Atheists: Aside from the obvious what do you believe?

Question

I'm asking for an honest explaination of what you believe and why do you believe that way.

I want to understand so please explain.

Answer 1

I believe I'll have another beer.

Answer 2

Well I am Agnostic , but I will answer as I am sure most theists see agnostics as atheist's anyway.

I believe the best way to understand the word around us is though Progress , Science , and Reason.

I believe in the Golden Rule , but I call it - respect for the individual.
I came up with the golden rule by myself just by thinking about it. Had I been taught religious morality as a child I don't think I would have ever really understood the golden rule , but because I came up with it myself , I can.

I believe in humanity. I think we will continue to prosper as a species and I am quick to help someone in need.

I believe teaching Faith in the form of Facts to children to be completely unfair and criminal.

Answer 3

I don't understand the question. I don't mean this rudely, but I really don't get it.

As an Atheist (I'm actually an agnostic), I would believe in things that were proven.

If I had a direct experience of God, I would believe it.

I believe in a values code based upon what I think makes sense for me, and for society.

I have a system of values that are based on what I consider as logical responses.

Answer 4

I believe in the spirit energy. I believe I will see my loved ones again. I believe in always using your turn signal. I believe children should be taught to work for what they want. I believe one day my prince will come. I believe we have now gotten ourselves stuck in Iraq for the sole reason that we now have to deal with Iran, despite my loath for war. I believe Martin Luther King Jr. was quite possibly the most amazing human being ever. I believe Pepsi is better than Coke by a landslide. I believe I will live a long and happy life.

And you?

I almost forgot, I believe there is no evidence to support a supreme being's existence, nor is there evidence that I should even keep my mind open on the issue.

Answer 5

I believe in love. I believe in science. I want to believe that humankind will make progress, that we'll take care of the poorest among us, end war, and respect the environment. I believe that every person has both the capacity for extreme evil, and breathtaking altruism. I want the latter to be more common and the former to be minimized.

I believe religion stands in the way of social justice, scientific progress, and critical thinking. I believe it's divisive and that when people think they are acting on behalf of the creator of the universe, they're empowered to do horrible things to other people.

I believe there is no god.

Answer 6

I believe all manner of things for which there is testable evidence. I believe in empiricism. I believe all supernatural claims have long since been proven fraudulent and delusional. I believe taboos and virtues are developed by people living in community, and an understanding of what hurts and helps us is sufficient to undertstand how we want to be treated and how we ought to treat others without the delivery of divine tablets. I believe we have one life to live, that its purpose is whatever we choose. I believe we are social creatures and are happiest in peaceful harmony with each other which is most efficiently achieved for the greatest number through cooperation rather than competition. I believe that my life is more enriched through giving than taking, supporting than undermining. Heck, I believe in a lot of things, but I don't believe in middle eastern mountain gods. dead men rising from the grave after three days, abodes of torture for the spirits of the dead, mass murderers getting harems of virgins upon their deaths, flying carpets, genies in bottles, fire-breathing dragons, magical powers and all that faery tale stuff.

Answer 7

Nothing. I do not accept things without evidence, and if you have evidence, it's not belief.

There are three things I hold as valid, but I do not consider them 'true'. In fact, because they are axiomic, that means they cannot be proven. They are simply the rules of the game, as it were:

1. Mathematics and logic are valid. Truth is an inherantly logical proposition. Without logic, the truth-value of any fact could never be known, there would be no way to distinguish between a true fact and a false fact. Without logic, knowledge would be unattainable.

2. Observations, unaided and aided, are valid. However, aided observations must be supported by prior observations and mathematics. For example, before the theory of optics was discovered, a microscope would have been invalid; but through study of unaided observations of lenses and beams of light, the theory of optics was mathematically formulated, so the microscope is valid. A crystal gazing ball is still invalid, but if a way to define the effect mathematically and in a way that could be verified with unaided observations was found, it would become valid as well. Without being able to trust our observations, we could aquire no data on which to operate, and thus knowledge would be unattainable.

3. The supernatural, if it exists (note: no statement is made of its existence or non-existence, just a conditional), does not in any way interact with the natural world. If a supernatural involvement can be had, then nothing can be assured as true. If the deity that oversees gravity decides to change the universal gravitational constant, for example, all things we know will suddenly be invalid, and thus knowledge could not be attained.

It is important to recognize that none of these things is considered true; they are axioms. An axiom is a statement that must be accepted or not accepted on its own merits. However, as each of them can be shown to be necessary for knowledge, one must either accept these three things, or, one must accept that nothing at all can be known, let alone known to be true or false. So these axioms must be 'accepted' or 'held' to attain knowledge, even though their axiomic nature means they themselves cannot be proven.

Answer 8

I believe I exist. That's the only thing I know with certainty. Everything else is assumption. I have to live my life though, so I assume what I see is real for practical purposes. That said, I will believe something if you give me enough proof for it. I don't know exactly how much proof I need, just that at some point I will choose to believe it.

Answer 9

Beyond the obvious I don't think you will find a common belief structure. Atheists view this life as their only life but where that takes them differs from one to the other.

While it is not a belief, atheists probably tend to be more skeptical than theists and, as a result, will not adopt other beliefs as easily as theists do either.

Answer 10

Atheist = we believe there is no god.

That is really it as far as the whole group goes. It isn't like we have meetings to decide our political stance or what we think about this or that.

Answer 11

We believe we have the power in ourselves to be good to others without having the threat of punishment that religion bestows on anyone who does not.