Atheism

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IF you are an atheist, what reasons for being one?
I myself am due to the fact that seeing as humans are definately not the only intelligent species in the universe, and there are bound to be species with millions of years extra knowledge, how can we be correct?
And too add more, all humans are born atheist, you must be taught religions, with no idea of god, no faith in god can spring forth, thus religion is purely man made, it is merely tricking oneself into believing in a hope of a nicer world, anyway I'd like to hear others reasons, I have more just my hand aches and i'm tired so peace out my aspie brothers and sisters

Some people might claim that no reason is necessary because lack of belief default position before something makes you believe in a religion (if such a thing happens to you at all).

Well you don't need a reason to be atheist but I think most people know he's asking why people gave up religion in favor of it or what reasons they had for not joining a religion.

Personally I think a flying bearded all powerful sky man is a bit too preposterous a claim to make without any sort of evidence.

That and I know enough about psychology to understand precisely the drives and processes that compel people to so desperately want to believe in just about any sort of deity they will willingly and happily abandon all critical thinking. Knowing how the delusion works tends to make you immune to it.

I subscribe to weak atheism, that is I don't claim that God doesn't exist but at the same time I don't have faith in the existence of God. I grew up in a secular family and it just never occurred to me. I can see the appeal of religion as a sort of way to bring people together, but I couldn't live with myself claiming to believe something I know I honestly don't for the sake of being more social.

Hmm ... interesting comments, and all from the Atheist POV.

Anyone care to take bets on when the first Deist or Theist will post a faith-based rant on why Atheists are all going to Hell? Or whom that person will be?

I'm an Atheist because I call the bluff. Claiming that a God or a higher power exists is quite by most definitions a very extraordinary claim, such a claim would require equally extraordinary evidence, yet there's not a drop, and absolutely nothing supporting the existence of any Gods or any higher powers. Therefore I've no reason to subscribe myself to something so ridiculous.

I don't know about ranting about hell, as that's actually less common lately but we're sure to hear scripture quoted from either Magnus, Accelerator or someone else.

As an atheist my experience in the area indicates that religious people hold to their faith because it structures their world into a way they prefer it to be. I try to see the world as it appears to me and as with the other comments here I see no acceptable reason to be religious. The world seems to me to be merely the interaction of a few primary forces which give it structure but none of the intent demanded by religion. Inherently it seems to me that religion is one way of ordering social relationships and some of the ideas seem to me to be worthwhile but, as with any form of social order, must be continuously analysed questioned and modified to see to it that it functions to the benefit of all participants. Religion, in general, lacks the flexibility of good social order and its rigidity can frequently over-ride good sense and social civility and I consider that very dangerous.

Because the theists have utterly failed to provide any reliable evidence to support their hypotheses. Therefore, I don't see any reason to sit on the fence on this issue. The issue surrounding the existence of god(s) to me is not even a serious question. There is no reason to even consider it a possibility.

I was raised in a secular household. Things having to do with religion and spirituality were not discussed at all. It took me years before I even understood what the concept of a god was, and from the moment I did I never for even one second thought it sounded plausible.

Last edited by Ah_Q on 26 Nov 2008, 1:20 am, edited 3 times in total.

Atheist because there are fifty million different myths on the creation of the world and various phenomena and I choose not to subscribe to any of them.

I have no definitive proof any of them are false, however neither does any religious person have any proof that every other religion is false.

I'll wait and see.

We have at least 100 threads on atheism. Is it really so hard to post in one of those threads instead of making a new one?

why would anyone need a reason to *be* atheist?

I think it's the religious who should be explaining themselves.

^ I don't think they need any encouragement to do that, I usually find they are more than willing to explain themselves at length - but without much sense, that I can discern.

How pretentious it would be to declare that all atheists are hell-bound. No, I won't say that. I won't post a "faith-based" rant here, either. Does a person go to Heaven simply because:

A) He believes in Heaven
B) He believes he is worthy of Heaven

or

C) He believes in God


A person's religious/spiritual/metaphysical beliefs do not necessarily reflect the way things
actually are. To believe or to have faith in something is IMO tantamount to the acknowledgment that you could always be wrong. You could be a little off or way off. Doubt is actually a valuable thing to have in that it offsets the object of faith and throws it into sharper focus. Like how shadows will cause a light-source to appear brighter, and perhaps without the shadows it would be too dim to make out.

Direct personal experience is the only form of knowledge which cannot be debunked, discredited, or explained away. One's experiences, ie. his or her own personal truths, are perhaps the only form of knowledge that is absolutely unrefusable.

If you have an ingrown toenail, how to express the experience of "ingrown toenail" to others in a way they would accept or understand? You can't. Since it's your toenail, this is would remain an untruth for anyone else. Can they disprove your ingrown toenail based on their lack of knowledge?

No.

Can you give them that knowledge?

No.

I Feel Therefore I Know

Hey I wasn't trying to get people to think you need a reason, as I said all people are born atheist, I was merely wondering you opinions on the matter, chill guys

IMO organised religion comes from the need to keep society in order(core values etc). The personal need for any belief systems might come from peoples need to think that there is something higher or different to what is now. This view may be seen as Existentialism.