How can someone be athiest?

Question

I'm just wondering.. I'm not trying to put you down or anything, I am just generally curious.

Like, how can you not believe there's a reason we were created, and we are all connected to eachother? That there is no life after death? That would make me so depressed. And how can you look at all the faith and goodness in the world, and how we are all similair, and not believe in something. How can you believe that this world is it, it's great but at the same time, it can be very materialistic :[ I just don't understand. Is it that you are skeptical? Did you have a bad experience, like a religion was forced upon u? Do you think that people just do what their religion tells them to because that is what is said they are supposed to (because the real believers know their faith comes from their heart, not traditions or rules, but they are def guidelines. So anyway, I just wanted to kno, please don't get mad, I'm not saying your wrong not to believe in a divinity, I just don't understand..

Thank you for all your answers everyone. They are very beautiful and I can tell you put everything you believe into them. I hope you always stay strong. I think we have a lot in common in a way, still, you know, we want to see the world good and that's what matters.

I know it's extremely hard when we see HORRIBLE things in the world, and we ask, where is God? But the way I see it is there is also evil. God does not make bad things happen, he loves us unconditionally, and he is our father. In a way (I know you think I sound absurd, but I'm trying) maybe some bad things bring out stronger love, compassion. And together we learn what life is for, and discover strength in ourselves and what we can do to help things. God wants us to be independent but He is there for us. He is polite and only interferes when you want him to. I am talking about the God today not 100s of years ago, because God is living. This is my view anyway on the hard issues in our world. Yet we will never truly kno.

Answer 1

you can be confused, and not know what to believe in

Answer 2

A lot of people find becoming an athiest a liberating experience. You ask several questions, so I will try to answer them.

1. How we "can not belive there's a reason we were created": I replaced that with beliving that I can create my own reason to live and am not part of any great plan.

2. How can we not belive that "we are all connected to each other": Actually I belive, and I think most athiests would agree with me, that we are connected with each other. We are connected by the effects we have on each other, by our friends and enemies. We are connected by our genes and our shared experince.

3. How can we not belive "that there is no life after death". I think religous people who talk about eternal life, have not always considered what eternity means, it means forever, have you thought about how boring that could be? However acceptence of death removes fear, and gives us a deadline (sorry about the pun) to acheive our goals in life.

4. "How can you look at all the faith and goodness in the world, and how are similar, and not belive in something. How can you belive that this world is all there is." Because we also see the suffering in the world, a lot, not all, or even most but a lot of which is caused or contributed to by faith in various religons. We see the great the wonders of the world and the great downfalls. The genius of mankind, and the pervsion of that genius. This is a world and a universe filled with wonders, and I would rather work to improve this world, to lessen the suffering than to hope for a better world in the after life.

People are atheists for a number of reasons and I can only speak for myself, but I don't belive in a god for a number of reasons. I am sceptical, I like to back up my belifes with proof, or to able say that this is an emotional response. I cannot find proof to suggest that there is a god and I find the idea repulsive. I have not had a bad experince of religon, but after realising I was an atheist (I was never a beliver, nor where my parents) I have had a both bad and good exprerinces of religous people. I respect the traditions of others, and I know that many, prehaps most belivers do not base their faith on the rules of their church, but I find the charisma, and authortarianism of many church leaders frightning.

I hope that helps, now the next question, How can someone be theist?

Answer 3

You asked, "Like, how can you not believe there's a reason we were created, and we are all connected to each other?"

There is no reason an atheist can't believe there's a reason that we were created. I'm an atheist and I believe we all have a purpose. Everyone's purpose may be different, but regardless of religion, everyone has one.

You asked, "That there is no life after death? That would make me so depressed."

I didn't even have to say it. You did for me. Most religious people would get depressed knowing there is no afterlife. They would be afraid of death. When someone died before their time, they would be inconsolable w/o being able to say "well, they're in a better place now." As an atheist, I don't have to be afraid of death. I don't have to make excuses for it. I know very well there is nothing after death and it doesn't make me depressed at all. The completely opposite really, I am more want to live my life to the fullest and get everything out of it that I possibly can.

You asked, "And how can you look at all the faith and goodness in the world, and how we are all similair, and not believe in something."

How can you look at all the evil in the world and believe that God loves you? If your entire family died in a car accident, how can you look at that and not feel abandoned by your God? There is Good and there is Evil and no one can escape either of those two things, no matter what religion they belong to.

Answer 4

Well for once someone puts a deep question. Hopefully hun you don't get too many dumb answers. Well the thing about Athiests is that they can't accept something without proof...and with faith there is no proof, Like you said its just a feeling you have inside. Sometimes its not that religion was forced on them but its because something really bad happend to them so they took out thier anger on god. They felt that there must not be a god. I work in an emergency room and I hear on a daily basis people say.."there is not god" when thier child or wife dies....its like they feel that god has singeled them out. I am sort of in between because I am actually an ordained Minister but my problem is that I have been reasearching the complete history of the bible and the stories that are in it and most of them sadly have about as much stability as Greek Mythology. The thing you have to remember is that since the beggining of time man has had many many differnt religions to explain things they don't understand. Christianity is the current choice but who knows what it will be in the future. But wars were faught over religions such as greek mythology and Buddism and islam...and even religions previous to that. To think that Christianity is the one true religion is simply selfish...althought if you look at it with an open mind and without fear you will see that most of the stuff you may know ...just may not be the truth.

