MiggyEvans Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 http://weatheists.blogspot.com/2011/02/no-god-and-no-purpose.html From my blog. Did anyone else struggle with purpose after deconverting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galien Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Life hasn't changed that much for me. My mantra has always been don't be an asshole. That hasn't changed. Just live your life Miggy, decide who you are and why, and love others. Human connection is what makes life worthwhile, and thats the damn truth with god or without Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDonDiamond21 Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Nope. Once I realized that I defined my own purpose, life has become my own little playground where I could try/redefine those aspects of my life I once held so concretely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agnosticator Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I think "life has no purpose apart from God" and "God as foundation of that purpose" are just false beliefs we were taught. It amounts to Divine Command as the real basis for purpose to one's life. Once the slave is freed, he or she still believes this and feels a "void". But the existence of a "void" is another theistic belief with no merit. I'll bet my life if a person was never taught any of this by parents, religionists, or society, the ideas would be as incomprehensible and irrelevant as they really are. I certainly felt no void or lack of purpose when I deconverted. But I suppose that for those who had nothing to do outside of the church, it could be a problem. Sort of like choosing a major in a secular college when you have no interests other than preaching or studying the Word. What is left for you to major in besides theology? There's a whole world out there yet to be discovered, but the believer is stuck in the box of religious hype. It will pass... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathlene Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 http://weatheists.blogspot.com/2011/02/no-god-and-no-purpose.html From my blog. Did anyone else struggle with purpose after deconverting? WHat did you think your purpose in life was as a christian? I didnt exactly feel like I had one myself personally, except to be some sort of narcissistic light for everyone to be drawn to Jesus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 God never told me what my purpose was, so that's what I continued to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freespirit Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 http://weatheists.bl...no-purpose.html From my blog. Did anyone else struggle with purpose after deconverting? Yes, I do struggle with a lack of purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiggyEvans Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 I would say that it's not like I don't know how to find a purpose or that I'm completely in despair or anything. I'm just suddenly aware that the things that motivated my actions toward an ultimate goal (becoming who God wanted me to be) and now that I've jettisoned such beliefs I've noticed the void. It's not that I need God, but when I was so dependent on him its hard not to notice the absence in my life and the way I approach any and all objectives. For those who were never burdened by such dependency, I'm sure the transition is smoother, but for me it's getting rockier than I expected. If you do feel like your purpose is absent or you struggled with an overcame it, I'm curious about your own personal journey. I feel that I'm so hard wired to live for others and not for myself that striving for my own personal satisfaction that when I can make my own rules, it's hard to feel content with what feels so self serving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chosendarkness Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 http://weatheists.bl...no-purpose.html From my blog. Did anyone else struggle with purpose after deconverting? My purpose is pretty much the same as it was when I was a Christian, to be happy. Except now I don't try to do it through religion. But it's interesting how I have more confidence now to create and do more things, which feels pretty awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I think purpose or function is conferred upon things to the extent that they are part of a whole. I suspect that those who embrace the idea that we are all part of a human family and that we have a moral imperative to provide our children with a better future, have a very heightened sense of purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDogTolstoy Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 The purpose of life is to maintain and colonize the universe with intelligent life...Christianity based on Newtonian physics doesn't jibe with the purpose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ireckinso Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I would say that it's not like I don't know how to find a purpose or that I'm completely in despair or anything. I'm just suddenly aware that the things that motivated my actions toward an ultimate goal (becoming who God wanted me to be) and now that I've jettisoned such beliefs I've noticed the void. It's not that I need God, but when I was so dependent on him its hard not to notice the absence in my life and the way I approach any and all objectives. For those who were never burdened by such dependency, I'm sure the transition is smoother, but for me it's getting rockier than I expected. If you do feel like your purpose is absent or you struggled with an overcame it, I'm curious about your own personal journey. I feel