to value life. Rather than finding life worth living, those without God are more likely to destroy that around them.

However, I have not experienced this “life is meaningless” attitude among any of the atheists that I have met.

Instead, I have found people who, because they believe that this is their one shot at life, they must make the most of it. Because they do not see life as having an objective meaning, or a meaning that is imposed upon it through God’s plan, they will search out meaningful relationships with others. They will find meaning in growing some food to share with their friends. They will discover meaning in a piece of music that stirs them or a bit of writing that makes them think. They will marvel at the intricacies of a unique human fingerprint or the vastness of outer space.

Those of us who are Christians find meaning in these same things. Close friendships. Good food. Powerful art. Natural wonders. Denying that one can live a meaningful life apart from faith denies much of our common experience and humanity. And that denial deprives all of us of a more meaningful life.

Next Week: Atheists are uninformed about religion

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Alise’s Disclaimer:

  • I’m one Christian and my pool of atheist friends is not vast. If you want to know about what an atheist believes, ask them. Daniel at The Barking Atheist will be co-blogging with me for this series and he is as committed as I am to having a good conversation between Christians and atheists. Stop by his place for additional thoughts on each of these topics!

Guidelines for Commenting:

  • Assume the best of the other commenters. Someone might say something that isn’t worded well. Rather than assuming that they meant it to be hurtful, please assume that they just didn’t know better.
  • Questions are good. If you see something that doesn’t seem right, ask for clarification. As much as I say this is a guide, what I really want to do is to open up a discussion.
  • No proselytizing. We’re here to talk. Not to make people think the same way that we think.
  • Full comment policy available here.
Filed Under: The Christian Guide to Atheists
  • http://www.inamirrordimly.com/ Ed_Cyzewski

    The insertion of the word “objective” before meaning is a real clarifier for me. Thanks for doing this series.

  • http://www.veronicamonique.com Veronica Monique

    All life has value, but we do not value all lives the same. That has been my experience with people across denominations and without faith. Relationships matter. Often it is the strength of a relationship that truly gives meaning to anything. Whether that’s the relationship we have with ourselves, others, or the divine.

  • Agrajag

    To me (an atheist) the reverse seems much more true. If a person believes atheists generally find life meaningless, then by implication that person is saying that to them, everything *except* God is meaningless. That, to me, would be a bleak and sad existence.

    I’ve got a wife that means the world to me. I’ve got 3 wonderful children who fill my life from bottom to top with a mixture of overwhelmingly positive emotion. I’ve got family and friends, people I care about. I’ve got love. I’ve got a world that I’m part of, that I try to improve, just a tiny bit.

    Are those things meaningless to Christians ? I don’t think so !

    But if they themselves find meaning in these things — things that are entirely independent from faith, then why do quite a few persist in insisting that I cannot possibly find meaning in them ?

  • http://www.sistersadist.com/ Cam

    Oh man, this generalization has ALWAYS made me stabby. Especially, being pretty open about my atheism and having people I love tell me that I’m either completely immoral or try to prove to me that I’m just ignoring and hating God because any good things I might be doing are obvious evidence that God is trying to reveal his purpose and meaning in my life. The next best part is when they tell me that I’m going to hell if I don’t accept what God is doing in my life. It’s incredibly frustrating trying to explain what you so simply put here to people who refuse to understand that as an atheist my “greater meaning” in life is to LIVE and GROW and bring HAPPINESS to life in whatever way I can. Sorry, rant.

    • The Other Weirdo

      So, basically, what they are saying to you is that God is trying to bribe you into accepting him. I often wish the Book of Job had never been written.

  • Michael Mock

    A variation I’ve heard on this is that atheism doesn’t have answers for the “Big Questions”. This is sort of true, in that a lack of belief in God doesn’t offer answers in itself – it just rules out one category of possible answers. But it’s also misguided, in that most atheists (if you’ll permit me a brief over-generalization) are also materialists, and materialism does have answers for the Big Questions… just, not the sort of answers that everybody is going to find very satisfying. Exemplia Gratia:

    Q. Why are we here?
    A. It appears to be the result of impersonal natural processes.

    Q. What is the meaning the life?
    A. It doesn’t appear to have any inherent, objective meaning. So… what meaning are you going to give it?

