Hopelessness of atheism

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The Rev. Dr. Robert Stuart MacArthur was an early proponent of atheism being a causal factor for suicide.[1][2][3] See: Atheism and suicide

On March 8, 2013, Damon Linker wrote in The Week:

“ If atheism is true, it is far from being good news. Learning that we're alone in the universe, that no one hears or answers our prayers, that humanity is entirely the product of random events, that we have no more intrinsic dignity than non-human and even non-animate clumps of matter, that we face certain annihilation in death, that our sufferings are ultimately pointless, that our lives and loves do not at all matter in a larger sense, that those who commit horrific evils and elude human punishment get away with their crimes scot free — all of this (and much more) is utterly tragic.[4] ”

Although Bertrand Russell was an agnostic, he had favorable views of atheism.[5] Bertrand Russell wrote in 1903 about entropy and the universe:

“ That man is the product of causes that had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of Man's achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins- all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand.

"Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding dispair, can the soul's habitation henceforth be safely built." [6]

”

In a letter to Lowes Dickinson, Bertrand Russell wrote:

“ We stand on the shores of an ocean, crying to the night and the emptiness; sometimes a voice answers out of the darkness. But it is a voice of one drowning; and in a moment the silence returns” (Bertrand Russell, Autobiography, p. 287 as quoted by Leroy Koopman, “Famous Atheists Give Their Testimonies,” Moody Monthly, Nov. 1975, p. 124.) [7] ”
William Lane Craig

The Christian apologist William Lane Craig wrote:

“ For example, the outspoken atheist and Nobel Prize–winning physicist Steven Weinberg, at the close of his much-acclaimed book The First Three Minutes, writes,
It is almost irresistible for humans to believe that we have some special relation to the universe, that human life is not just a more-or-less farcical outcome of a chain of accidents reaching back to the first three minutes, but that somehow we were built in from the beginning.… It is very hard to realize that this all is just a tiny part of an overwhelmingly hostile universe. It is even harder to realize that this present universe has evolved from an unspeakably unfamiliar early condition, and faces a future extinction of endless cold or intolerable heat. The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.
But if there is no solace in the fruits of our research, there is at least some consolation in the research itself. Men and women are not content to comfort themselves with tales of gods and giants, or to confine their thoughts to the daily affairs of life; they also build telescopes and satellites and accelerators, and sit at their desks for endless hours working out the meaning of the data they gather. The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.

There’s something strange about Weinberg’s moving description of the human predicament: Tragedy is not a neutral term. It expresses an evaluation of a situation. Weinberg evidently sees a life devoted to scientific pursuits as truly meaningful, and therefore it’s tragic that such a noble pursuit should be extinguished. But why, given atheism, should the pursuit of science be any different from slouching about doing nothing? Since there is no objective purpose to human life, none of our pursuits has any objective significance, however important and dear they may seem to us subjectively. They’re no more significant than shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.[8]

”

The atheist Derek Beres claimed: "We’re the product of millions of years of evolution. Most species are extinct, as humans will eventually be."[9] See also: Atheism and death and Atheism and meaninglessness

In December 2003, the University of Warwick reported: "Dr. Stephen Joseph, from the University of Warwick, said: "Religious people seem to have a greater purpose in life, which is why they are happier. Looking at the research evidence, it seems that those who celebrate the Christian meaning of Christmas are on the whole likely to be happier."[10]

Atheism and suicide, depression and alcohol abuse

See also: Atheism and suicide and Atheism and depression and Atheism and alcohol abuse

Atheists have a higher suicide rate than the religious.[11]

As a whole, individuals who reside in religious countries and are integrated into their religious community's values are less accepting of suicide.[12][13] Compared to secular oriented countries, suicide rates are lower in countries with a state religion.[14][15] In 2008, the Gallup Organization reported: In More Religious Countries, Lower Suicide Rates

Phil Zuckerman is a professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College in Claremont, California (which was the first secular studies university department[16]). He specialization is in the sociology of secularity.

The website Adherents.com reported concerning atheism and suicide:

“ Pitzer College sociologist Phil Zuckerman compiled country-by-country survey, polling and census numbers relating to atheism, agnosticism, disbelief in God and people who state they are non-religious or have no religious preference. These data were published in the chapter titled "Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns" in The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, ed. by Michael Martin, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK (2005). In examining various indicators of societal health, Zuckerman concludes about suicide:

"Concerning suicide rates, this is the one indicator of societal health in which religious nations fare much better than secular nations. According to the 2003 World Health Organization's report on international male suicides rates (which compared 100 countries), of the top ten nations with the highest male suicide rates, all but one (Sri Lanka) are strongly irreligious nations with high levels of atheism. It is interesting to note, however, that of the top remaining nine nations leading the world in male suicide rates, all are former Soviet/Communist nations, such as Belarus, Ukraine, and Latvia. Of the bottom ten nations with the lowest male suicide rates, all are highly religious nations with statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism."[17]

”

In 2002, the People's Republic of China, which has state atheism, had the highest suicide rate (25.6 per 100,000 persons).[18]

Concerning atheism and depression, a University of Michigan study involving 19,775 individuals found that religious people are less likely than atheists to suffer depression when they are lonely.[19]

See also:

At least 100 studies suggest that religion has a positive effect on preventing alcohol-related problems, researchers Christopher Ellison, Jennifer Barrett and Benjamin Moulton noted in an article in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion on “Gender, Marital Status, and Alcohol Behavior: The Neglected Role of Religion.”[20] See: Atheism and alcohol abuse

Atheist infighting making the atheist community unappealing to many

See also: Atheist factions

Richard Dawkins
The new atheist Richard Dawkins was at the center of the Elevatorgate controversy. [21]

See also: Atheist factions

According to an international study done by William Bainbridge, atheism is frequent among people whose interpersonal social obligations are weak and is also linked to lower fertility rates in advanced industrial nations (See also: Atheism and fertility rates).[22] Most atheists do not join atheist organizations or attend atheist conferences/meetings due to the fact atheism is common among people who have weak interpersonal social obligations (see: Atheism and social skills). Most atheist organizations are relatively small in terms of active participants as most atheists are apathetic about organized atheism (see: Atheism and apathy).