that I'm so hard wired to live for others and not for myself that striving for my own personal satisfaction that when I can make my own rules, it's hard to feel content with what feels so self serving. I had those issues and thats a lot of the reasons my first 2 marriages failed. I always felt I had to be what someone else wanted me to be. After my 2nd divorce I told myself I wasn't going to be that person anymore. It took me about 2 years being on my own and just finding myself again. It was an emotional ride. Eventually I realized how much of who I am and what I have to offer was being suppressed by other people. I don't do that anymore and my new wife supports me in anything. Last spring I had a wild hair to build a Tiki hut in the back yard. So I did. She never questioned me. If I want to sit and play world of warcraft for eight hours on my day off I will. If I want to go golfing I do. Yes there are limitations you have to put on yourself. I mean you do have to put energy into your relationship too, but I used to have to ask if I could go golfing or even drink a beer. This is how bad it was. One day I went to Wal-mart and bought some new floor mats for my truck. Twenty bucks, no big deal right, hell I worked sixty hours a week and made really good money. One day my ex-wife got in my truck and saw the floor mats and bitched, yelled and screamed at me for a week. I wasn't allowed to go to the store on my own for a month because I didn't tell her that I had bought them. WTF is that? They are twenty dollar floor mats and I became the enemy to the earth! Anyway, find out who you are and what you want. Then make a plan to make it happen. Thats what you should live for, your own personal goals! Try something new, something that you though you would never do, you would be amazed how liberating it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pr122086 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 http://weatheists.blogspot.com/2011/02/no-god-and-no-purpose.html From my blog. Did anyone else struggle with purpose after deconverting? I do. I was pretty much all in, small group leader, mission trips, gave more than 10%, etc..., and I did have a real strong sense of purpose. I would have said, and truly did believe that the biggest thing I could do with my life was use it to glorify God. I thought that letting God transform me would bring him glory, like the way a father is proud of a son when he does well. It felt good to think I was part of something much bigger than myself. I think lots of people want to leave some kind of legacy as they get close to the end of their lives, and I thought the way I was living would echo in eternity (I might have stole that phrase from Gladiator, not sure though ) I'm not sure personally that I'll ever have the same sense of purpose. Some things hurt to lose even if they were fiction. In your blog, you talked about your changing ideas slowly, and that is true for me as well. I wish you well. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirPhoenix Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I'm beginning to think that the idea of purpose is something that humanity has invented. It's all a big machine, and we are cogs in it. If I don't think about it, I'm much happier. When I realized it didn't matter if I thought about it or not, I became happier still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freespirit Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I just sent in an app for volunteer at the humane society. When we first left the fundy conservative church, I didn't want to do anything at all. That was 5 years ago. (We haven't attended any church for a year.) I had given so much of my time away, and felt like I had to. At first it was volunteer then it was mandatory. I never felt like I minded but was completely burnt out. This is the first time I've felt like doing anything like this since I left. And it's going to be on my terms or not at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiggyEvans Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 I'm beginning to think that the idea of purpose is something that humanity has invented. It's all a big machine, and we are cogs in it. If I don't think about it, I'm much happier. When I realized it didn't matter if I thought about it or not, I became happier still. I read this earlier today and have been mulling it over in my mind for some time. I think technically, purpose is a concept and all concepts were invented by humankind at one point or another. Or rather, the idea of a concept was created by people so that any concept derives from this original idea of a concept....whoa....got dizzy on my philosophy soapbox there. But, I don't think my struggle is that I feel I must have a purpose and that without God my life is meaningless. It's more along the lines of, I was motivated by this underlying current in my life, that current is gone and now this subconscious engine that drove my impulses and my goals is missing. I've noticed now that it's missing and I'm not quite sure just exactly how to go about replacing it. I know time is an irreplaceable factor and that gradual change is a big part of it all, but at the same time, I have things to do and things that need to be accomplished. Tough business. It maybe invented, but I still need something to live for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 When I was a Christian, aside from thinking my purpose was for god to toss me into hell when I died, I didn't think there was one. I still don't think there's any "purpose" so to speak but I still try to make the best out of my life I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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