    …And like that.

    • Monika Jankun-Kelly

      Q: Why am I here?
      A: My parents chose to have me. They wanted me. They raised me. They love me. I’ve made choices and decisions along life’s journey that helped shape who I am. That’s all pretty darn personal. Yes, we’re the result of some impersonal biological processes, but let’s not completely ignore human love, human relationships, human goals.

      Q: What is the meaning of life?
      A: Love, learning, relationships, curiosity, joy, beauty, sacrifice, etc. Atheists reasons are internal ones, they come from our humanity. Why focus on the fact that we don’t use external or supernatural reasons?

      I had to look up “materialist”. Thought maybe I was being insulted, but no, your statement was quite correct. I’ll quote the dictionary definition for those similarly offended. ;)

      “materialism – The theory that physical matter is the only reality and that everything, including thought, feeling, mind, and will, can be explained in terms of matter and physical phenomena.” (matter and energy, I would add)

      I’ve tried hard to understand why anyone would find such a worldview upsetting. I think maybe people think materialism “reduces” or “explains away”? They hear someone say, for example, “love is just a bunch of biochemical reactions”, and think it means “there really isn’t any love, it’s just biochemistry, it’s pointless, it’s meaningless”. Not how I see it. Love isn’t “just biochemistry”. It’s damn complex. It’s behavior, relationships, thoughts, patterns. It is greater than its component parts and underlying mechanisms. As a mosaic is a pattern, not just a bunch of bits of glass, love is biochemistry, electrical signals, but also more than that, with no need to reach for supernatural explanations. I’m not upset that we understand what oxytocin is, and its role in human bonding. I’m not upset that we have psychology, neurology, etc. I’m not upset that there’s good evolutionary explanations for how love arose, how it is an adaptation that promotes species survival. That doesn’t change what I feel, what I experience. That doesn’t rob me of self awareness, free will, autonomy. Understanding the biochemical mechanisms does not diminish the experience in any way. Hope that made sense?

      • Michael Mock

        Makes perfect sense to me, but I’m also coming at this from a materialistic (and hence, atheistic) perspective.

      • The Other Weirdo

        I generally agree, but I would say that, on the question of the meaning of life, that the meaning of life is life. No other qualifiers are required, I think.

  • Andy B

    Meaningless? Absolutely not! Like some other commentators have noted, we simply find meaning in other aspects of life than trying to please a deity or win a better afterlife. I consider myself agnostic rather than atheist, but the question of meaning still works the same for me. I find meaning in this life by trying to be a good husband and father, by performing my day job with excellence, by sharing what I have with others, by fighting for causes I believe in such as the environment and gay rights, and by enjoying and appreciating the beautiful things in the world. If our 70-80 years on earth are all we have, we have more incentive to live it to the fullest and try to do as much good as we can. That seems pretty meaningful to me.

  • Monika Jankun-Kelly

    Tearing up reading this. It is so, SO good to see someone who “gets it”. Thank you, Alise. That billboard TERRIFIES me. Thinking that there are Christians out there who see me as a monster, and who vote and legislate based on this prejudice and ignorance, it’s hard, it hurts. Your post gives me a bit of hope for the future.

  • RecoveringAgnostic

    Thank you, Alise. I think my life had meaning when I believed, I think it has meaning now that I don’t, and I’m sure it will continue to have meaning. Because nothing else has changed. I still have the same family, the same job, the same interests. I just don’t happen to think there’s a God.

    How exactly could that change alone turn my life from being meaningful to one devoid of meaning?

  • http://www.travismamone.net/ Travis Mamone

    I must confess, I tend to associate atheism with nihilism. Thanks for clearing things up.

  • Joe Vasquez

    These have always been the most baffling, most offensive accusations leveled at those of us who are atheist.

    Indeed, for the offensive part, my viewpoint would be that if someone/something else had a “plan for me,” that fact would make my life meaningless. I’m simply here to fulfill (or not) someone else’s plan. It’s a choice, of sorts, but a binary one, and one that revolves, no matter which option I choose, around a decision someone else made about me. That, to me, is a meaningless existence.

