why are you an atheist?

Question

I want you to be as provocative as possible.

Hey i said 'why are you an atheist?'. If you're not an atheist the question clearly does not apply; don't tick me off.

Answer 1

I never really did believe in God but I go to University and the more educated I become the more confident and secure I am with my atheist position. There just is no proof for why I should believe in God and I cannot lie to myself just to pretend that there is one.

Answer 2

There isn't really anything provocative to say. All the world religions make doubt into what is the true religion. Since they all deal with untangible imaginary things, there is no way to know what really could be a real religion.The theory of evolution explains the orign of the species very coherently. There is all kinds of evidence for it, and the most important is that it is rather a simple explanation. And finally, no god is testable or able to be proven, so unless there is evidence for it, I will regard it as non-existent, thus Atheist.

Answer 3

We must first make a distinction between ´being´ and ´acting as´. Atheists who openly say they are can so because their surrounding allows expression of this attitude. In oppressing religious communities you can ´be´ an atheist yet certainly not act as one. You must pretend to ´be´ religious. Lebanese colleagues of mine pretend every day they are devoted to their god because if they don´t, they will be punished badly. Yet it seems millions around the world acting as religious find this
whole god stuff bull. Then there is this group of academics and liberal politicians I know well and in public swear they don´t believe in any god whatsoever. Yet once in the comfort of their own home they are devout. Why the secrecy? Because if you don`t do what your environment expects you to ´be´, you are having a hard time coping. Atheists in liberal circles are no less intolerant of other convictions as many a religious. See the problem that comes with this question?

In other words: we act and pretend to ´be ´ yet most of us ´are´ not at all. When it comes to believing: to ´do´ is a more accurate verb as in ´acting as if´. We need to pretend to survive and save face. We ´are´ whatever is helping us avoiding pain and increasing comfort and sometimes we believe that how we act is what we are.

Answer 4

All religious teachings are in contradiction with scientific knowledge. The reason why I am convinced by the scientific knowledge is that it was achieved by people who are trying to find more pieces of the truth while staying objective. A scientific result is open to questioning by other scientists. If it can stand this questioning this shows it is right. In contrast religious believes are always based on the trust that book which are hundreds or thousands of years old contain the truth. People believe in it because they were told they must not question it. Like for example when the Christians and Muslims say that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus they only believe this because it is written in their books, although there is absolutely nothing to make this story credible. When you ask a religious person why they believe in this and other "miracles" they can only reply you it is written in their holy book and you need faith to believe it and you will get rewarded for it etc.... They don't have anything like a proof and their argumentation is spinning in a circle because it always goes back to their book and they can never give an objective source that could be tested by others. In contrast to this a scientific theory needs support from different sources and gets tested by different people. Also in science it is not necessary to trust the person who said something first, as the ideas count and not the person. Like for example the people who are convinced in evolution don't think this way because they think Darwin was a special man who must not be doubted. He only had this idea first, his theory also wasn't complete when he made it, the reason why this theory is accepted now is that it could be approved by other scientists.

A special reason why I don't believe in an eternal soul and in a personal God with human-like emotions is that science has shown that our mind depends on our brain. Our this brain is functioning to produce our cognitive capabilities, our emotions, our memory.... etc.... when a part of the brain gets damaged we can lose specific functions, there are cases of people who lost their ability to speak, their morals, their memory or other parts of their personality by injuries to special parts of their brain or by diseases like Alzheimer's disease. Now my question is that what why are all these brain functions required if the soul was some kind of "immaterial essence" that can exist without a brain? To me there is no answer to this question, so i think there is no mind without brain.

I know the argument of the people who believe in God that the world and life is too complex to have come into existance "by chance". To this I have to say that the theory of evolution is a better explanation for the complexity of life than the religious explanations, because I think the religious people have just shifted the question of "how all this came into existance?" to another level. You could also ask them if God is not too complex to come to existance by himself. I know they will say then that God didn't come into existance but is eternal, but I really don't know why this should be a good explanation.

Answer 5

I am an atheist because there is no god.
I, like everyone else on the planet, have never seen a single, solitary shred of credible evidence to support such a being.
Ever.
The next person who has such evidence, will be the first.

Answer 6

Provocative? Please. I haven't had my breakfast yet. Oh, well, I'll give it a try.

I would never apply for acceptance into any club whose membership includes the likes of Katherine Harris, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Fred Phelps, Osama bin Laden and Josef Ratzinger.

Answer 7

Because I like to be able to think for myself, without having to be told what to believe in, and not having to believe in ancient fables that are "out there". Freedom of speech!

And ... because I do not want to be drawn into religious fighting with various churches all bashing each other because of their different beliefs! They all say that each of them is "the" way to God, and that they are right -- and yet they do not agree amongst themselves (ask Pentecostals and Baptists the same questions and see what they say about each other, for example).

And ... because I am not going to be scammed into giving lots of money for the rest of my life to an institution that preaches nonsensical myths and fables.

Answer 8

because I have been in lots of troubles when I was a believer and found out that my believing was the problem so then I quit believing.Otherwise I would have praised 9/11. Aren't you glad that I have quit.

Answer 9

You want us to be as provocative as possible? You want to incite us to insult others?

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I am an unbeliever because I don't and won't ever trust any kind of religious & spiritual belief.

I don't like "atheist"-label. I prefer "unbeliever".

Answer 10

Its too early in the day to be provocative. Anyhow,I'm an agnostic, more or less. Just don't try to stuff religion down my throat and I will remain calm.