The purpose of life is the same for theists as it is for atheists - pleasure.
No one can endure or tolerate anything for very long unless some degree of pleasure is involved.
Some are content to do nothing with their lives, others are motivated to be great leaders or inventors, etc, etc. The common factor in every case is the pleasure principal.
For the religious folks they gain pleasure from believing there is a higher purpose and that they are a part of a grand plan, or variations on that theme.
Atheists generally realize that life is short and that they might as well make the most of what they have.
Without a pleasure motivation or a hope of future pleasure we would simply give up and let ourselves die. This is the fundamental reason for suicides.
-----
If you do a reach a heaven and you think the purpose of your life was ultimately to be able look back at yourself, then consider that you are likely to only be alive for a few decades whereas a soul is usually considered eternal. Won't you become incredibly bored after a few trillion years of dwelling on a few miniscule decades?
But once you are dead there will be no danger of being able to look back anyway - memory is a function of brain activity and as a spirit/soul you won't have a brain so you will not be able to remember anything, similarly for thinking and experiencing emotions, you won't have those either.
The key point with these style of questions from a theist is the absence of a longer term perspective. If you do achieve an afterlife and experience a utopian eternal paradise, then what? What will be your purpose in such an eternal existence? If you believe there is anything other than a search for pleasure then you will be trying to find a purpose for eternity.
No one can endure or tolerate anything for very long unless some degree of pleasure is involved.
Some are content to do nothing with their lives, others are motivated to be great leaders or inventors, etc, etc. The common factor in every case is the pleasure principal.
For the religious folks they gain pleasure from believing there is a higher purpose and that they are a part of a grand plan, or variations on that theme.
Atheists generally realize that life is short and that they might as well make the most of what they have.
Without a pleasure motivation or a hope of future pleasure we would simply give up and let ourselves die. This is the fundamental reason for suicides.
-----
If you do a reach a heaven and you think the purpose of your life was ultimately to be able look back at yourself, then consider that you are likely to only be alive for a few decades whereas a soul is usually considered eternal. Won't you become incredibly bored after a few trillion years of dwelling on a few miniscule decades?
But once you are dead there will be no danger of being able to look back anyway - memory is a function of brain activity and as a spirit/soul you won't have a brain so you will not be able to remember anything, similarly for thinking and experiencing emotions, you won't have those either.
The key point with these style of questions from a theist is the absence of a longer term perspective. If you do achieve an afterlife and experience a utopian eternal paradise, then what? What will be your purpose in such an eternal existence? If you believe there is anything other than a search for pleasure then you will be trying to find a purpose for eternity.