    As for the baffling part, how anyone could ever think for even a moment than atheism and nihilism would relate shows a lack of critical thinking skills to the degree that I have to assume that it is willful ignorance. That one who understands and acknowledges that this existence is the only one we get would somehow value life LESS than one who believes there’s some existence after this life is ludicrous. It’s logic a first grader could comprehend – if you have one cookie and will never have any more, or you can always have another cookie after this one, which is more valuable?

    In conclusion … mmm, cookies.

    Thanks for these columns, by the way. They are well thought out and well written, and I, as an atheist, appreciate them.

    • Monika Jankun-Kelly

      Joe, I love your cookie analogy and will steal it for future use! ;)

  • http://ear-sword-miracle.blogspot.com/ Miles O’Neal

    [I am speaking to the Christians here, from a Christian frame of reference. I'm certainly open to hearing what others thing about what I have to say here, but my target audience is Christians.]

    I once believed that atheists find life meaningless… because I believed a great many lies, mostly about God and his relationship with us.
    If we are all made in the image of God (and to argue otherwise as a Christian seems absurd), we all have a great deal in common. If as Christians we see and seek meaning, then I would expect most people to, regardless of whether they know God– unless and until one is totally lost and without hope. Until then, we will look for meaning.
    Partially I think it’s a case of taking things too literally. The Bible speaks of those who don’t know God as being blind. As western Christians, it’s far too easy to take that too far. We tend to think of anyone who doesn’t know God as being 100% blind apart from the physical. I don’t think Jesus meant that any more than he meant we are to hate our parents.

  • http://www.facebook.com/paula.kaye.3720 Paula Kaye

    A topic I go to quietly in my mind more and more! I will be back to read some more.

    http://paulasplace-paula.blogspot.com/

  • vagabond

    I have been reading this series for a while now and the one
    thing that I have found when talking to most atheists is that they turn out not
    to be an atheist but instead agnostic. I have to say the position of a true atheist
    takes more faith than a Christian IMHO. This is because to say absolutely there is no
    god and when we have so little understanding of the universe and have not
    visited any other planet (in person) to say that there could be no god is a
    hard thing to defend logically. This is the point that I start most
    conversations with a self identified atheist is to find out if they truly are an
    atheist or if they are agnostic. Many
    times I find that the person calming to be an atheist does not understand the difference
    between the two. Once I have an
    understanding of what they believe then I go on to ask they why they believe
    this. It normally is a good conversation. (Full
    disclosure I am a born again Christian. )

    • tildeb

      Agnostic and atheist are not mutually exclusive terms. Most atheists (the word relates belief) are agnostic (the word relates to knowledge). But for convenience, when talking not believing in some faith-based belief, it is honest for people who do not share the same faith-based belief to identify as atheist.

      I know many people who are atheist declare themselves as agnostics (usually to avoid vilification) as if their non belief was actually uncertainty when it is no such thing in practice. For us New Atheists, (a category of atheists not yet discussed in this series, but I am hopeful), agnostics who do not believe but call themselves agnostics are considered lacking in the courage department of their principled convictions (sorry to introduce such a negative notion in these comments, but it is a very important aspect that negatively affects representative data in population studies and then skews them to suggest there are fewer practicing non believers than there really are, and this in turn affects public perception and public policies that use this data).

  • roadrunner00

    That billboard made me want to barf. All I can think about is 9/11 with a caption that reads the exact opposite “If only God matters to him, do you?”. Alise I love your blogs Im hooked

  • roadrunner00

    “There is no inherent significance to being a human any more than there is any inherent significance in being a bacteria or blade of grass”……. I and probably most atheists would consider this FALSE. Being born human is a significant privilege. Being able to witness the vastness of the universe when others did not get that opportunity, or worse being born human and for cultural reasons having this privilege withheld is something to embrace.

  • Pingback: The Christian Guide to Atheists: It Takes More Faith Not To Believe

  • E_Wild

    I’ve never thought that just because things might be left up to chance that they are inherently negative. Sometimes people die senselessly, and sometimes they survive against all odds. Whether theist or atheist, things have meaning because WE attribute meaning to them. Because we can feel and we make them important to us.