To all athiest...Why not give god a chance?

Question

I think every body is entitled to there own beliefs but i was wondering why not give god a chance? Is it because you need proof? Do you need to see to believe? If your absolutly sure there is no such thing as god then what would it hurt to read the bible and see what all us christians are so wrong about. I'm not knocking athiests I was just wondering why not believe in something and someone who only wants good things for you.

Answer 1

I did. I used to be Christian, I've read the Bible, and I've studied various religions and types of belief. I know more about Christianity than the average Christian.

Sorry, but I'm just not convinced that any gods exist.

Answer 2

I was raised in a Christian religion. I've read quite a bit of the bible and I've also read books about the Bible, including books that are clearly expressing the view of contemporary Christians (such as "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel).

Let me ask you two questions.

1) Why not give Loki a chance?
2) Why not give scientific skepticism a chance?

Ok, obviously the first question is facetious. I don't really expect you to seriously consider belief in Loki, the Norse god of mischief/trickery. But I hope you will give a moment's reflection that your asking me to believe in the God of Hebrew Bible is no more respecting of my beliefs than my asking you to believe in gods that we both agree are mythical.

The 2nd question is serious. Why don't you try to be skeptical, and not choose faith as the first option? Why do you believe the Bible? Because your parents did and because most of the people around you did? Do you really believe the Bible is 100% true? Do you believe the sun revolves around the earth? Do you beleve the earth is only about 6000 years old? If you agree that those things were allegorical, then why give serious thought to the possibility that all of the old testament is allegorical?

I find that everything seems so much saner when you accept that the universe really is more than 10 billion years old, that the earth is more than 4 billion years old, than life did evolve on this planet and all life is related, and that there is no heaven or hell.

Answer 3

I cannot speak for all atheists, but I have read the bible (or at least more excerpts than some Christians themselves have read. However I read the bible as fiction. I think it is absolutely great that you can have a belief in the divine, well as long as you keep an open mind that is. Many people perceive atheists as people who are not educated in biblical theology, however that is not true at all. I am an atheist, I am educated, and I am aware of biblical theology. But due to my education it is not possible for me, to know what I know, to believe in a superior divine figure. That said, I am not trying to discourage your beliefs in anyway, but instead I am defending my own. People often say why don't you just give God a chance? I think that is a ridiculous question to ask someone who does not believe in God; because if you do not believe in something, or know it does not exist, you cannot give it a chance. If something does exist, you cannot try it out. That would be the equivalent to me telling you to give the tooth fairy a chance. It may be for you, but not for me. Oh, and I must add that just because a person is an atheist, does not mean that they are immoral. As you probably have, I too have high morals and live a healthy life. That just needed to be said.

Answer 4

I did give him a chance. Catholic, born and raised for 18 years. Confessions, mass, communion, confirmation, the whole nine yards. Now, I'm an agnostic, meaning, I don't know if there is a supreme being or if there isn't one. At this point, I really don't care. Why? Because I think Christianity, or any organized religion, is not rational, practical, and in many cases, corrupt. Because I don't see the need to listen to the sermon given by someone who is probabley more adulterated than I am.

We as humans can't even record recent history as it is occuring accurately, with all our literacy and education, etc. How can ancient book be factually accurate? It is acknowledged there are inconsistencies and contradictions in there. With this book, man has politicized it to death. Crusades were fought in God's name. Genocide was committed because men thought thats what God wanted them to do. Thouands of people died for and because of faith. Doesn't that make them martyrs just as much as Jesus? You see, impractical.

The biggest problem I have with Christianity is the belief structure men have built around it isn't perfect. If it was a sound religion, effective, well created, well managed, efficient religion that ties up all its loose ends, I would still probabley have faith in it.

Instead, there are televangelists, politicians, and even civil rights leaders, who extort their faith. They take advantage of innocent, honest people monetarily, and emotionally. For example, in the US, it will be impossible to elect a president that is not of a Christian denomination. Voters, left and right, strongly emphsize that their leader is someone of Christian faith. So we elect Christian presidents, who have to make huge compromises towards their faith to do their job. Thats politics. Thats a different story.

I don't need someone to tell me to do the right thing. Also, I don't think God is necessary for people to do the right thing and lead a good life. Warren Buffett, the super investor, contributed almost all his unimaginable wealth to charity, which will improve the lives of more people than anyone can possibley imagine. I don't know what his religious background is, but he certainly didn't need to be Christian to make that decision. What is such a big deal about resurrection? If it did happen, so what? See, from my point of view, impractical.

My two cents.

Answer 5

I am agnostic but why is it that you think that we who do not believe in God have not read the Bible, have you ever really read the thing, or are you one of those types that just read the parts that you were told to read? If you can not see that the whole thing is absurd then there is nothing I can say to make you see what I see. We are not that different, I am sure that you only practice the things that you deem is correct in the Bible, I really can't see you going out on Sundays looking for people to stone to death because they are working on a Sunday. You pick and choose what to follow from the Bible and I have chosen to see all of it as incoherent non-sense, no offense, that's just the way it seems to me. Why not give agnosticism a chance? Why is it that I have to give your beliefs a chance, and you can not give mine a chance?

