Is life worthless and meaningless without gods?

There’s this fallacy that’s flooding social media and it’s the assertion that if you’re an atheist and you accept naturalism over creation then your life is without purpose, meaning and you’re essentially worthless. They have this ridiculous notion that we are all created for a purpose. I’m yet to figure out what this purpose is other than being blind slaves to an idol figure because they’re convinced that they’ll spend eternity with them. How is this any more a purpose than an atheist who’s convinced life came about naturally (who’s cause is unknown), but we are here so let’s make the most of it whilst we still have air in our lungs?

Atheists accept that this is the only life we have and to get through it happily then you have to appeal to the greater good through virtue. Using empathy, compassion and reason embraces the intrinsic value that a heartbeat gives to a life, and these emotions are what makes us human. These emotions weren’t given to us by a god; more-so evolution and living within societies. Atheists don’t need to think their life has value as their friends and family value them so they don’t need an imaginary father figure who they value more than their own children.

It makes no sense whatsoever to live this life in preparation for the next life when that is built purely on faith and assumptions because it’s what they want as opposed to the likelihood that this is their one and only chance and they are scared of that. They’re prepared to be wrong because they’re that brainwashed into thinking they’ll one day meet their maker.

Humans are self-aware and we have the luxury of imagination with science and technology progressing so far over the last hundred years it makes the idea of organised religion seem so archaic and out of date with the modern world, yet Islam is growing so fast it really makes you consider how easily convinced humans can still be over mythology in 2022. It’s extremely worrying.

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Is plant-based and cruelty-free the future?

I’ve been a vegetarian for a number of years; not for the first time as I’ve always crumbled and my will-power has failed me. This time though I’m in for the long-haul and I’ve gone one step further – veganism… I can’t claim to be liberal and an advocate of equality if it’s limited to just one of the millions of species of life on the planet. If I’m to advocate cruelty free, then that must surely extend to the rest of the animal kingdom?

One of the most annoying questions I get asked if I have to announce that I have a plant-based diet is ‘what do you eat?’ This is a question from pure ignorance as if one is to use their imagination they’ll realise that a plant-based diet requires you to sometimes leave your comfort zone and try food that you wouldn’t have previously considered, and as someone who’s not particularly food motivated this has been an important journey of experimental cuisine for me.

“Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment.” – Vegan Society

There was a time… (quick rant)

There was a time when humans were quite without knowledge of the universe. They didn’t know that the stars were perhaps the Sun of their very own solar system, or that the Earth was an oblate spheroid in a heliocentric system that orbits a nuclear fusion fuelled star that’s 93,000,000 miles away. We know what the speed of light is in a vacuum, and that known galaxies are as far as 13,000,0000,000 light years away. We are but a mere speck of dust in an ever-expanding Universe, and we literally have no concept of what could possibly be out there…

But humanity needed to feel special.

They needed to think that their place in our incomprehensibly vast Universe is unique, and invented gods to encourage the uneducated, naive and gullible common folk that their pointless lives had purpose if they submitted to the will of the *insert preferred creator/deity* and obeyed their every command; that’s usually given through a middle-man like Moses, or Muhammad.

To some extent I can understand their ignorance and nativity as humanity wasn’t ready to examine the Universe, so religion took a hold and offered an explanation for the reason for our existence, yet at the same time the people that wrote Holy scripture didn’t know why the Sun disappeared at night. Years later some religions still claimed that we were in a geocentric system and everything rotated around us because god the creator put us at the centre of the universe because we’re fabulous, yet often oblivious to how extremely arrogant and obtuse they are.. but after all, the religious often claim we are made in god’s image.

But, that was all in a time when humanity knew no better. There are currently three probes from Earth on and around Mars’ orbit looking for signs of life. Scientists are finding cures to diseases like cancer every day. People are getting nerve-controlled prosthetics, or nano-surgery within the brain..

Yet still there’s a vast number of people who believe absolute nonsense about the origin of the universe and all that’s within by thinking we were created by a god.

Billions have died in wars. Billions have died through illness and disease and this has all been deemed by their loving god as perfectly acceptable or else he’d have intervened and prevented suffering.

Children dying of cancer, or at the hands of a serial sex offender. Or thousands dying in disasters which happen within a natural world, but god has a plan they say so they ignorantly accept the suffering because it’s god’s will. . Only he knows why because he’s all-powerful god.

There was a time… and that time is nigh…