Why An Atheist?

[Hard as Nails]

I am an atheist because the concept of an invisible being, especially the Christian god, does not make sense to me. Unfortunately, to FULLY explain why i am atheist, it would take up 3 pages of posts. I have given it much deep thought, and after several years I have decided to reject my \"faith\". So, atheists, why are you atheists. Explain what doesnt make sense to you and why. I just want to see the varities of explainations. Hell, maybe it will even give me some good ideas.

[trogdor1134]

well i for one am jewish in the fact that i uphold the laws and overall ways of being a person that judism presents, but my outlook on god is very much of the atheist persuasion. My main reason for not beleiving that there is a god is because i beleive in science. i think religion was a way of expressing the unexpresable at the time period that it was created in, ie weather. Now that we have a way to explain the occurances through science, we have found proof that contradicts god himself. thus i dont believe that god exists, because i believe in something that is proven not a belief that can't be proven from thousands of years ago. god doesn't make sense. May i remind you i still keep the ideals of judaism, i just don't believe in god.

[Gwendolyn]

I know I'm not atheist, however, I am agnostic. I don't know what's out there, what there is or isn't. I'll never know until I'm dead, so there you have it. There is nothing wrong with rejecting a certain mindset that you once had. You aren't your religious views.

[Hard as Nails]

perfect. I have also held the belief that religion was created to explain the unexplainable. I mean, think about it. For primitive humans, a huge, heated ball in the sky should have made them think. I dont think they were stupid. They, with their large brains, were just trying to search for explaination. The best answer was a greater being (funny how early Jews said man was made in Gods image......) We, the atheists, just need to wait. After the mid east and asia are completely civilized, religion will dissapear. It will take a while, but i look forward to the time when that happens. Religion will loose its fire. Its propelant, if you will. People will get SO bored of religion, especially after god/ the gods dont show up for 2500 years (my estimate for the extinction of religion), and slowly through generations religion will dissaper. Ahh....the day when we stop acting like PETS, and acting like intelligent and prosperous beings. We could greater ourselves beyond my imagination. ......religion limits us. You determine the destiny of earth. Not a mythological fallicy. .............if i am wrong, i would rather go to hell than be a held-back domesticated dog.

[SleepSpirit]

"An Honest God Is the Noblest Work of Man" - Robert G Ingersoll

[Neruo]

I know I'm not atheist, however, I am agnostic. I don't know what's out there, what there is or isn't. I'll never know until I'm dead, so there you have it. There is nothing wrong with rejecting a certain mindset that you once had. You aren't your religious views. [/b] Why is a higher being always linked to some afterlife for just humans? If I was a god, I would create a nice planet (,one that made sense, not with so many things that make it look like freaking evoltution occured), and I would make some animals and Not let ONE animal get an afterlife but the rest not. Even then, why would I create an afterlife? What is the point? I can read everyones mind, there is no fun putting people together in some afterlife. I would just create sienfield or something would I want to have fun. - I am an Atheist, because I don't believe the sun if flat if a fictional book tells me, when alot of books that give me maths I could reproduce to proove the sun isn't flat and books that give me theories that are all more likely then a flat sun.

[CryoDragoon]

I'm an atheist i only believe in things i can see or that doesn't contradict with my logic... i'm not an agnostic... because i think that there must at least be a clue to something... and because i don't have clues for a god... i don't believe... if you're starting a sentence with "yeah... but what if...." you've already lost... as you don't really have a clue... "yeah... but what if there WERE 23 invisible gnomes with red hats in this room" i do not have any clues of 23 invisible gnomes in this room... so i don't really believe in them... the same is with gods... that's why i'm not an agnostic...

[Redeyedwolfking]

the reason im an atheist, is because It doesent make sense to me that god could have come out of thin air, but his creation could not. besides what would gods job be anyway? everything is decided by laws that have been here sense the universe has. I think that religion has an important role in the world, although people tend to always say it causes war and terrorism. that is because many people take religion to far and forget what it was all about in the first place. Religion causes many good things. Religion helps people to not be afraid of dieing, because they beleive that they can go to heaven which also makes them want to be good people so that they can get into heaven, and not be bad, so that they dont go to hell. I aslo think believing in God gives people hope in times of crises. some people need to believe in God and I'd incourage people who believe in God to continue to believe, I would like to believe in a religion myself but I tend to be more of a logical type of person.

