When you're asked what your religion is, and you reply 'athiest' or 'agnostic', then how do you explain why you don't believe? (and before you ask, I'm an atheist too, but for some reason I find it hard to give a rational answer to this question)
2006-12-05 05:02:43 · 26 answers · asked by angel_of_thought 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I don't think you need to justify your belief to anyone, no matter how much they protest your belief. Just tell them 'For the same reason you believe there is a God, because that's what I believe'.
2006-12-05 05:06:06 · answer #1 · answered by FaerieWhings 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
As an agnostic, I can accept the idea of something divine, whether one god or something spiritual and less tangable, and I can consider the idea that perhaps there really is no god at all. I leave my mind open to possibilty, something important on a subject nobody could ever prove wrong or right. The religious could never understand this, but some people can actually have faith without the need for the rules and bounderies set by man-made, organized religion.
It's hard to explain athiesm because a complete lack of belief is probably just as irrational as accepting any one idea as the only possibility.
2006-12-05 13:32:26 · answer #2 · answered by Ghapy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Agnostics have a big leg up on the situation, because we have a whole lot less to prove. All the agnostic has to prove is that it remains unproven. Which it is. All logical proofs for or against God have specific flaws in them, usually relating to either disproving a specific form of god, or proving god exists in an artificial manner.
Ipso Facto, as an Agnostic, I only have to demonstrate that I'm not making an arbitrary decision. Were I atheist, I would merely have to use Occum's Razor on top of that, sugguesting that while atheism has not been proven to be true, it has the same or greater predictive power than any other theory, and since it is the least complicated theory, it is therefore the one under which we operate.
I hope that helps.
2006-12-05 13:07:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I just tell people I'm athiest even though I'm agnostic. Then they usually get really defensive and I exlpain that I only believe in what science can prove (then, they'll say..."well, science can't prove "love" exists"). I also tell them that I believe that I am in charge of my destiny and my success or failure is a result of MY doing and not "God's plan." I also explain that I believe in evolution (which REALLY REALLY gets people angry) and finally, I explain that I do not like to talk about my beliefs because people are too closed minded to accpet them.
2006-12-05 13:08:48 · answer #4 · answered by EJ E 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am an agnostic because I was raised in Catholicism and later joined a protestant sect. The division in beliefs, as well as the rituals and practices that occurred were so vastly different. It began to make me wonder how this could all be from the same god. Then of course one starts to take into intervention of mankind and how his words of most likely twisted many of the stories we accept as fact and integrate into our moral code. Which inevitably lead to all those divisions in the church.
I found it hard to wholly believe in a God that nobody including his followers could agree upon how to worship, revere and study his teachings.
2006-12-05 13:08:32 · answer #5 · answered by smedrik 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If we all know that all the Greek gods are imaginary, and that forest faeries are make believe, they why would anyone think that any other god is real? I mean, come on. There are no demons, gods, angels, tooth fairies or Santas. Sheeple created stories like these to explain what was unexplainable to them and to make them feel safe and loved, and intelligent people like you and I are smart enough to know the difference between truth and tale. If it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy to believe, then more power to them. Tell them to have a blast. However, the onus is not on you to defend reason, it's on believers to prove the existance of their old grey-haired man throwing lightning bolts and so far, they haven't produced anything except smoke and mirrors.
2006-12-05 13:24:00 · answer #6 · answered by blondes tease, brunettes please 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I am atheist and all I say is that I just dont feel religious or spiritual. I havent seen a miracle happen or a spirit. Many atheists believe in the big bang, but Scientology has claimed that.
2006-12-05 13:08:27 · answer #7 · answered by Chris C 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Technically, atheism isn't a religion. People just say it is because some choose to "believe god doesn't exist" while others choose to "not believe in god". See the difference? Yeah, pretty stupid.
I tell people I want nothing to do with religion, that's all.
2006-12-05 13:17:27 · answer #8 · answered by Alterna 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the UK no one asks what your religion is because religion here was flushed down the pan years ago. It's a question that would very rarely ever be asked these days.
2006-12-05 13:08:37 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When asked what religion I am, I simply respond that I have not allowed myself to be ruined by the mind virus. I dont say that my religion is Atheism - because it is not a religion. Ask the govt - they wont give tax exempt status to Atheists, because they say we worship nothing, so dont deserve the status....
2006-12-05 13:07:51 · answer #10 · answered by YDoncha_Blowme 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is not that we are saying it is a religion. We do not believe in god. There for we believe there is not god. Religion as you may already know is a belief. It is basically asking "what do you believe". I believe there is not a god. Well I am kinda in between right know. I do not know if there is or is not a god.
2006-12-05 13:12:55 · answer #11 · answered by Reported for insulting my belief 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