[tshaddox]

Presumably there are a lot of atheists who do believe all three of these things:

1. God does not exist.

2. Objective ethics do exist.

3. Objective ethics do not come directly from the mandate of a friend, a companion, or another human.

[publicdebates]

Even if so, that only answers the "morals" part of what I listed.

Where for example do they derive absolutely objective goals from?

[barbazoo]

> goals, means, and sustenance

Surely not sustenance in the sense of food so I presume it's what we usually call meaning? People might get it from whatever fulfills them. For many it's giving back to the community in some way. It's not something I was told, more something that feels right and would scale well if everyone did it.

What are absolutely objective goals here? Are we talking about what do I want to be true at the end of my life? Staying healthy, looking back when you're old and not regretting a lot, being part of and respected by your community, those things. What would be a goal that God would suggest one works toward in this context. Can you relate that to what you have in mind?

[tshaddox]

I was lumping all of those into "ethics," which refers to all normative questions (or questions about "ought"s, if you like).