Every belief system has a core deep logical conclusion. It is the foundation upon which it ultimately exists, even if many of it’s proponents are not aware of it, it is still what their belief “boils down to”. Many do get it, and embrace this foundational belief and it’s implications on life, the universe and everything. Such is the case with most mature Christians regarding their core foundational belief.
It seldom happens with atheists for they are a living contradiction to theirs. And what is their foundational “logical conclusion”? It is summed up in two words: Nothing matters.
This is why nobody really is a true atheist, except maybe the lead fictional character in the movie “Natural Born Killers”. He was living the atheist dream.
That is utter C.S.
Only a sociopath, who doesn't have the capability to feel empathy for others, could possibly become a nihilist because of accepting atheism. But a sociopath wouldn't be affected by any love of God, either! So there is no way your claim about atheism implying nihilism could be correct.
> He was living the atheist dream.
No. He was living the *psychopath* dream. Many theists see psychopathic behavior as the result of what *they* would do if they were atheists. But the fact is, atheists are under-represented in the penal system. So, what the theists who see atheism = psychopathology are actually sayign is that *they* are psychopaths, only held in check by fear of damnation.
I've known quite a number of happy atheists who would not dream of violent behavior. i've known many theists who would commit acts of violence at the drop fo a hat if they thought God wouldn't punish them for it. So... the character was in fact livign a *theist* dream, not an atheist one.
This sort of theist is the kind of person who makes me glad that someobdy once came up with the idea of damnation. The sort of peopel who honestly believe that atheism equates to 'nothing matters" are *exactly* the sort of people who society needs to have some sort of control over.