I'm not an athiest because I am of the idea that there is some kind of master lifeform - a god if you would prefer. However I don't subscribe to the idea of religion, maybe this particular god doesn't want us to constantly thank him and apologise for being human, restricting ourselves and live by a book which could've been written by anyone. The Bible may contain some 'amazing' stories for some, but so did Lord of the Rings, which was written by a human. The Ten Commandments can be diluted into generic moral values which any human being with common sense would understand, and don't necessarily have to be religious. I also don't believe in the concept of an afterlife. I think when you die, that's it. Lights out. It's like sleeping - you don't realise it and it's not something that should be feared.
I also don't think there is one meaning of life, but one for each person, and they're all different. Well there is, but basically it's you who decides what your meaning to live is. You go out and strive to achieve whatever, fail, try to resolve problems and keep going on. There's so many religions with many different views on what to do and not to do, they're all shaped by different people who wanted to create different meanings for their own lives. That's why I don't believe in Heaven and Hell. The phrase "damned to Hell for eternity" to me is just a silly scare phrase to get people to follow you and have them under your control. It's just fear and intimidation, and if anyone tries to use it against you, you really should just brush it off and laugh. Right, that's enough pseudo-intellectual bull from me.