I think the real issue here is depression, not god. Are you actively taking measures to reduce depression? ie: Proper nutrition, exercise, therapy, ect..

I feel that if one is truly depressed the source is not from a belief in god(s).. After all it's not like the religious are exempt from depression either in terms of prevalence OR severity.

Under the assumption that happiness is externalized.

It's not impossible, but it's an achievement to be poor, affirm a reductive narrative of life, and be happy.

I wouldn't say I have complete and total freedom to define anything in life. I just feel lost, hell is waking up everyday and not knowing why I'm here. I think the problem is maybe too much choice which causes paralysis, and even when I make a choice I can easily picture myself making a better choice.

I think Nilhilism is better because there are no rules to follow, there is nothing to believe in. The problem is there is no right and wrong just subjective preferences. Which is why for me the golden rule breaks down, no one is obligated to do anything. Its like game theory if you can get everyone doing A, you do the opposite and do B.

One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself, the moment someone takes advantage of me, because hey I'm a nice guy and doesnt follow the golden rule its lose -lose for me and win-wn for the other guy.


I couldn't care less about us being the dominant species on earth past, present or future. I owe the human race nothing, I dont care about my DNA being passed down through the generations, didn't anyone telll you about life?, you die at the end of it.

Scene from "The Watchmen"

That may be true for you but not for me.

Not under an atheistic worldview IMO.

People enjoy golf or reading a book, its not so much of a jump to assume maybe people like Hitler enjoy world domination or killing people, and the thing about is I cant tell him he's wrong. I can try oppose my world view on him but thats about it. So its all about power right?

If that's the world view you want to adopt, then it's no wonder you're depressed, but that world view isn't related to a lack of belief in god. It kinda seems to me that you probably still believe in god and are either in the process of losing your religion, or acting, because if you're truly lost without god then you're probably not truly an atheist (but this is just a guess, it's not something I desire to be the focal point of the discussion). If you don't want to follow the golden rule or whatever, that's on you. Sociopaths (which is where your world view will lead you) generally do very well in life being scummy pieces of ****, and if that's how you want to be, fine.

As said though, the world view you've adopted is synonymous with depression. Your personality and outlook on life is detached, which seems to suggest you push people away in real life. We all came here to try and help, and you ran all the way to the opposite end of the spectrum while suggesting abrasively a "**** it all" world view. To be fair, when I was around 16 I had a pretty similar world view, and I too was depressed. But I didn't want to be like that so I changed it.

In the end, is the way you view the world correct? Absolutely not. Is my world view correct? Absolutely not. They're just our views on the situation, and they're open to whatever interpretation you want to take. But at this point I would suggest that you want to be depressed, because you're somewhat abrasive and have adopted a "**** everyone else I can do whatever I want and it just doesn't matter", view on life.

Another little world view is that at any given point in time we're doing exactly what we want to be doing, because whenever we do anything it was our choice to engage in that activity. Example, I'm sitting on my computer rambling to you, I chose to do this, so right now I'm doing exactly what I want to do. We can play magic land and say "I'd like to be leaping through space in a space folding machine", but that's not realistic, and if we really wanted to be doing that we'd go out and start learning what we must in order to try and build a space folding machine. It's too much work though, so we leave the idea of a space folding machine in the dust, because all that work isn't want we really want to do. So right now at this point in time, this is what I want to do, and I'm doing it. It's a much more freeing thought than those you've presented up to this point.

If you want to be who you are right now, if you're content with your world view and your depression, than continue down this train of thought. If you want to be happy though, try to be happy, try to embrace different thoughts, and step outside of your comfort zone as often as possible. Personally, I sometimes drive in my car, with a my cars mascot, a walrus attached to my hood, and a sub from subway in my hand. I point my sub at people when I drive by them, and it makes me feel good because those people have to be confused, which brings me joy. I'll drive around blaring "What is love", while I attempt very poorly to snap my head left and right. Sometimes I'll wear my robe in public (clothes underneath) because it adds a weirdness to what I'm doing, which at this point you should realize makes me very happy. I'm going to be buying a carstache (a mustache for my car) soon, I guess my car really makes me happy (and it's just a 1999 dodge neon, so I'm not monetarily living the life, far from it).

So for me, being weird and having people confused is what makes me happy, I imagine being that way makes other people who want to be happy, happy. So I know who I am and what the main point of my life is (being weird, having fun, spreading fun), and that's all it takes for my life to be fulfilled. Maybe you can gain something from this, or maybe you can continue down your path. But if you want to be happy, then your chosen world view is not the one for you. If you can't be a good person without the constraints of religion, just read, hang around believers, and become who you used to be.

Money has very little to do with emotional happiness. Some of the richest people in the world are the most depressed.

To be happy, you need balance. What things go into your balancing are very personal, unique, and unfortunately you need to figure them out yourself. God might be a part of that or not.

I agree with the others on seeking some kind of help for the depression though. If you don't, them that can spiral and consume you which won't allow you to seek the things that give you balance and ultimately your personal fulfillment.

Good luck.

Many people that don't read the Word of God are going to posit wordly solutions for you and they may or may not seem to work depending on the problem causing the depression.

But when you accept Jesus as your Lord and your Savior over time he makes you into a new man. The Word of God contains the seed to be born again. To birth a new man.

People don't talk a lot about the new man because they're hung up on the justification aspect of religion and the sinning and behavior because those are the things people fuss about and are most easily observable by the naked eye and because they constantly hear about it through politics and the media.

Jesus teachs you to turn your gaze inward and focus on yourself first. Most people would get better results if they work on theirselves first before they address other people's problems but gossip, etc. has a habit of distracting us and drawing us away from the self introspection route.

I Am New
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w6YG2NZguc

What i dont get is how some generalist undefined God would bring me any more fulfillment, meaning or purpose then no God. Same difference as far as i can tell.

Hello , I know how you feel I was felling the same way some time ago before i found the Lord . I believe that Jesus will save you if confess him as Lord and believe in him and follow him. It seems people try to fill there lives with stuff ( me included ) an really all we need is a relationship with Jesus. Keep searching for him man and he will be found. I will honestly be praying for you man. Pm me if ya want. Not claming to know it all but know what you're going threw.

I haven't choosen my world view much like I can't choose to believe in God. That's how the world is, I just tell the truth.

I guess what I'm saying is that the atheists world view doesn't offer anything for me in life. But what has been seen can't be unseen, and I can't just believing in God.

I never really was religious I went to church when I was young but my parents made me I stopped going when I turned 16 and never looked back.

28 now and recently I find life pointless I have accomplished a lot but find little enjoyment from it. Its more of a burden and a struggle with little reward.

Thank for your prayers

Atheism isn't a world view though. There are lots of very different world views that atheists will have.

that's true. sorry i shouldn't have said that.

In your case I'd probably take up praying and ask God to lead me while I read the 4 Gospel accounts.

We have direct access to God through prayer and he can send the Holy Spirit to increase your knowledge of things and/or start you looking in the right direction.