Have you ever heard of such people? If so, what would be your reasons for such people doing so?
One of the reasons for an atheist preaching religion is that he/she does not like being an atheist and wishes to no longer be an atheist. Therefore, he/she instead now preaches religion, how great religion is, and how much atheism sucks. Same thing goes for a religious person preaching atheism in that this person does not like being religious who no longer wishes to be religious.
So why is it that one would detest being an atheist even though they are now free to live how they want and are not bound by any religious belief? One of the reasons would be that this person values living a life of full pleasure with as little suffering as possible. This person values living such a life above all else. Maybe perhaps because he/she is a hedonist who values a life of much pleasure as possible with as little suffering as possible for his/herself as well as for others. This person would think that since he/she has just as much personal value as any other good person, that a life of utter bliss with no suffering would be the greatest thing not only for him/her, but also for other people he/she cares about. Since he/she has just as much personal good value as any other good person, he/she would think that he/she has just as much right to seek pleasure for his/herself as well as to give pleasure to those other people.
Now as I said before, this hedonist values a life of eternal pleasure of no suffering above all else not only for his/herself, but for those other people he/she cares about. Therefore, since a religious belief (such as Christianity) offers an afterlife of eternal joy free of suffering, then this person values this life above all else even regardless of the fact that this person is not free to live as he/she so desires since he/she is bound by his/her religious belief and the morals in that religious belief. This person has no value whatsoever in living a life that consists of suffering and striving forward in life in despite of that suffering. Instead, she has full value towards growing as a person and striving and moving forward in life through pure pleasure alone with no suffering instead since not only would this be the greatest life for him/her, but also because you can strive, do great things in life, help others, and grow as a person just as good as (and even better) than if you did through your suffering. You can achieve this through living such a blissful life under the right circumstances. Therefore, this also applies to even the greatest people in history and they could of been just as great and even greater if they lived blissful lives through instead changing their attitudes, changing their actions, changing their lives, and through other things besides suffering since suffering would, therefore, be completely pointless and unnecessary.
In conclusion, I would like to hear your opinion on the attitude of this particular person who I am going to present below in quotes. This is a person (a hedonist and an atheist) who has lived a life of much suffering and a life of little to no pleasure (a life of anhedonia which is a mental condition in which you have a chronic absence of pleasure):
"So, I can never live a life of full pleasure with no suffering since life will always be about suffering and accepting your suffering/lack of pleasure in life since this life can never be perfect? And neither is there a promised afterlife of eternal pleasure of no suffering as a reward for all my pointless suffering and lack of pleasure here on Earth? If that is the case, then I say whelp, that's it for me then. I'm out. Goodbye. I could care less about this bullshit of a life that not only doesn't gives me the life of pleasure of very little to no suffering that I want, but this bullshit of a life also doesn't give me a promised afterlife of eternal pleasure of no suffering either."
Now that I have presented that quoted person, what is your opinion about his/her attitude here as being both an atheist and a hedonist who wishes to opt out of this life who has committed suicide? This person can NEVER and REFUSES to ever change his/her hedonistic and atheistic attitude as well. Therefore, what is your opinion in regards to this person as well as everything else I said here? I would like to hear yours and anyone else's opinions.
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One very important thing I would like to add is that this particular person in that quoted message is an attitude I have and I am a hedonist and an atheist who suffers from anhedonia as well as depression.
Well I for one think that suicide is one of the most selfish and laziest things a person can do with very few exceptions which I won't get into because its off topic except to say this persons case is not one of them. Furthermore, suicide effects the lives of people you care about and who care about you in a negative way that causes lifetimes of additional suffering to those who know and/or who are related to you. I myslef know many people who have been suffering since the suicide of a relative or loved one. I have seen suicide effect people families like cancer. That said, to get into this persons case which I don't believe to an accurate depiction, I find it most interesting a person could be so depressed if they feel themselves to be suffering form anhedonia yet feel they to lack the capacity to feel pleasure.
I agree with Zaphod that suicide is generally a very selfish act. It almost always affects the people left living in a negative fashion. However, there are situations, in particular terminal medical illness in which I do fully support suicide.
In reference to hedonism and atheism, I feel that they are not related.
In my opinion hedonism is also a very selfish and unrealistic way to live. For anyone to expect to move through life and only experience pleasure is ridiculous. After all, we are bombarded continually by a barrage of insults all the way from UV damage to our DNA, to attacks by viruses and bacteria, to rude people who cut in front of us in line while we wait to check out at Wal-Mart. Life is full of discomfort, disappointment and dissatisfaction. To expect avoid that is naïve to the point of insanity. In my opinion, anhedonia is a choice. Given any situation, one can choose to see the positive or the negative and allow that to influence their mood. This morning I woke up and saw several inches of new snow on the ground. I could have chosen to be pissed to have to shovel it, but instead I chose to see the beauty in it. The same choices are placed before you every day and you (and your friend) choose anhedonia. Your refusal to accept the slings and arrows of life are your choice and you are paying the price for those choices.
That being said, mental illness is certainly not always about choice and you may be helped by medical care. I urge you (and your friend) to seek that.
Atheism has nothing to do with hedonism. Atheists at their core are generally realists. We realize that life is life, and it will be what you make of it. There is nothing after, so enjoy what life we have now. In my opinion hedonism is the antithesis of atheism and is more like religion than not. The expectation of joy and pleasure at all times is as unrealistic as the expectation of meeting Elvis in heaven someday.
Suicide is in most cases the result of someone trying to stop their excruciating pain. It is not a result of being too lazy to deal with this pain but rather of not knowing another way to do so.