Question for the atheists?

Question

First of all, I'm not trying to pigenhole anyone and I won't illogically construe your answers to try and say you should believe in God. I'm just genuinely interested.

For those who do not believe in God, do you believe in supernatural things like ghosts, spirits, etc. or are you strictly a see-it-to-believe-it type of person?

Answer 1

Ghosts: I don't know, I've never seen one, I believe I don't understand it.

Aliens (beings residing somewhere than this planet): Most likely, maybe not in the same time frame or in the same manner but there are too many stars to think that other life does or did or will not exist somewhere or in some time.

Answer 2

Basically I want to see it or good strong evidence before I believe it.

That's not to say I don't have an open mind about things like ghosts and aliens because a great many people have reported seeing "something". The big question is what?

As far as ghosts are concerned there is some evidence that "something" may be going on because supposedly haunted buildings have been researched and phenomena such as sudden drops in temperature have been measured. This is a long way from proving the existence of ghosts or an afterlife, let alone god or heaven, but is worthy of more investigation.

Answer 3

I believe* in things I have a good reason to believe in.

If you can repeatedly demonstrate an acorporeal sentience then I will trust that it is real and exists.

Until then it goes into the 'unproven myth' bucket along with Santa, dragons, the tooth fairy, unicorns and gods.


* I really dislike the word 'believe' in this context. Belief implies faith that something exists without evidence. Since I am requiring a level of evidence before acknowledging some thing's existence I do not 'believe' in anything. I have a level of trust in the evidence provided to me, and/or in the people providing that evidence.


Edit: I have also seen and know of natural phenomena that can explain many ghost sightings. Will-o-the-wisp, ball lightning. Barn owls float silently though graveyards looking very ghost like. (Or more accurately ghosts look very barn-owl like.)

Also there are an awful lot of fakers out there. The original photos of Nessie for example.

Show me trustworthy evidence and I will trust it to be real.

Answer 4

The only thing I don't believe in is the existence of a supreme being-a creator-God. That's what makes me an atheist.

I believe we have souls, that angels exist, although not the biblical variety. I believe in an afterlife, ghosts, etc. I am a "see-it-to-believe-it" type person, and I have seen enough to convince me that things of a supernatural nature do exist.

When God shows himself, or cures cancer, or feeds the hungry and stops the wars, then I'll be the first one down on my knees. Until then, I find it impossible to believe in a being that would allow such atrocities to befall his "children" without stepping in to offer aid and lend a hand. That's an abusive, neglectful parent we're talking about, not an all-powerful entity.

Answer 5

This kind of depends on the person i think. Generally most athiests do not beilive in the supernatural, but others are a little more open (like myself). you see the whole idea of athiesim is the non belief in god(s) or deities, but things such as E.S.P etc cannot be ruled out as the human brain is a very complex machine of which large parts of it are still undiscovered. As for the question of ghosts, this is a rather contentious issue as to believe in ghosts would be to believe in a soul and therefore to beileve in god. so as far as ghosts are concerned i think most do not belive in casper or any other type of spirit.

Answer 6

I do not believe in ghosts or other supernatural beings either. That does not preclude their not existing, merely that I do not believe they exist.

That same belief system, skewed as it may be, also applies to God. I have one main faith in my life- to leave my mind open to new ideas and new evidence and go from there. That includes the possibility that I may be wrong either way, in believing in God or not.

Seeing-is-believing isn't necessarily so. Illusions exist as tricks of the eye, scientifically-based. Too many things can be done with the digital camera these days to use such media as credible evidence- what I'm getting at is faith also plays a part in evidence in my view of the world- I have faith China exists, despite my having not seen it.

So... I think my answer to the question posed is "no". Took me how many words to say that?

Answer 7

I believe in the unexplained. I don't believe in the unexplainable. No ghosts,spirits,etc. Not that there may be phenomena that is interpreted as such,just that said phenomena is more likely a natural occurrence,being given the name"ghost"by people who wish to believe. I don't believe in it for some of same reasons I don't believe the bible.The CONCEPT is ridiculous to me. Say I die,there IS an afterlife. I have seen the answer to THE question. I am eternal,I have "passed over" the "great divide"And I have nothing better to do than walk through an old house,or down a stretch of highway by the cemetery?Sorry,but that is one preposterous notion

Answer 8

I believe there is a rational explanation for reports that people see ghosts. I have known people who were convinced they saw ghosts, even in a house where I lived.

I also have known people who swore they were abducted by aliens. They gave as vivid a description as did the people who saw ghosts. So if you were to believe in the ghost stories I see no reason why you would reject the alien stories.

In both cases, I think they really wanted to see the things they saw and had vivid imaginations or were even dreaming. but they they did not really see them. There is the posibility that they were in a state of stress-induced psychosis when they had their visions. I have been with someone having a severe bipolar/manic episode who saw and heard all sorts of things that I couldn't see or hear. The mind is very powerful and can create things that just aren't there.

Answer 9

I expect evidence before I will accept a thing as real. I will also sometimes accept the opinion of a person whose judgment I trust in areas where I am not qualified personally to judge the evidence. Facts can be quite equivocal things.

Belief is an odd word to use, but we do so a lot. It implies a choice about reality. I am not at all sure we have such a choice. Believing in god, for instance, will not make him exist - he either does exist or he does not.

Answer 10

I believe in the possibility of many unseen things like the ones you mentioned, and have a very open mind. But, before I "believe in" something, I feel it should be thoroghly researched or personally experienced in an undeniable way. I have experienced " cold spots " in castles, but that is insufficient for me to say without a doubt, ghosts are real. For someone else, that might be all they need.