To say that god doesnt exist is saying that our lives are meaningless.
Not at all! Why? Explain to me why a life in the here and now would be meaningless.
It's popular religious propaganda to state that a live without a faith in God, somehow makes life itself less interesting or meaningful. Excuse me, but that kind of reasoning is just plain stupid.
I bet most ppl here belive that theres some extraterestial life out there in space.But if we found out that there is no alien life some kind of way, ppl would be devastated but it didnt really hurt anything to belive in aliens.
It's a better motive indeed if believing in a religion really doesn't hurt, but nothing's further from the truth.
The good old better save than sorry argument really only goes so far.
Even if the influence of a God or religion isn't obvious in everyday life and taking into account the fact that specifics about a God entity and it's whereabouts are totally and utterly unknown... then I really wonder how much true value such a reasoning has as well.
Don't forget the often huge implications being a member of a certain religion can have.
Wars, blind faith, being vulnerable to manipulation, discrimination, unwanted marriages in some cultures, less rights for women, hate-speech, non-religion related propaganda, isolation, abuse, social conditioning; there's really a lot more negative stuff surrounding or potentially surrounding a religious person's life.
Maybe it is a waste of time to some ppl, but what if god was real, and when he came you was not accepted to go to heaven, and you felt the the same burning pain as if you were on the sun for enternity.What if you were accepted and you would be able to live for enternity feeling a thousand times better than on the best day of your life, never having to worry about anything for enternity, knowing all the secrets of the universe.For someone to say they wouldnt wont that must truly be insane.I know i would.
Fear of missing out on something, really is a bad motive to believe in a God or religion.
We all want to become rich, so many of us will buy lottery tickets. Same kind of silly thing when you think hard about it. (It's really easier and faster and much more realistic to try and become a millionaire through plain hard and intelligent work!)
Do you really think all people who buy a ticket have a true (objectively speaking after winners are known) chance of winning?
I'm not talking about predestined life, but it's a statistical fact that many people will not ever win a jackpot prize or considerably large price even when they buy lottery tickets all their life.
..and then those people aren't even really doing anything 'wrong' compared to a religion that has many additional and sometimes odd rules. Breaking them could also lead to a punishment at the gates of heaven according to many... so really, if it exists at all, I really don't think heaven can be a crowded place.
I think that to any open mind it should be obvious that the whole heaven-reward is a made-up thing, a human invention to give comfort and hope (and be able to manipulate people). Nothing more, nothing less.
