Atheist - Why do you not believe in God???

Question

I know you all will try to tear me up because of this but here it is - think about what I am saying before you curse me out -

No one knows if there is a God or not. People use God or a belief system to inspire them to get up every morning and do what they feel is right. Some people choose to believe in an ultimate power and some choose not to believe in one at all. But in the end it is all just a belief system to keep you going. So in essence - not believing in God is your God because you use the belief system of there is no God just like others use the belief system of there is a God. What do you think?

Answer 1

I actually agree. It takes blind faith to say that there is absolutely no god.

I still find myself on their side more often than not though. I guess it's because, in my experience, the average atheist only reacts to others when they espouse their beliefs... while a Christian or Muslim will actively try to sway you to their way of thinking without any invitation on your part.

Answer 2

You make the usual mistake of only dealing with two possible positions when there are three. It is possible to believe that there is a God, to believe that there is no God and also to have no belief one way or the other.

Further you say that believing that there is no God constitutes a belief system. This is nonsense. A belief system is a complete system of beliefs in, for example, a God and his relationship with mankind. Without a belief in a God and/or a spiritual existence of man, there is no system.

To suggest that anyone uses a belief in the existence or non-existence of a God to inspire them to live their lives and to live them well is insulting.

Answer 3

Your arguments seem to give equal credibility to the notions of belief and nonbelief in God. Whatever a person believes is real. You certainly can't argue that we don't create our own realities, maybe we create it all, everything from quarks on up. Is it possible that God actually exists if you believe he exists but does not exist if you do not believe in him? That would give a slight edge to the nonbeliever who could argue that the believer's god is, after all, only his own invention, but maybe the human mind and conscienseness is a stranger and more powerful device than we have yet imagined and actually creates the reality that we know as the universe. Odd notions? They're certainly no stranger than talking snakes and donkeys! Open minded seeking is the only way we will ever know anything, it won't come by dogmatically clinging to the past, either scientific or religious. None of us knows just how little we really know.

Answer 4

lets see, I was raised in a baptist home, preacher grandpa. I have been immersed and sprinkled, and belonged to several denominations as a child. As an adult, I realized there were so many religions, and depending on where and how your were raised determined most peoples choice. I find it hard to believe in something just because I will fry in hell if i dont(and what kind of person would fry all nonbelievers anyway?) I like my cherokee heritage that believes in Mother-earth and Father-sky and the happy hunting ground best. ( that was before white man changed their religion to christianity) Also, during the years I attended church and was baptised I can tell you I never heard god telling me anything, and if I did hear voices, i'd be scared to death. Religion is good that it makes some people opt for good out of fear of reprisal. I personally live each day doing what I know is right, and I do unto others as I would want to have done unto me, but that is a personal choice, called morals. To each his own.

Answer 5

Most people believe in God because they were brought up that way, and all there ancestors before them. there's really nothing wrong in that. also a lot of people use God to fall back on in bad times, the little old lady who has no one left, or some one
who is terminally ill and worried what will happen to them.
some use there God as an excuse to terrorize others, even thou there god has the same name as there enemies.
Believing in God is fine.As long as you don't use him to torment others. And whether or not you believe there is a "God", he still has a purpose to a lot of people. Don't knock it.

Answer 6

Why do you believe in God? That's what I was taught growing up, just like you were probably taught there is a God. I personally feel I don't need a god to get me up every morning, I love life, and enjoy every min of it. In hard times I look to my family and friends, and to myself. I don't live any less of a life than you because I don't have a god. There is no hole that needs to be filled. I also don't believe that you need to believe in a god to be a morally just person. I lot of religious people believe that atheists are immoral people. But I'm not, I don't lie, steal, hurt people, etc etc. I'm caring and passionate about things, and I do these things because that is what is right, not because I have a moral code to live by.
Don't say not believing in God is my god. As much as you believe there is a god, is as much as I believe that there is none.

Answer 7

I kind of agree with you. I don't believe in god because I look around and see many people who spend their time worshiping God and they are experiencing horrible things in their life that I cannot even imagine going through. I do almost see myself as my own god. I have the belief that I am in full control of my life. I have the power to think and to tell myself what is right and wrong and using that power I set my own rules to live by. I see God as a support system and I use myself,my family, and my friends as that support. I know that if there is something wrong in my life I don;t need to kneel and pray to make it better. I speak about my problem get advice and make changes myself. I do inspire myself to get up every morning and do what is right... so maybe I do believe in myself as my God?

Answer 8

First, you have to define the term "God." The problem with most
theists is that this term is a moving target.

In addition, because there is no evidence either for or against the
existence of God, you cannot use deductive logic (a+b=c; therefore c-b=a). You can only reach a conclusion by inductive reasoning using the balance of evidence (90% of A is also B; C is B, so the chances are 90% that C is also A).

So to begin with, I will assert (and others may shoot this down) that the only RELEVANT definition of God states that he intervenes to circumvent natural laws.

If God circumvents natural laws, then it is impossible to understand natural laws. All scientific findings would have to include the stipulation, "it is also possible that these results are an act of God, a miracle, thereby making our research meaningless."

However, since we have been able to expand our knowledge of natural laws (evidenced by every appliance in your kitchen), the scientific method works in this discovery. And the likely conclusion is that God, at least the intervening kind, does not exist.

Additionally, if God is defined as all loving, all powerful, and all knowing, then it is impossible to explain suffering. Either God is not all loving (he acts sadistically), not all powerful (he cannot prevent suffering), or not all knowing (he created suffering by mistake because he didn't know the consequences of his actions).

If God is less than these and/or does not intervene in our existence, then he is either non-existent or irrelevant. The classic Bertrand Russell argument is that I cannot prove that a china teapot is orbiting the sun between the earth's orbit and Mars. But while I cannot prove this is not true, the evidence against it is compelling.

The evidence against God is equally compelling, and while it is not possible to prove beyond any doubt, it makes enormously more sense to live your life as if there were no God.

It is more compelling to me that humans have invented God (a) to help people deal with the pain and fear associated with death and loss, and (b) to reflect the thoughts of the ruling powers in a particular time. Because humans are always looking for reasons, when none were found, it was the natural inclination to declare the cause to be "God" (or gods). As the faith grew, miracles (coincidences) and laws were ascribed to this Divinity, and an orthodoxy grew up around it.

Now it seems unhelpful to believe in such superstition. The only matters that aid in our ongoing well-being are work, location, health, sustenance, and pure, blind luck.

So no, I don't believe God exists. And you know what? It's okay if you do believe God exists.

Answer 9

I'm agnostic but here is why I doubt:

1) diseases, natural disasters, mental disorders, freak accidents

2) every culture separated by geographical boundaries had their own religion

3) the claims of religion often rely only on a single book and not independent evidence

4) we are 98% of our DNA with chimps and we are just as physically fragile as they are.

5) as far as I can tell, the brain is the only mechanism for consciousness, so where is the soul?

6) i have not seen God nor can I understand something that has no finite qualities. God just seems to be this big question mark, and we all turn to him to explain the human condition.

7) the universe was around for 10 billion years before Earth and most of the the 15-billion light year universe seems empty. I'm not sure how we can say we are the point of it all?

these are the sources of my doubt, not evidence per say that God does not exist.

Answer 10

Have you ever seen a dog chasing its own tail?
That is what the details of your question remind me of.

If you read that Bible thing and keep track you will notice that God changes totally throughout the book. So does Satan and the Angels. There is not even a good chronological order to this.
There are many reasons to not have faith.

Choose Reality.