Why do atheists attack faith?

Question

Faith is a great thing to have. Believing in something without directly knowing whether or not it is true makes you a better person.

Sure, God could let us know that he exists and which religion is true, but he doesn't do that because it is all part of a test. Also, if God would to let us know he exists for sure, then it would be harder for people to sin and that would make life too easy.

Atheists have faith too. If you drop a ball, you have faith that it will hit the ground. You have faith that the sun will rise. Having faith in God is exactly the same thing.

Do you agree?

Answer 1

Humans are afraid of what they don't understand. Some people are angry that God and/or Jesus has let them down. Some ask why God would allow for there to be suffering in the world. we don't understand, and we don't have answers to all our questions. It's fear of the unknown. Education is the only way to eradicate that. I'm not saying that everyone has to believe, but if we understand the differences among us, at least we will know enough not to fear. As long as no one is pushing or peddling anything, there's nothing wrong with learning a thing or two.

Answer 2

"Why do atheists attack faith?"
Because their faith, if you would call it that, is that the world would be a better place without belief in the supernatural.
"Believing in something without directly knowing whether or not it is true makes you a better person."
That is patently false. The ancients and some not so ancient used to believe that there were deities who required human sacrifice, for example. You have just said that that belief made them better people.
"Sure, God could let us know that he exists and which religion is true, but he doesn't do that because it is all part of a test."
Given the multiplicity of religions worldwide, don't you think the test is a little beyond the resources of most people? I do.
"Also, if God would to let us know he exists for sure, then it would be harder for people to sin and that would make life too easy."
Yes, God forbid that He would make life easier for us. That would be too much to expect from our all-powerful creator whom you say loves us.
" Atheists have faith too. If you drop a ball, you have faith that it will hit the ground. You have faith that the sun will rise. Having faith in God is exactly the same thing."
No, it isn't. If I drop a ball, it falls. Every morning, the sun rises. And I can envision the circumstances under which those things don't happen, e. g., the sun explodes, I'm in a place where there's no gravity, etc. I have never seen God, and I have never met anyone who had the temerity to say that all their prayers were answered. I have, however, heard millions of warnings not to expect all of our prayers to be answered because they might not fit into God's plan, etc. In other words, there is no test for the existence of God.
"Do you agree?"
No, I don't.

Answer 3

If questions are construed as "attacks" then I suppose I'm an attacker and your argument is weak. If I drop a ball, I don't have faith that it will hit the ground, I KNOW it will hit the ground, just like I KNOW the sun will rise. Faith makes you a better person? I could say the same about Atheism. but is that necessarily true? No, of course not. Putting my "faith" into the Flying Spaghetti Monster sounds ludicrous, but why? I may view HIS existance as real, but you wouldn't. Same thing over here, I don't believe in your god or any god. I have faith that one day Humanity will go beyond and shed superstition and develop even more. That's my faith, that my son won't have to live in a Fk'd up world.

Answer 4

Some people have problem with faith because, they like to know things for sure, not have things be up in the air. There is considerable proof that sides against religion. To have blind faith is dangerous. How far are you willing to have faith in something? To have blind faith in your government or authority is wrong, and as the past has shown, has led to some messed up situations. Lacking faith allows you to keep an open-mind and reasonably see all the sides to a situation. To say "I just have faith in my religion" means your not willing to look at any proof put forth, because you can just deny it and say "Oh well, faith is what matters, not the truth".

Having faith in a ball dropping or the sun rising is different. We see, and we know these things happen, and they will always happen. Having faith in God is not the same at all, and what an ignorant statement to make. What proof of there is God? When we drop a ball, we have faith that it will hit the ground because we see it hit the ground, we know from past experiences that it will hit the ground. This is not even comparable to the existence of God.

I'm not an atheist, but I think everybody, religious or not should think with an open and clear mind. Think for yourself.

