It’s a strange myth that atheists have nothing to live for. It’s the opposite. We have nothing to die for. We have everything to live for.
Interpretation
Atheists find meaning in life itself rather than in the fear of death, emphasizing the value of living fully.
Ricky Gervais conveys that the common misconception about atheists believing life lacks purpose is misguided. Instead, he argues that atheists actually emphasize the importance of living life to its fullest without being constrained by the fear of death or the need for an afterlife. This perspective suggests that life is inherently valuable and that individuals have a profound reason to embrace existence, creating meaning through their experiences and relationships.
In practice
In a discussion about the purpose of life at a philosophy club.
You should make something. You should bring something into the world that wasn't in the world before. It doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter if it's a table or a film or gardening-everyone should create. You should do something, then sit back and say, 'I did that.'
It's better to create something that others criticise than to create nothing and criticise others. Go create, have fun!!
Science seeks the truth. And it does not discriminate. For better or worse it finds things out. Science is humble. It knows what it knows and it knows what it doesn’t know. It bases its conclusions and beliefs on hard evidence -- evidence that is constantly updated and upgraded. It doesn’t get offended when new facts come along. It embraces the body of knowledge. It doesn’t hold on to medieval practices because they are tradition.
I used to believe in God. The Christian one, that is (There are a few thousand to choose from. But I was born in a country where the dominant religion was Christianity so I believed in that one. Isn't it weird how that always happens?). Luckily I was also interested in science and nature. And reason and logic. And honesty and truth. And equality and fairness. By the age of eight I was an atheist.
People now live their lives like an open wound to be famous - they do bad things because they're rewarded for it.
A Christian telling an atheist they're going to hell is as scary as a child telling an adult they're not getting any presents from Santa.
…So when the last and dreadful hour This crumbling pageant shall devour, The trumpet shall be heard on high, The dead shall live, the living die, And Music shall untune the sky
Humankind can't stand too much reality.
While religious tolerance is surely better than religious war, tolerance is not without its liabilities. Our fear of provoking religious hatred has rendered us incapable of criticizing ideas that are now patently absurd and increasingly maladaptive.
History teaches, perhaps, very few clear lessons. But surely one such lesson learned by the world at great cost is that aggression, unopposed, becomes a contagious disease.
Nearly all the evils in the Church have arisen from bishops desiring power more than light. They want authority, not outlook.
I am no longer the wave of consciousness thinking itself separated from the sea of cosmic consciousness. I am the ocean of Spirit that has become the wave of human life.
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