Question:
Atheists, don't you feel a hollowness in your lives?
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Atheists, don't you feel a hollowness in your lives?
22 answers:
Carl
2015-02-16 09:40:07 UTC
You've "had enough of family/friends"?

Really? That's disturbing.



For me, I'm looking forward to a little hollowness in the future when kids' sports and activities are done and I retire.
bonzo the tap dancing chimp
2015-02-16 09:34:45 UTC
religious belief can provide psychological comfort but having to abandon intellectual integrity and self respect is much too great a price to pay
2015-02-16 09:39:34 UTC
I don't see how. In all honesty I'd see it more of a hollow life to live in fear. Fear of a god whom can send billions to hell for not complying with his spiritual demands. Atheists are able to feel the love of family and friendship. Granted I'm not Christian, maybe there is something to the love-fear thing. Perhaps a little masochistic...possibly?
?
2015-02-16 09:57:13 UTC
No, I don't feel a hollowness. I think those who have a great inner emptiness try to fill it with religion.
punch
2015-02-16 09:51:44 UTC
Nope.Not at all. And it's not money. Im comfortable, but not rich. Still have to watch spending. And I have spirituality. But religion. I have found after 53 years that religion offers me nothing I need.
strpenta
2015-02-16 09:49:12 UTC
Nope. I have emotions, too. I also happen to have enough logic to realize there is no proof of ANY god/desses and the one described in the Bible is contradictory (not to mention the OT version is repulsive)
WOOWHO
2015-02-16 09:46:43 UTC
Atheist dont you feel hollowness in your lives ? No been an Atheist 32 years doing fine ... you apparently were missing something and chose religion I apparently found religion for the 30 years before i became an atheist as anything more than beliefs given to me by my family who followed that doctrine for 7 generations and never questioned it for what it was or if it was true ..I love my life That's why i am an atheist ..so i have been on both sides of the fence and i like this side better ..thanks for your concern ,,,have a great day
jpopelish
2015-02-16 09:38:10 UTC
If my life were perfectly fulfilled,

there would be no reason to continue it,

because it could only get worse than it is.



The difficulties of life

are what give me reason

to get out of bed every morning

and get to work,

being useful to myself, my family, my dog,

my friends, my country, my species, etc.



--

Regards,



John Popelish
2015-02-16 09:37:56 UTC
No, actually. My life is very full and rich. One's life usually is when you understand that it's the only one you'll get and that you must therefore work to make it the best and most fulfilling it can be.
giles
2015-02-16 10:15:24 UTC
Nope. I don't need to believe in spirits or magic sky genies or magic carpenters to feel satisfied. If you would feel sad and empty if you didn't believe in any of those things, then that's fine.
Evathia
2015-02-16 09:41:35 UTC
I feel no hollowness. I live a life of happiness. I am surrounded by my friends and family, and I am perfectly happy with all that this world has to offer. I don't live in fear of going to hell, and I don't focus on ascending to heaven, but rather living each day to the fullest and making the world a better place. When I was a Christian (and then a Muslim) I lived in fear that my actions were not good enough and that I wasn't going to make it into heaven. Now, I focus on the present moment. Life is good. :)
ANDRE L
2015-02-16 09:48:22 UTC
"There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths. Almost inevitably some part of him is aware that they are myths and that he believes them only because they are comforting. But he dare not face this thought! Moreover, since he is aware, however dimly, that his opinions are not rational, he becomes furious when they are disputed."~ Bertrand Russell "Human Society in Ethics and Politics"



No, because I'm not a willfully ignorant moron. The only lacking in my life is that I don't have all of the books that I want to own and read. Yet.
?
2015-02-16 10:48:28 UTC
Of course not they feel fulfilled and for good reason!



The only way primitive religion exists today is through the child abuse of forcing it into very, very young children but thanks to better education and growing intellects so many teens are able to discover the truth, throw off the indoctrination and step into the real world!



So atheism is not a conscious decision or a belief but a realisation!



The first person to produce a single tiny little piece of verifiable evidence for any god will become world famous and mega rich!



Research has shown atheists have a higher intelligence than people with a strong religious faith. The difference is 5.8 points according to findings in developmental psychology!



More members of the "intellectual elite" considered themselves atheists than the national average.



Only 7 per cent of members of the American National Academy of Sciences believed in God. Whilst only 3.3 per cent believed in God in the UK’s Royal Society.



Several Gallup poll studies of the general population have shown that those with higher IQ’s tend not to believe in God."



Neuroscientists have conducted the most comprehensive brain mapping to date of the cognitive abilities measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), the most widely used intelligence test in the world.