[Moonbeam]

Because there is no evidence of the supernatural including god(s).

[shark!]

God (born Herschel Godstein) is possibly the best known fictional entity on Earth after The Beatles.[/b] anyways whenever I hear this question hardasnails asked i think of "She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist." and all the answers everyone else gave. times 10. thousand.

[Hard as Nails]

the reason im an atheist, is because It doesent make sense to me that god could have come out of thin air, but his creation could not. besides what would gods job be anyway? everything is decided by laws that have been here sense the universe has. I think that religion has an important role in the world, although people tend to always say it causes war and terrorism. that is because many people take religion to far and forget what it was all about in the first place. Religion causes many good things. Religion helps people to not be afraid of dieing, because they beleive that they can go to heaven which also makes them want to be good people so that they can get into heaven, and not be bad, so that they dont go to hell. I aslo think believing in God gives people hope in times of crises. some people need to believe in God and I'd incourage people who believe in God to continue to believe, I would like to believe in a religion myself but I tend to be more of a logical type of person. [/b] so...basically religion is a crutch?

[Redeyedwolfking]

so...basically religion is a crutch? [/b] ya thats pretty much how i view it.

[O'nus]

I am not Christian, but I am also not atheist. I would like to share why I am not Christian (which is usually the opposing body to atheists and vice versa): Just like you said, I feel that I have gone through an extensive line of reasoning that has lead me to find the belief in Christianity completely absurd and far from my thoughts (I only mean this as, "I, in no way, could ever believe in Christianity" not "Christianity is absurd"..). To sum up a couple anecdotal reasons why, here are some premises: - A line from Act 2 Scene 2 of Hamlet was life changing for me, here it is: "There is no good or bad, but thinking makes it so" by Hamlet. In a quick anecdote, explaining that there is actually no such thing as "good" or "evil" but that opinions are the basis for these things - that good and evil are NOT "innate" or "born" in to us. Why? Because all "evil" actions are considered selfish and life threatening whereas all "good" things are unselfish and philanthropic. I will not delve too much into the reasoning here because I hope it gives the crux of the point. - The Christian God gives too many problems with free will and the Christian arguments for free will are too weak and full of gaps. - We must also take into the consideration if we found an alien life form outside of Earth - this would immediately reject a large majority of religions because a large majority of our religions are in fact rather selfish. Why is it that the purpose of the creation of the universe always boils down to us pathetic humans and our existance? In the calendar of the universe according to Carl Sagan, the human existance is but a blink, a smidgen, on the later days of the month of December. (January being the beginning of "time" or the universe). God created only man..? God created all this other crap just to make man..? Why..? Why waste the time..? To confuse us..? - Whenever a Christian desperately tries to convert me, I am usually threatened that I will go to hell if I do not. Oh my. In this case, there is actually no such thing as morality but a large set of module's to insure your avoidance of punishment - is that really morality? Are these really "unselfish"? This argument is just as good as the arguments that "you better behave, or Santa won't bring you presents" (in fact, I have been delving into much philosophy about the similarities between Santa and "God"... think about it). - Notice Christians (and a lot of other religions) usually give reasons why they 'must' become Christian and not why they 'desired' to become Christian..? - Here's a good question: When Jesus died to "pay for our sins", who was he paying and why? If God sent Jesus to die for our sins, which is what I am usually told, is that not like me giving someone $20 to pay me back $20 they owed me? This also pertains to why would God send his child here in vain.. There is a plethora more reasons, but I will leave it with this for now and see where the thread goes. ~

[King and God]

While it is true that religion set limits, Atheism does too. To believe that gods does not exist, is to limit oneself's thinking that gods may exist.