On July 24, 2020, the atheist PZ Myers wrote about atheist factions: "Deep rifts, ongoing fragmentation, and crumbling reputations seems to be the order of the day in atheism."[23] See also: Atheist organizations and scandals and Atheist scandals

The significant amount of unpleasant personalities within atheism and the resulting amount of atheist infighting has made atheist community unattractive to people who are looking for a sense of community and/or a common cause (see: Atheist factions and Views on atheists).[24][25]

Atheists, motivation, depression and dopamine levels in the brain

See also: Atheism and motivation and Atheism and inspiration

According to Scientific American: "Research also suggests that a religious brain exhibits higher levels of dopamine, a hormone associated with increased attention and motivation."[26] See: Atheism and motivation

For more information, please see: Atheism, depression, suicide and dopamine levels in the brain and Atheism and depression

Atheism contrasted with Christianity

See also: Unattractiveness of atheism

The American Christian Todd Strandberg said of atheism: "The ranks of atheists have always been small... The key problem with atheism is that it lacks a strong 'selling point'".[27] Christians maintain that the benefits of Christianity totally outweigh the benefits of atheism.[28] For example, Bible believing Christians point out that the atheist population is more depressed than the Christian population and that atheists will ultimately wind up in hell.[29]

Unlike atheism which merely offers vanity and unrelenting despair, Christianity offers an accurate view of the universe and man's place in it. For more information, please see: Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian and Christian joy, atheist despair and the good news of Christianity and Evidence for Christianity

Recommended book

  • The Case for Utter Hopelessness: Why Atheism Leads to Unyielding Despair by Austin C Brown, 2017, ISBN-10: 1547010622

See also

Other:

Essay:

External links

Atheism and despair:

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.adherents.com/misc/religion_suicide.html
  2. ↑ http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/12/2303
  3. ↑ NY Times, September 17, 1894, ATHEISM A CAUSE OF SUICIDE.; Dr. MacArthur Preaches on the Sin and Cowardice of Self-Destruction
  4. ↑ Where are the honest atheists?
  5. ↑ Russell, Bertrand (1947) "Am I An Atheist Or An Agnostic?"[1] Most online sources say "by which one prove," probably a mistake.
  6. ↑ Entropy and heat death
  7. ↑ Atheism and the despair of hope
  8. ↑ The Practical Impossibility of Atheism by William Lane Craig
  9. ↑ The Arrogance of Atheism? by Derek Beres
  10. ↑ http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/2003/A/20037338.html
  11. ↑ Adherents.com - suicide rates
  12. ↑ Norko MA, Freeman D, Phillips J, Hunter W, Lewis R, Viswanathan R (January 2017). "Can Religion Protect Against Suicide?". Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease. 205 (1): 9–14. doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000000615. ISSN 1539-736X. PMID 27805983. S2CID 22824093
  13. ↑ Gearing RE, Alonzo D (December 2018). "Religion and Suicide: New Findings". Journal of Religion and Health. 57 (6): 2478–2499. doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0629-8. ISSN 0022-4197. PMID 29736876. S2CID 13687736.
  14. ↑ Norko MA, Freeman D, Phillips J, Hunter W, Lewis R, Viswanathan R (January 2017). "Can Religion Protect Against Suicide?". Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease. 205 (1): 9–14. doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000000615. ISSN 1539-736X. PMID 27805983. S2CID 22824093
  15. ↑ Gearing RE, Alonzo D (December 2018). "Religion and Suicide: New Findings". Journal of Religion and Health. 57 (6): 2478–2499. doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0629-8. ISSN 0022-4197. PMID 29736876. S2CID 13687736.
  16. ↑ Phil Zuckerman, Berkley Center website
  17. ↑ Religious Affiliation, Atheism and Suicide
  18. ↑ Bertolote JM, Fleischmann A (2002). "A Global Perspective in the Epidemiology of Suicide" (PDF).
  19. ↑ Lonely religious people are less depressed than atheists because they see God as a friend replacement, study finds, Daily Mail, 2018
  20. ↑ The Doubled-Edged Sword of Religion and Alcoholism
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ Bainbridge, William (2005). "Atheism" (PDF). Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. 1 (Article 2): 1–26.
  23. ↑ I don’t even know what’s going on in atheism anymore by PZ Myers
  24. ↑ Brendan O'Neill, The Telegraph, How atheists became the most colossally smug and annoying people on the planet, August 14th, 2013
  25. ↑ Atheism cannot replace religion
  26. ↑ Ask the Brains, Scientific American, Dec 23, 2011
  27. ↑ Atheism: The cult of death
  28. ↑ And the benefits of atheism are what again?
  29. ↑ And the benefits of atheism are what again?
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