The results show that the various factors that comprise a high or low IQ score

depend on particular regions of the brain.



The WAIS test is composed of four indices of intelligence, each consisting of several subtests, which together produce a full-scale IQ score. The four indices are the verbal comprehension index, which represents the ability to understand and to produce speech and use language; the perceptual organization index, which involves visual and spatial processing, such as the ability to perceive complex figures; the working memory index, which represents the ability to hold information temporarily in mind (similar to short-term memory); and the processing speed index.



With the exception of processing speed, which appears scattered throughout the brain, the lesion mapping showed that the other three cognitive indices really do depend on specific brain regions.



For example, lesions in the left frontal cortex were associated with lower scores on the verbal comprehension index; lesions in the left frontal and parietal cortex (located behind the frontal lobe) were associated with lower scores on the working memory index; and lesions in the right parietal cortex were associated with lower scores on the perceptual organization index.



The study also revealed a large amount of overlap in the brain regions responsible for verbal comprehension and working memory, which suggests that these two now-separate measures of cognitive ability may actually represent the same type of intelligence, at least as assessed using the WAIS.



It matters not if they are atheist because of this new type of intelligence or get it because they are atheist – it is a totally different and far more efficient process!!
A.Mercer
2015-02-16 12:06:12 UTC
No I do not. I have my friends and family. I have my hobbies. I like to create things. I like to garden. I am not feeling hollow like many christians claim that atheists do. I do not feel like I am missing anything. In fact, I like to give back to people when I can. I like to help others. Life is good.
Howard
2015-02-18 03:59:15 UTC
Um, yes, material prosperity, family love, social engagements, and intellectual pastimes do fill me completely. I don't sense any gap. After I have completed my life, I leave proud knowing I have worked hard for my dreams. Can YOU live without the love and wealth I desire?
Pyriform
2015-02-16 09:49:06 UTC
Only in that I do feel that I have not done as much in my life as I should, but on the whole I do feel that relationships with the people I love and enjoying pastimes (not necessarily intellectual, indeed just enjoying the beauty of nature on a nice day is one of the best) are fulfilling (not so much material prosperity). But in any case feeling fulfilled is not a convincing argument for the existence of a god.
Pheby
2015-02-17 09:45:01 UTC
I have a unique imagination. It is that the atheists fill the hollowness of HIS spirit thus HIS joy lives. He praises again and again. Let there be atheists.
Tylertxanreborn2
2015-02-16 09:40:37 UTC
no--not really--can't say I do. I live a pretty healthy happy life
2015-02-16 09:49:36 UTC
Only when I miss a meal.
2015-02-16 09:35:55 UTC
It is nonsense but the Atheist Community can't deny the suicide problem that comes with atheism



==============

his is from a major atheist source





Atheism Has A Suicide Problem



About a year ago a friend of mine died. He was the first person I take credit for de-converting away from theism to atheism. While I can’t say for certain that his death was suicide, I can’t rule it out. It has also been about four months now since the death of Humanist activist and friend Joe Fox. Joe was the reason I became the head of PhillyCoR and while he seemed like the happiest person you could know and was always there for anyone who needed help, he apparently secretly struggled with depression. I also have another friend who recently de-converted and is having a very difficult time adjusting to the reality that God doesn’t exist. While I don’t think he is suicidal, I would be surprised if he didn’t think about it at times.



This is something we don’t like to admit, but it is true. There is a problem within the atheist community of depression and suicide. I know we would all like to believe that atheists are happier people than religious believers and in many ways we are. But we also have to accept the reality that in some very important ways we are not.



Ignorance really is bliss. People are happier when they have no idea what is going on. But when people do know what is going on, when they actually have a clearer picture of reality, they are in a better position to make themselves really happy. It is the difference between being high on drugs and being high on life. Or in this case high on Jesus vs. high on the vast wonders of the universe. Obviously, being high on life is the better kind of happiness.
?
2015-02-16 09:42:14 UTC
i was raised without religion, i had a faith in God since i was 4, but even still i believed in the tooth fairy and santa and loved easter egg hunts. the first time i heard about the rapture and a better life was in high school. even though the rapture is debatable on different doctrines with various bible verses. i knew i want that better life. and even though i suffered many things in mortal life in ways of tribulation and persecution, i still have hope that i might gain a better resurrection for being a witness and having faith in the bible and the book of mormon. atheism is a huge delusional conspiracy, enabled by devil worshipers who even now propagate false propaganda that atheist so easily latch onto.
2015-02-16 09:35:58 UTC
Of course they do.



Every human being has a desire for God, ultimate meaning and ultimate justice. Although most atheists will never, ever admit this, they have this same desire as anyone else does.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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