[O'nus]

While it is true that religion set limits, Atheism does too. To believe that gods does not exist, is to limit oneself's thinking that gods may exist. [/b] Exactly. Atheists are just as guilty as anyone else in their ignorance. All of us are ignorant because we do not even know why or how we exist. Thus, we are ignorant of our own functional existance. Not too mention, let us compare an atheist and a Christian stranded in a desert - who will feel more happy before potentially dying? Who will feel more lonely in general..? However, these points do not lead me to become Christian, but I hope that the aformention illustrates that I am not bias to atheists. ~

[trogdor1134]

Exactly. Atheists are just as guilty as anyone else in their ignorance. All of us are ignorant because we do not even know why or how we exist. Thus, we are ignorant of our own functional existance. Not too mention, let us compare an atheist and a Christian stranded in a desert - who will feel more happy before potentially dying? Who will feel more lonely in general..? However, these points do not lead me to become Christian, but I hope that the aformention illustrates that I am not bias to atheists. ~ [/b] you've got to be kidding me. Atheists aren't ignorant. We believe in science or atleast i do. science has explaned the universe including how we got here. and just because we don't believe in good doesn't mean we are all depressed. i for one am a optimist and i always look at the bright side. i just choose not to believe in a crazy made up fictitious superbeing, that aparently does nothing and give use nothing. are you saying that if im cristain i will magically becom happy and more optomistic, i don't sorry but your theory doesn't make any sense

[King and God]

you've got to be kidding me. Atheists aren't ignorant. We believe in science or atleast i do. science has explaned the universe including how we got here. and just because we don't believe in good doesn't mean we are all depressed. i for one am a optimist and i always look at the bright side. i just choose not to believe in a crazy made up fictitious superbeing, that aparently does nothing and give use nothing. are you saying that if im cristain i will magically becom happy and more optomistic, i don't sorry but your theory doesn't make any sense [/b] Actually his theory does. To begin with, most - if not all - humans are ignorant, as he said already. Note that calling someone/a group "ignorant" isn't necessarily always an insult. The defination of ignorant is basicly "to not know", and thus it would be required to know EVERYTHING in order to not be ignorant, and I doubt any human knows everything. And I'm sure any Christian who truely believes he will come to Heaven and be ethernally happy there would die happier than an Atheist. Even though the Christian's belief may be false, he wouldn't have to worry alot since he actually believes in it. In case you didn't understand, please tell which part(s) you have problems understanding, and I will try to explain again.

[Keeper]

I would also like to point out (yet again) that many scientists are also Christian

[Poison Apple]

My reason for being a person who rejects religion is: Religion was created by man.

[O'nus]

you've got to be kidding me. Atheists aren't ignorant. We believe in science or atleast i do. science has explaned the universe including how we got here. and just because we don't believe in good doesn't mean we are all depressed. i for one am a optimist and i always look at the bright side. i just choose not to believe in a crazy made up fictitious superbeing, that aparently does nothing and give use nothing. are you saying that if im cristain i will magically becom happy and more optomistic, i don't sorry but your theory doesn't make any sense [/b] Firstly, I must rectify my point of ignorance. In order to elucidate this point exactly, consider this question; can you tell me or find anyone, ever in the existance of human kind, who can tell us why or how we came to existance? For this reason, I am saying that the human race is ignorant. Even if you found one person who knew the exact reason for our existance, we would then not be ignorant whereas before finding this person, we would all be ignorant of the mans existance who knew why all of us exist. Does that illustrate my point more properly..? As for optimism and pessimism of atheists and Christians; I admit that I am generalizing. I must note to you, however, that a large majority (if not all) atheists that I meet, usually follow their beliefs with a sense of existential hopelessness and desolate meanings for life. "We just die" "We're worm food" "Life is meaningless" "We are all dumbasses" are common phrases I have heard from atheists. Christians, although I have found them to be drastically more stubborn, are more optimistic and generally happier. I must note that they are usually on the defensive a lot more often. We see it all the time - people attacking and defending their beliefs when the truth of the matter is that they are beliefs. We are ignorant to the reason for our existance and in that fact alone we should not oppress our beliefs upon others without having reasonable justification - not explanations. I must make a further note about non-Christians and optimism. I am far from a Christian in any light and I consider myself to be a very optimistic person. I believe in the strength of the human mind and that our mental capabilities are generally neglected (ie. placebo effect, neuroimmunology, etc.). With this knowledge in mind I find great comfort and happiness in my everyday life without the assistance of a "God". However, I have found, in my own meandering experience, that atheists are generally more pessimistic and Christians are generally more optimistic. Consider the following book, "Attachment, Evolution, and Psychology of Religion" to see some interesting research done in the happiness and reasons for why people choose religions. I may further demonstrate these findings at a later time.. I hope this enlightened my point. ~