Answer 5

Well, for one, it is a belief, just as you believe God is true. It can be hard for someone who believes in God to comprehend how someone else cannot. Just like for some athiests, it can be hard to comprehend how someone CAN believe in God.

Not all athiests believe that there is no reason we were created. Some, like me, believe that we do have a purpose on this earth. For every athiest, that belief is different. As for being all connected, of course we are. We are all the same species.

Life after death is a touchy subject because it is hard to prove/disprove. I, myself, do not believe necessarily in life after death, but I do believe that burdened souls carry on in the world.

It would all make you so depressed because you have been taught that what you believe is true. It is hard to believe something your entire life, only to find that it is not true. For example, what if you knew your mother for 50 years, only to then find out, she was not really your mother? That is a depressing feeling also.

Athiests do believe in SOMETHING. They just do not believe the same thing as you.

It is only a materialistic world because humans have made it that way. Every human is materialistic in some sort of way. You cannot get around that. It just is. That is how our brain functions.

Athiests probably are pretty skeptical. It is hard for some people to just believe and have faith in a book because someone says it's all true. The only reason you are not skeptical is because you have been taught that this is truth and do not think the same way as an Athiest might.

Athiests are not necessarily Athiest because someone tried to force them into a religion. Some maybe, but not most.

Believing in a divinity takes one thing, not believing in one takes another. We are all human, a very diverse species. You may never understand, but it is not something you should feel you need to question. If you just stick with what you know to be true, or believe to be true, then the things that others do should not matter so much.

Answer 6

Some people don't believe simply because it's irrelevant. What difference does it make how we got here? The fact is we are here and still fighting about the same old stuff. Christians dismiss that as everyone has free will. Again, though, it's pointless. Today, right now, people are hurting each other all the time in the name of their religions. Today, right now, we need to find a way to come together instead of finding reasons to hate one another.

Answer 7

I really don't consider myself an Atheist, but i don't believe in God. I think that life must be boring in a religion, what mysteries do you have...none God made everything and everyone. I look at the night sky and see an ever expanding universe and wonder how it came into being and what secrets it holds. What do believers see God's creation?
From what i have read on this site, religion is the biggest killer of imagination i have ever seen. Why believe in a fictional character that preaches love, but rules with fear.

Answer 8

I am an atheist, and first off we don't think ALL of that is bull-crap.
We do believe we were created, (The Big Bang and evolution of time and DNA.) We are connected, (once again the term DNA enters the equation.) I believe that "God" isn't the true reason for happiness, but the belief that serious problems and issues can be trusted to someone else, someone almighty, is the reason for the little good and faith in the world. To us the "afterlife" isn't spiritual, its an alternate astral plane where one's life energy exists after it exits their body. Energy never disappears, it exists forever but it needs a host body to exist in, hence the theory of "reicarnation"(the transference of energy from one being to another).
"Ghosts" and "spirits" are merely physical manifestations of said life energy that, simply put, has no place to go, so it just floats on that alternate astral plane, its concentration so intense that we can actually see it. This is your basic "ghost", this is what happens after you die, this is your "afterlife". And exactly where does this supposedly almighty being come in...nowhere. Nowhere in these highly believable theories does God come in. Tell me, is he so important now?

Answer 9

The reason why all the suffering in the world began in the Garden of Eden when Satan got the first humans to be disobedient to God.

The very reason why people time after time and age after age have to keep on asking these questions even christians themselves ponder on but getting no real answers or get the feeling the problems of the world are just too big shows absolutely, how the Churches of christendom have failed the people in giving truth of God and his purposes.
Church leaders have misled the entire nations in christianity of the Truth of God and Jesus. People are like a boat being tossed about by the waves of a storm. (Ephesians 4:14) They have glitzy ceremonies and lots of traditions but no real knowledge.
Since I learned from Jehovah's Witnesses I have the gleaned the answers and the real and absolute solutions to mankinds problems that God has all along has promised humanity that is found in the bible.
Churches preach to keep away from Jehovah's Witnesses - to not approach them but the preachers in the pulpit offer no real answers to humanities problems and why bad things happen and who is responsible. They make teachers for themselves. (Matthew 23:2-8)
I have studied the bible and know the accurate truth by being taught accurate knowledge and purposes of Jehovah our one true God, not through traditions but through discernment gained from truthful teaching.

Answer 10

you said that you need a belief in an afterlife or you would be depressed. You also probably need to believe in god. That's OK some people do need a god and a belief in the afterlife. Some don't and that is OK too.

The important thing is to try to live a good life. I am Buddhist and have a set of guidelines that assist me to do the best that I can.

Answer 11

I don't consider myself an atheist...but, I don't believe in the Bible stories, either?...Much of that has probably been altered/enhanced throughout many centuries.

Yet, There is definitely a Universal Force in Existence!...Galaxies, Planets & Moons rotate...New Stars appear, Older Ones Die...Ocean Tides Ebb & Flow by the Stopwatch! ...But, How it All Began? is one of Life's Greatest Mysteries!...if you're calling this Life Force, God, I agree!

And, I don't believe in life-after-death...We are almost insignificant in the Universal scheme of things...Just like Amebas, Ants, Fish, Everything Living on Earth are! ( If You consider Passing on your DNA to your children an extension of your life...I'd agree. But once You die, You become fertilizer...or food for carnivores...You won't "consciously" Live Again! )

So Live Your Life to the Fullest!...We're here for a Short Time...Hopefully a Great Time!