It’s equally amusing to see those on the secular side unwilling / uncomfortable to really face reality. One of the most helpful atheist writers in this regard is John Gray, whose “Straw Dogs” was a huge push for me in the more nihilistic direction. In terms of atheists who do a poor job, Alom Shaha’s “The Young Atheist’s Handbook” is a textbook case of how to fudge the question. Among theists, Andy Bannister’s “The Atheist Who Didn’t Exist” does a well-executed filleting of Shaha and the Village Atheist end of the spectrum.

What I find amusing is that religious people spend a lot of time trying to communicate that this life matters not, that it is the afterlife we should be preparing for, thereby forgoing any meaning to be found in the life they are living. Indeed, the only life they will ever have. What a shame to shut yourself off from the wonders of life on the sinister promises created by our fearful ancestors.