how do atheists justify having children?

[jobhunter7]

Sorry if the question sounds banal... but it seems easier to rationalise having children if you think your children do the right thing mostly in life they'll end up beyond the pearly gates...

I wish. There seems to have been a massive increase in odd, barely literate posts since the recent revamp. Banal and goady at the same time, it's pulling this site right down

OP you will find some insights into atheist and humanist thinkings if you refer to the website of Humanists UK… if you are truly interested in an answer to your question.

Ricky Gervais is a patron and is very good at conveying his outlook on such matters.

“It’s a strange myth that atheists have nothing to live for. It’s the opposite. We have nothing to die for. We have everything to live for”

On another thread an OP asked for advice about whether to get a termination. A couple of people basically implied: you'll go to hell if you do and the powers that be will send you the lottery if you don't.
Is it weird to wonder whether this is somehow related? An easy (though peculiar) way to collect arguments (they now lack) so they'll know how to better argue their case next time?

Sorry if the question sounds banal... but it seems easier to rationalise having children if you think your children do the right thing mostly in life they'll end up beyond the pearly gates...

Your question is not banal @jobhunter7 - it's ignorant and narrow-minded. If you're a person of faith, have you never heard about the sin of spiritual pride?

Or maybe you're just not very bright.

@CaptSkippy correct

Why do lions and tigers and bears have children? Have they been reading their bible?

Surely it’s much scarier to have children if you belong to a religion that believes in hell or a version of it? How could anybody bring a child into the world knowing that if they choose not to subscribe to the religion, or if they do something the religion views as a sin, they could end up being tortured for all eternity? To me the idea of bringing a person into the world when there is a chance they could end up in hell is completely bizarre even if there is also the possibility of a heavenly afterlife.

Shouldnt religious people who think like you be doing all the adopting? After all, they need to do those good works to get I to that primo afterlife you’re looking forward to enjoying. Also, you could save those poor innocent souls from the atheist clutches… why would YOU have your own kids and not adopt?

When people spot this “just adopt” crap I can tell they have ZERO idea of the realities of adoption.

Also, those who are religious might have children who become atheists…

PS not believing in an afterlife doesn’t mean that you don’t believe in the beauty and good of the world, and it also doesn’t mean you won’t teach your children to be kind people. If anything, atheists try to do good in the world for the joy of it, and not because they are angling for some sort of big final payoff.

it’s types that think like you that are a true problem for the here and now. You are looking to this future and yet not stepping g up for the today. It is my understanding that the afterlife in many religions is something meant to be earned.

I have a faith but what a bizarre question

why would YOU have your own kids and not adopt?

I know you mean well but the phrase "your own kids" is damaging to kids like me (adult now, obviously) as it implies we aren't our parents children as much as biological children are.

Same goes for "have you met your real parents" etc. It minimises the relationship parents have with children they've adopted, which is just as meaningful and loving as that parents have with biological children.

Again, I'm not having a go and I know you don't mean anything negative by it. I just think it's helpful to point it out.

But we don't have children because we think they will go to heaven. There's all sorts of reasons why but mostly it's because we want live and cherish them in the here and now.

I'm an atheist and my lack of faith in life after death means that I judge less and live now even more. And I value my Mum now departed for everything she did whilst alive - she was the kindest of people.

Wtf?

Placemarking to see if they answer the hell question 😈

I came on to say, as an atheist, that all of us kid ourselves if we think we have children for higher-level reasons (such as OP's belief that they might go to a better place in an afterlife) but MelonsMelonsMelons has summed it up beautifully above. We may place a rational reason for having children but humans, just as other animals, are at the biological mercy of their genetic programming to perpetuate the species.

I dunno...biology?

This thread is bonkers.

Why do people want to have children at all? It's generally not to send them to the pearly gates, but because they want to have children. We like the bit when they are alive, before they die.

Why do we own pets, when they're just going to die? Because we like the bit when they are alive before they die and we accept that death comes to us all.

As an atheist I don't have to justify having children to anyone. Why would I? Justify what, and to whom? It makes no sense.

I'm an atheist and can see where you're coming from.

Pobably biological need. I struggle with a nihilistic point of view sometimes and wonder the same thing. I love my child and I'm glad they are here. I'll probably have another one. But fuck knows why. It's difficult to reconcile in my head.

Christians just have kids to fill up heaven??

So the real reason Christians have kids is because God said "Go forth and multiply" (in other words "fuck off"!). I don't believe you.

I was brought up a Catholic and blieved for a long time, though by the time I met dh I had well and truly lapsed. When we decided we wanted a child, my justification was that as people between us we had a huge amount to offer children, and our relationship was really strong and a great model for kids.

That would have been my 'justification' if I'd beeded one if had still been Catholic. I wouldn't have considered whether my child was likely to have eternal life, I wanted my kid(s) to have happy real lives. No guarantee about what beliefs they might adopt as adults, if any at all anyway.

Are you considering having children?

I had children so I could continue to spread madness into the world. It seems to be working well so far.

I don't know what the pearly Gates have to do with having children but it would be mega boring after a while with no end in sight.

Biology ? 🤔

And there I was thinking that there’s no such thing as a stupid question.

What would you do if you lost your faith OP?

And how would you place people like my DM who were born into a Catholic family but adopted into a non-Catholic family?

What?!
All animals have offspring and none of them believe in god!
And I'm childfree by choice for what it's worth.