Answer 6

We did. That's why we read the Bible. What ever makes you think that we didn't?

See, the problem here is that you're confused about atheism. You think that an atheist is someone who hasn't thought enough about religion. But that's exactly wrong. Atheists are the ones who HAVE thought about it. We attended church, we read the Bible, many of us went to catechism, etc., just like believers. We're not ignorant of religion, and in fact as a group, know a LOT more about religion than do most believers.

But because we thought about it instead of just blindly accepting it, we rejected it, because it's false. There's no god, Jesus died 2000 years ago, there are no souls, no devils, no heaven, and no hell. That's the fact of the matter.

Have you ever considered being open-minded about it, and giving atheism a chance? You just might find that you're better off without the myths. What have you got to lose?

Answer 7

okay, your right on one aspect, everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and some people do need proof. but, also, it can depend on the way people are brought up, and on their educational background, that decides what they believe! it has not yet been proven that there is a god, but then againe, nobody knows that there isnt! but, try to see it from another persons point of veiw, they hear all these stories, about how one man created the earth out of nothing, and how adam and eve created human life and forced us to be cast out of "the garden of eden" for eating a fruit, they have kids, then they're kids have kids, but the weird thing is, they're all related, and these days if you do have kids with someone your related to, the children dont turn out to be "normal", they can be born with mental disorders, and disabillities etc. then again, doesn't it say somewhere in the bible that we aren't supposed to marry our own family? so in many ways it seems to contradict its self. and the afterlife, it is believed that only 100,000 people will get into heaven, and most, if not, all people have "sinned" so really, even if you are baptised, and good for the rest of your life, you wont get in because you already stuffed up! and also, heaven and hell, people cant believe its there because nobody can see angels in the sky. and the whole witch thing? they used to throw people off cliffs and if they survived they were witches, if they died, they were human, and theres not been any cases that are recorded that any one ever survived it! but, then again nobody knows what happened then, or when we die, so its down to this i guess, "youre damned if you do, and youre damned if you dont!"

Answer 8

Like many other atheists I also believed in the christian 'god'. Instead of just eating everything I was told about how good god was and his power and love, and that I just needed to have faith, I started to search on my own. I read the bible, and I studied long and hard on it. The more i looked, the more I realized that christianity was no different than the religions that have long since ceased. No different than Zeus and Olympus, or Bael, or any other 'all powerful gods'. god is purely imaginary, created by weak minds that need a way to control the populace and explain the unknown.

Answer 9

I did give god a chance. I was a christian for 16 years. I have read the bible. I was a creationist, bible-beating, brain-dead, god-fearing Christian for half of my life.

It has nothing to do with "giving it a chance".

If someone asked you just to try believing in Zeus, could you do it? Could you lie to yourself and just start believing?

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. If you claim an invisible unicorn stole your car keys, and used that as an explanation why you were late for work, I would demand a necessary level of proof.

If you are going to claim an invisible magical being with contradictory characteristics exists and created the universe, then I demand an equivalent level of proof. None has been provided, and based on the last 3000 years of philosophical thought, none will ever be provided.

Answer 10

Ok, here's why. Now first of all, I respect your right to worship whoever you want to, so long as you dont push it on others, so if Jesus and god is what makes you feel good, great, Im happy for you, but here are my reasons:

I cannot sit idly by, and condone the spiteful & vengeful behaviours of anyone, even god. Now, for mind, only a spiteful and vengeful god would choose to marginalise a whole group of people. (Homosexuals), So please dont claim god is all, unconditionally loving. Obviously, should he exist, he is not.

Next, if god sends bad things to test us, why does he choose to test certain people more than others. Why is it that the people in Africa need to be tested more than those in rich, countries? Could it be that he isnt testing anything, or anyone, and these events are just coincidences caused by man? Why would an all caring god send a tsunami, the day after Christmas, to kill and destroy the lives of 200,000 people?

And finally, in the words of Kerry Packer: "Ive been there son, there's nothing there."

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Those are my reasons.

Answer 11

I think that you have a huge misconception of where atheists come from. Most atheists know MUCH more about the bible, about Christianity, about the HISTORY of Christianity, than do most Christians. Most atheists in 'religious' countries such as the USA USED TO BE involved with religion, most often growing up in religious families. At some point along the line, usually in their mid-to-late teens, or early 20s, they learned to THINK PROPERLY. Once that happens, religious belief is the first casuality. It just evaporates... POOF.

If YOU knew how to think properly, YOU would come to realize that your religious beliefs are absolutely nonsensical. The fact that you are possessed of these religious delusions quite plainly reveals that you DO NOT know how to think properly.

You have my sympathy.

"Faith' is a substitute for evidence.
"Belief' is a substitute for knowledge.

faith + belief = self-delusion

"A thorough reading and understanding of the Bible is the surest path to atheism” ~ Donald Morgan