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Life -

Purpose and meaning. For the theist, belief in their faith narrative (or really trust in their scriptures) provides life meaning, as their faith determines how to live a good life and avoid an eternity in hell if that applies. Acceptance of this is passive for people; few do a deep dive into their religion before believing. Few read their Bible before deciding. It’s a one-size-fits-all and ‘off the shelf’ ready to go. Ultimately, a ticket to heaven is a prize. An afterlife is usually asserted and the theist avoids the consequences that an atheist must address.

Of course none of this is true, thus wasting much time and tithes, but it does supply copious false comfort. The atheist gets no Get-Out-Of-Intellectual-Jail card. In a deterministic worldview, the King is physics and things are the way they are not because of a mythological “Fall”, but due to contingencies and natural physical laws.

I separate purpose where in an atheist conclusion there is no ultimate purpose, versus meaning whereby meaning can be constructed. Because something is temporary, like flowers, our lives and those of other animals, rain forests, etc.  have no meaning? From what I know, most professionals do not make this distinction. The atheist must then wrestle with the finality of death and oblivion.

There are many conservative Christians who hope for WWIII and Armageddon because it means to them the return of Jesus. Never mind billions dead and a nuclear winter. The atheist on the other hand, knowing this precious one life is all there is, should work hard to leave the world a better place. Secular humanism most often becomes an atheist’s world view (but not the atheists Stalin or Pol Pot. Carl Sagan and thousands of compassionate atheists have a different world view; thus atheism can’t be a religion nor world view).  One does not find meaning in life, we make it.

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William Lane Craig and Christopher Hitchens discuss meaning and purpose in their contrasting worldviews.