Answer 5

No I do not agree. Faith is a bad thing, from personal experience. I had faith that my ex-girlfriend actually liked me and wanted to spend time with me. It turns out she was using me for my money and didn't care about me at all. My faith didn't allow me to see this and I got really hurt in the end. What does faith actually does that. With faith you can never determine truth from fantasy. Faith is a horrible thing. Faith is what people did before they understood anything. Logic and reason have proved that they are more useful to society.

A test? For what purpose so we can worship him? This is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Tests are to prove capability, a divine all knowing being would already know your capability, especially since it created your capability. Your logic is very flawed.

I don't have faith that if I drop a ball it will hit the ground; you have misrepresented the word faith. I have historical fact, and scientific rules that have been proved time after time that gravity is a constant and it will pull the ball to the ground. The sun doesn't rise you, the earth rotates and when the point of the planet I am on faces the sun, Trillions upon trillions of photons travel 8 minutes from the sun to the planet collide with objects changing their wavelength causing distortions in color ranging from Ultraviolet to infrared. This then reflected light hits my eye and is transferred into a sensory experience. That is science not faith.

Answer 6

i agree that religion is (for the most part) a good thing. RELIGION DOES NOT MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON!! religion is good because people can feel emotionally secure. people need something to believe in and would like to think they'll live forever. the most beneficial part of religion is that everyone lives by a strict moral code. However, no religion is proven to be true. you'd have to be pretty stupid to believe that some guy who lived over 2,000 years ago was the son of a "god". Do you believe in ancient greek mythology? THAT"S THE SAME THING as believing in any god. They even called the mythological figures thier "GODS". i wont ever base my life on a book that i cant prove is written by some supernatural source. especially when i dont believe in supernatural forces anyway. i'm not attacking you and your beliefs i'm just assuming that you actually want to know what other people think.

Answer 7

1) "Believing in something without directly knowing whether or not it is true makes you a better person."

That's got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. But while you're believing in stuff that may or may not be true, I've got a bridge to sell you.

2) Yeah, god won't give us any indication he exists but he wants you to worship him anyway or he'll damn you to hell for all eternity. Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds?

3) No, I understand basic physical principles - like gravity, which makes the ball drop and the Sun appear to rise. There's no faith involved - just basic physics.

Answer 8

How exactly does faith make you a better person?
And no I don't think having faith in a ball hitting the ground is quite like having complete faith in a god. That's kind of insulting to religions and athiests alike.

Answer 9

As much as I don't understand it, I never attack faith.

I disagree, though, that it's faith that makes me believe a ball will hit the ground if I throw it in the air. Experience tells me that every time I throw a ball in the air, it falls to the ground. Making predictions based on experience is a little different from faith, as far as I can tell.

Answer 10

God does not exist. Faith is self deception. It does not make you a better person to believe in a deity, in fact, history has shown that it makes a person WORSE because the person becomes much less tolerant, less accepting, and more willing to committ violence in the name of their deity because they believe thats what their deity wants them to do.

You have NO way of knowing that you are in the right faith. For all you know, it could be one of the other 2500 gods throughout history thats the correct one. Or one that hasn't been invented yet.

I do not have faith that the ball will hit the ground, I know that it will because there's something called GRAVITY. Thats not born of faith, thats born of fact.

I do not have faith that the sun will rise, I know it will rise because the earth moves. Thats not faith, thats fact.

No, faith in god is not the same thing. You have proof of gravity and proof of the turning of the planet, you do NOT have proof of a god.

You are trying to compare things to which you KNOW will happen to something you only THINK exists. They are NOT the same thing.

No I don't agree. I think your logic is extremely twisted and desperate.

Let me add that believing in something without knowing it to be true makes you a gullible person. One day, some thief is going to come and sell you some magic beans because YOU had "faith" he was telling you the truth.

Answer 11

I am an atheists and for me its not so much faith. I mea we all have faith, doesnt mean it has to be in god, we all at some time believed something even if there wasnt any direct evidence for it. And although i disagree with many religious ideas, it only really becomes a problem for me when peoples what to me is blind faith, starts to affect policies of my country and the world.

Example: Muslim suicide bombers. I have no problem with muslims or their faith until they become so fanatical that they are willing to kill innocent people because they feel god is telling them to.