Atheists, have you ever actually considered that God could be real?

Question

I understand, of course, that I can not prove to you that God exists even though I truly believe that He is there. On the same token science can not prove that He is not. I'm not telling you that you have to believe what I believe, and I certainly can not force you. However, if I am wrong and God does not exist, we are nothing more than finite, doomed animals and when we die our bodies will be broken down over time. On the other hand, if Christianity (or I suppose to be fair insert other religions if you must) is real this could be the most important decision that you ever make.

Have you ever actually thought (without scoffing at the supposedly gullible, uneducated fools who believe in Christianity) about the consequences if Christianity is right? Just curious...

Answer 1

Yes, absolutely. I looked and looked but I just couldn't find anything about any religion that caused me to believe we are anything but finite creatures who will return to the dust. (That's in the bible more times than everlasting life, in any form) Also, I don't need an omnipotent being to tell me it is wrong to take things that don't belong to me, including life, or to be of a charitable heart. I do (or don't do) these things because I believe it is how I should behave, not for fear of everlasting punishment or hope of everlasting reward. I am not afraid to stop being. I was not afraid before I was born, so will I be again when I am dead.

When does everlasting life start anyhow, if at conception, then where was I for all the time before my birth?

Good question, hope I helped.

Answer 2

Pascal's Wager, extremely flawed. The chances that you picked the right god are infinitely small, in which case you're in the same boat as us. We're all going to hell. Remember, all religions can't be correct, but they can all be wrong.

But yes, I have considered the fact that a god exists. The Judeo-Christian God is most likely false. The same goes for the gods of most current religions, but the idea that there is a god is still a possibility I am open to and, should any evidence for this god be given, then I would accept this as truth.

Answer 3

Yes, of course. I had a Catholic education. When I was about 16, I started to read books on philosophy, and I became aware that the existence of a god isn't really necessary to explain our existence. This resolves the whole theodicy question (the existence of evil vs. the goodness of god). I think that the existence of a god just adds one step to the mystery of our origin: where does god come from?

For me, Christianity and the existence of god give rise to more questions than they can resolve:
If god created earth, why did he create and destroy the dinosaurs? Why did he create so many other species that are now extinct? It seems like he is playing with the earth like some scientist experimenting with a laboratory mouse. If I do this, how is the mouse/the earth/humankind going to react?
If god wanted to save humanity, why did he need to have his own son killed?
If Christ knew he was the son of god, I can't really see him as a fellow human being. He lacked something fundamentally human: the ability to doubt. He never had to ask himself 'what if', because he knew how things were, and how things were going to be.
If god is good, why is there so much evil?
If god is the creator of life, why is he so creative in inventing new viruses?

If you can't find your pen, you could start thinking that it came to life and walked away. But this gives rise to a lot of other questions:
How did your pen come to life?
Does this happen regularly?
Why did it walk away?
Where does it want to go?
Or you could think that your pen just fell off the table. This is a much simpler explanation, and probably much closer to the truth.
I think about the existence of god and Christianity in a much similar way. You don't need it to explain anything, and it gives rise to a lot of unnecessary questions.

Of course no god means no afterlife. If you want your children to have a decent peaceful life, you'll have to make a better world yourself, without any divine intervention. It means that there is no one to clean up our mess if we destroy the world.
Don't you think it would be better if people realised that?

Answer 4

Yes I have, but I can't prove it. I'm not worried, how much time will you have wasted in your life by the time you die and blink out of existance. Btw, hundreds of years ago didn't the Christian church expound the belief that the Earth was the center of the universe? And persecued people that didn't agree? Well the same is true now. If you don't believe the same as someone's religion they sure seem ready to persecute you. We (the athiest in this world) would just like you to leave us alone, we will let you believe in your superstitions, but don't try to force it on us.

Answer 5

I've given it plenty of thought ever since I was young. At first it scared me to imagine a world without a God to make everything right and I wanted to believe somehing existed only because the other choice was unappetising. However as I grew older and I became less driven by simple fear I looked into it. I read a bit of any religious text I had available (though I don't claim to be any kind of expert) and I came to two conclusions: Given slack for a few variations, all religions are the same. And most of them were probably driven by the same fear as I had been and fed by lack of understanding of the natural world thanks to slow developement of science.

Answer 6

I did not become an atheist in response to an event or episode in my life. I became an atheist after many years of studying the issue:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjMLcgbW_grpmKxqlTMnrUjsy6IX?qid=20060704033919AAaHQFk

Until someone produces credible, verifiable evidence "God" exists, there is no other logical conclusion to be reached than he (it?) does not exist.

If the God of the bible exists, he is useless to the point of non-existence. And, is not worthy of consideration as a "God."

And, if the bible is even remotely close to being true, Jesus of Nazareth is the same Satan that appeared to Adam & Eve and told them the same thing, "It's okay, God lied about those commandments, just do what you want and I'll cover for you."

Further, if the bible is true, the only people who will be in heaven are atheists.

You think I'm being sarcastic, but, I'm not.

Answer 7

Well crafted.

But, no I never really thought about the consequences. I was not raised under any religious structure so I never needed religion.

If I was to pick a religion, it certainly wouldn't be Christianity. I am convinced a Christian God does not exist. As far as some other Creator, well we don't know.

Answer 8

No, I grew up trying to feel a gods presence.

(Wondering why I couldn't, if my mom and dad could, crying/praying/begging for god not to send me to hell) all because I foolishly believed that my parents, were telling me the truth.

Have you ever actually considered that God could be a hoax, created for the soul purpose of controlling the masses ?
Lots of countries use religion hand in hand with their politics to control people.

That is what confessional is all about, (maybe not so in America). Do a little research if you want, I hope you can see how religion is used hand in hand with politics, in most countries and/or in the past.

Answer 9

No i havent, and even if god is real, i dont think that i would like him anyways, because according to the people that ive talked to, if you dont believe in god you will go to hell, and when i hear that it makes me think that if you dont appreciate him and believe in him, you are a bad person. But i am just a normal person who does normal and sometimes good things for people. So if i dont believe in god, that makes every good thing i do bad? That doesnt seem right to me.

Answer 10

I considered for a bit that the christian god could be real, then I realized that even if he were real he was a ******* dick and I'd rather spend eternity in hell and live my life to the fullest than stifle myself for some bullshit nirvana ripoff.

Then I just said **** it all and played my bass for a while and forgot about the entire thing.