Ed Brayton demolishes the main argument from religious apologists

We often hear one particular argument from godders: "If there's no god -- like those damn atheists are always saying -- then life has no meaning!"

Wow. I'm always shocked when I see that in print. This is a colossally stupid argument. It's like religious people never experienced, you know, life. They seem to have no clue what it means to be a human being who finds value in life itself. We make our own meaning, people. We care about friends and family and loved ones and the events that affect us as well as others. We are part of the human family. And that's the way it's always been. Gods are just fairy-tale creatures; as such, they add nothing to a person's life (except grief, worry, guilt, etc.). Religion has negative value. It harms rather than helps.

Here's how Ed Brayton handles this absurd argument that refuses to die:

The lack of some universal meaning or purpose does not mean that our lives don’t have meaning or purpose. It just means that we have at least some opportunity to determine meaning and purpose for ourselves rather than having some non-existent divine being decide it for us. And far from being a depressing fact, that is a liberating one.

I agree. And I'd add that the lives of religious people seem dull and uninteresting when compared with those of atheists. What value is there in following rules derived from a fairy tale? That's a formula for wasting a life. Religion is a sad enterprise, sapping people's energy and crippling their lives (and often the lives of others, whom they seek to control).

I'll take atheism any day.