[trogdor1134]

Actually his theory does. To begin with, most - if not all - humans are ignorant, as he said already. Note that calling someone/a group "ignorant" isn't necessarily always an insult. The defination of ignorant is basicly "to not know", and thus it would be required to know EVERYTHING in order to not be ignorant, and I doubt any human knows everything. And I'm sure any Christian who truely believes he will come to Heaven and be ethernally happy there would die happier than an Atheist. Even though the Christian's belief may be false, he wouldn't have to worry alot since he actually believes in it. In case you didn't understand, please tell which part(s) you have problems understanding, and I will try to explain again. [/b] well done you made your point. we are all ignorant but i'd rather be less ignorant. you have to agree believeing in something that can be proved is much less ignorant than believing in a made up super being. and i can kind of see why false hope is better than none, but still the whole god thing and religious thing is still stupid in my books.

[King and God]

well done you made your point. we are all ignorant but i'd rather be less ignorant. you have to agree believeing in something that can be proved is much less ignorant than believing in a made up super being. and i can kind of see why false hope is better than none, but still the whole god thing and religious thing is still stupid in my books. [/b] This leads to another issue: What can be proved and what cannot? It is impossible to prove the existence of anything but oneself. You can't know 100% whether your mom exists or not, for instance. Your senses probably tell you so, but your life and everything in it could might aswell be an illusion, created by yourself or an outside force. Besides, you probably receive the Scientific facts from the TV, newspaper, media, etc., which makes them even more unreliable to you, since it makes them second hand information, as I would call it. So I don't think it is fair of you to call religious people more ignorant for believing in a God, when you can't know whether the Science is true or not, or whether God exists or not, yourself.

[Keeper]

if God could be prooven, would you beleive?

[Universal Mind]

While it is true that religion set limits, Atheism does too. To believe that gods does not exist, is to limit oneself's thinking that gods may exist. [/b] Here is a similar point... While it is true that belief in the Great Pumpkin sets limits, disbelief in the Great Pumpkin does too. To believe that the Great Pumpkin does not exist, is to limit oneself's thinking that the Great Pumpkin may exist. Do you see what I mean? I leave a spec of room for error on everything, even the existence of the Great Pumpkin, but there is something to be said about the extremely far fetched nature of the idea. I don't claim to know anything with 100% certainty. But I do have strong views on differences in probability. As far as I am concerned, God and the Great Pumpkin are in the same boat with Santa Claus. What is even more far fetched than the general idea of a God is the Judeo-Christian idea of God. That seems like a logical impossibility. I have yet to see anybody EVER successfully counter my point on it. Famous philosophers have made the same point in their words, and this is how I argue it... An infinitely powerful being would not HAVE TO do anything. Therefore, an infinitely powerful being who is totally good would not HAVE TO create the principle of suffering. An infintely powerful being would be able to achieve any desired result without HAVING TO involve suffering. Creating suffering where it is not necessary is not totally good. Therefore, an infinitely powerful being who is totally good would not create the principle of suffering for any reason. [/b] Every time I make that point, somebody responds by telling me that God is infinitely powerful and does not have to do anything, that he does not have any rules he has to follow. Then they turn around and tell me what problems would have to exist if suffering didn't exist. That view contradicts itself. Although I am an atheist, my mind is very open to a counterargument that works. The most interesting explanation I have ever heard or read was the one Awaken4e1 told me in this forum about a year ago. Awaken4e1 was a preacher who used to come here and leave lots of propaganda and then get really pissed at people who pressed him on what he was saying. He said that God is infinitely powerful but does have limits on what he can do. He said that God puts those limits on himself and has to abide by them. As if he can't decide to unlimit himself and eliminate suffering? As hilarious as that is, I must say that it is the best shot anybody has given so far.

[Unicorn]

Why an atheist? Simply because i believe in the freedom of being, without any preconceived doctrinal imperatives. The only moral boundaries i live with are the ones i choose, and that is far from being amoral, it's just being a more rational person, and not simply take things for granted.