Purpose without a God

There’s no point in living if you don’t believe in God.

Boy, have I seen this normative argument plenty of times. Especially since this is completely wrong. Whether or not you believe in a God or not, doesn’t change a thing about the value of life. It’s not just western atheists that don’t believe in God, but also many Asian and African civilizations. Buddhists, though they have spirituality, have absolutely no God that they worship, just a man that lived and relived. Yet, you don’t see these people committing suicide because live serves no purpose. Instead, they live on and in their own friends and families.

Many years ago, I remember watching a documentary on ancient Egypt. I remember watching a man pull out an old broken up pot and explaining what that pot was used for. At that moment, I had the most amazing epiphany ever in my life. The person that made that pot is immortal. Odd to think that someone who has no name or face lives on in immortality. No, not because of a God or Heaven, but because of his work done here on Earth. That one simple pot helped others, and even today, still helps others. That pot may bought by someone who used that pot to make their life more simple. In return, that pot was paid for and that money was used to help the person that made that pot. Those people went on to live their life through their friends and their families. They passed on experiences that brightened up someones’ day, or maybe even changed the society. Also, those people may have passed their experiences and genes on to their offspring which, in turn, helped keep their society alive, and ultimately, all of humanity. Finally, the fact that they existed in the first place, no matter the magic or force used, can never be erased. These thing alone are more than enough to keep giving me value and purpose to live my life with, or without, a God.

Now, thinking about life is fine, but what of the afterlife? Many claim that it’s complete bliss. You receive the things you want and get to stand and worship the God that you spent your life loving. This, to me, seems completely empty. Much like cheating on a video game, you would become very bored with it all. You put no effort into getting any reward you desire. One of the main great factors of being human is the fact that your hard effort and time and rewarded with not only the things that you pleasure, but that pat on the back that you accomplished something. Can it be that the idea of a Heaven and afterlife completely removes a huge part of what it means to be a human being?