Dear Atheists

[Hydraskull]

Dear AO atheist internet forum experts,
What to do when your child dies? How pointless is life after that? If there is no God, why why go on doing anything at all? Really whats the point, what reason is there to go on living at all? Why make threads on an internet forum challenging the only hope I or someone else has for some kind of purpose, some kind of reason for us not to break down and destroy everything around us?

[ao fan]

did your child die?

[Hydraskull]

Originally Posted by ao fan

did your child die?

My sister's child died, today would have been her 5th birthday. We were close, my sister and I are 12 months apart. My sister is a strong Christian. Or she was. She hasn't talked about it lately. It's been 8 months. I don't know what i am. I don't know what her husband is, I think he is like me. I look at pictures of my sister's child, so beautiful, and I wonder how anyone can deal with such a loss without some kind of hope of something more.

As the father of a young girl, I don't want to think of the possibilities, but I have to. I have to try to put myself through what my sister has gone through and there is no way I can go through it with no hope of God.

[ao fan]

Originally Posted by Hydraskull

My sister's child died, today would have been her 5th birthday. We were close, my sister and I are 12 months apart. My sister is a strong Christian. Or she was. She hasn't talked about it lately. It's been 8 months. I don't know what i am. I don't know what her husband is, I think he is like me. I look at pictures of my sister's child, so beautiful, and I wonder how anyone can deal with such a loss without some kind of hope of something more.

As the father of a young girl, I don't want to think of the possibilities, but I have to. I have to try to put myself through what my sister has gone through and there is no way I can go through it with no hope of God.

sorry for your loss. how did she die?

[Noddy]

Originally Posted by ao fan

sorry for your loss. how did she die?

Why on earth you'd want to know that is beyond me. The less I know about the circumstances of a little girls death the better. This is due to my strong sense of empathy.

[Hydraskull]

Originally Posted by Noddy

Why on earth you'd want to know that is beyond me. The less I know about the circumstances of a little girls death the better. This is due to my strong sense of empathy.

But if you knew the circumstances of her death you would be better able to empathize.

[Noddy]

Originally Posted by Hydraskull

My sister's child died, today would have been her 5th birthday. We were close, my sister and I are 12 months apart. My sister is a strong Christian. Or she was. She hasn't talked about it lately. It's been 8 months. I don't know what i am. I don't know what her husband is, I think he is like me. I look at pictures of my sister's child, so beautiful, and I wonder how anyone can deal with such a loss without some kind of hope of something more.

As the father of a young girl, I don't want to think of the possibilities, but I have to. I have to try to put myself through what my sister has gone through and there is no way I can go through it with no hope of God.

This makes me feel quite sad. ( due to my strong strong sence of empathy due to my long ( and our shared ) evolutionary history.)

For me, realizing that humanity will not last forever, it will all ( including our universe ) end eventually was more profound than when I realized that my religious ( and other ) superstitions were unlikely to be true.

[Hydraskull]

Originally Posted by Noddy

This makes me feel quite sad. ( due to my strong strong sence of empathy due to my long ( and our shared ) evolutionary history.)

For me, realizing that humanity will not last forever, it will all ( including our universe ) end eventually was more profound than when I realized that my religious ( and other ) superstitions were unlikely to be true.

Do you have children? I understand this point of view, but I don't understand how it can persist once someone has children.

[Noddy]

Originally Posted by Hydraskull

Do you have children?

However irrelevant, yes

Originally Posted by Hydraskull

I understand this point of view, but I don't understand how it can persist once someone has children.

I don't really understand the question but

My point of view results from my beliefs which are somewhat out of my control.

[ao fan]

i don't have a child, but i think i fear death enough that if my child died i might go on living. i'm bordering on atheist and the idea of nothingness after death horrifies me.