Making Our Own Hope

Yesterday I had a discussion with fellow atheists and freethinkers about what secular people have to offer in the way of hope for others.

Religious people give hope to the masses by offering them mansions in the sky, no cares or problems, spending eternity with loved ones and happiness forever more.

Atheists offer nothing in the afterlife. If you think your life is miserable now just wait until you die! You become worm food and possibly forgotten.... Forever..... It's a hard sell.

It's the most humbling thing I have ever encountered. I never felt 'humbled' in the eyes of god. How could I? I was always told to follow god's law and I would be rewarded with the most lavish afterlife I could comprehend. I was promised a city in the sky, a golden crown, an eternity of happiness....

Very humble, indeed.

I was taught that this world is not my home. This Earth that god had put so much time into was not where I was supposed to be. I was meant for Heaven.

Being an atheist means that I had to accept that THIS is all there is for us. We are no more special to the universe than an ant. When I die, I may be remembered for another generation. And only by my family and friends. The world may not know my name. I may never do anything that is heroic or courageous. I may not go down in history for making a scientific discovery. I may never do anything worldwide with my life.

But I can try.

This is why atheists are coming together and working with one another to make this world a better one. This is it. This is the only chance we get. This is the only world we have right now. I want to do something to make my nephews' lives better. I want to leave this planet in better shape that I found it. I want societies that span the globe to have a better understanding of one another.

This is the atheists' hope. This is what we can look forward to. We are only here for the most absurdly brief amount of time. Destroying one another is not how I want to spend it.