Re: atheists-- what is your source of hope?
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In my adult life I have had two occasions in particular where I had to go to intensive care, on call, day in and day out, and if I would not have had a belief system I would never had made it. So when an atheist has an emergency, and sacrifices have to be made for the good of another, day in and day out, making your own future uncertain, where do you find hope, solace and joy, if you do not believe in a higher power?
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I've been rereading these comments, trying to put the 2 halves of the reasoning together. It seems the OP believes in a god that can intervene?? Yet, if that was the case, and I find myself in dire straits, I'd be less hopeful than somebody who just figures they had bad luck, because it sure looks like this intervener has some plans for me I'm not too crazy about.
Setting that aspect aside, since it isn't helpful in any case, "hope, solace and joy" would be emotions I would experience in relation to things occuring to people I care about ( which doesn't exclude too many people).
A young guy straightening out his life seems hopeful situation to me ( it could even be me). In a bad situation, I find solace in the caring relationships I have, in various ways. In fortuitous times, I am joyful for the good fortune of loved ones.
There seems no spot where an intervening god whose "ways we can't understand " would be any comfort at all, sounds more like confusion than comfort.
I've been in some hairy situations - a burning small boat on the ocean that had insufficient lifeboats... we loaded the women and children in the only one there and shoved them away ( I knew none of the women or children). A wilderness situation that ended in a desparate flagging down of a small float plane for a rescue. ( those are the 'unusual' ones). Never even had a twitch of "somebody up there help me" and neither did any other atheists ( it was usually a mix of both types) that were involved in any of them.
It's in tough times that the person you are comes out, and somebody who holds people as the center of importance in life still does that in whatever circumstance they end up in.
hope that's helpful :-)
but I really think I missed the point of the OP,
luckyme,
If I thought I was wrong, my mind would have changed.
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