Suicide: Is the Best Option for an Atheist?

Stan Solomon of The Talk to Solomon Show had an interview with an angry man, Gordon Klingenschmitt, who has his own empire of hateful rhetoric towards people he doesn't understand.

You can watch the interview here...

Aside from the men's obvious lack of understanding of what an atheist is, or even the purpose of a "chaplain" who isn't tied to a specific religion, they prove that they cannot follow their arguments to their logical end.

Suicide is present in all cultures, religions, ages, genders, orientations, and any other group classification you would like to throw in there.  Christians are not exempt from suicide, nor are the arguments for suicide, inside the minds of those that decide to end their lives, a phenomenon specific to atheists.

But let's examine the thought process of this Solomon guy and see if we cannot flush out a more reasoned approach to his unreasonable words.

Most Christians believe in a literal heaven.  At any funeral, no matter what faction of Christianity you belong to, provided the dead individual had followed the specific creed of that faction, no matter how nebulous in nature, they are said to have "moved on to a better place".  

Yes.  A better place.

Christianity believes that heaven will render a person's body perfect.  All troubles will be gone.  Tears of sadness will be replaced by cries of joy and worship of their god.  Some literally believe that, as the Bible says, the streets will be paved with gold, while others even believe you will be afforded a mansion to live it up in.  There will be no more death, no more sickness, no...atheists to make you afraid.

Heaven is the ultimate utopia, much like The United States of America, around the time of our Founding Fathers.

With that description of the afterlife, why wouldn't a Christian chaplain encourage a soldier to end it all.  Better put, why wouldn't a soldier view the pending misery of the rest of their injured life, and decide that ending this life is the best option?

On the other hand, an atheist may believe that this life is all we have.  I say "may believe" to differentiate those atheists that unequivocally claim there is no afterlife from those that just don't know, but decide not to worry about it.  Either way, the view that our current life is all we have is actually a good reason to KEEP LIVING and make the best of it.  We have nothing "better" to look forward to, potentially keeping us going.

That being said, anyone can and will commit suicide and will reconcile it in their minds however they want.  Even so, an atheist is not immune to happiness, much like a Christian is not shielded from sorrow, depression, and lack of a drive to live.

That's all I have right now...

Husband Tapes Wife's "Tantrum", Uploads to YouTube

I'm sure everyone has seen that video of the wife "throwing a tantrum" because she wanted to go to the lake and her husband wanted to rotate his tires.  Everyone seems to be concluding that the wife is a total douche.

While I find her reactions fascinating, cringe-worthy, causing me to wince with every other word and wail, I came away with a different reaction.

Throughout my twelve year marriage, I have had some ups and downs.  We have, as a couple, as a family, and as single, individual units of humanity.  Many things have been said, screamed, wept about, wailed about, cussed about, as well as every other form of communication, in private.  Every once in a while, a third party has walked into an incensed discussion between my wife and I, resulting in an uncomfortable moment.

A few years back, I began yelling at the kids about something that they had done.  Plenty of words came out of my mouth, including several "fucks".  I really let loose this time, throwing a royal adult tantrum, which I do very well.  Later, as always happens, I looked back over the incident and was very irritated by my reaction, remorseful about what I had done, and embarrassed by how I let myself get so worked up over something so silly.

It was made so much easier by the fact that Kristine had secretly videotaped the whole episode.  In a calmer moment, she played it back to me.  It was horrible.  Sure, we laughed about it, I apologized for everything, and then we summarily deleted the evidence (I think... Maybe she's saving it for blackmail later).  

But that's the thing.  This was a private incident.  Anyone who has been married or been in a relationship with another human being understands that things are done and said that would never see the light of day.  Kristine and I do and say things to each other that we would never do or say to our friends.  We can do it because we love each other unconditionally, and know that not everything that happens has meaning.  While others would look in on our marriage and think, at those moments, that we are two horrible people, they have no idea about the twelve years of "knowing each other" that allows us to be relaxed and open with our feelings and actions with one another.

Thus, I conclude that this husband, the one who uploaded his wife's "tantrum" to YouTube, was a total dick.  He should never have released this to the public.  No matter what his wife's actions, I pity her with every bone in my body.

May her husband live to regret his actions, learn from them, and take action to heal this horrid breach to their relationship.