How can atheists honestly be sure?

Question

Atheists don't believe in God. My honest question is this, how can you be sure?
It seems hard for me to believe that the earth, sun and moon and all of existence is all just happenstance and blind luck, and that the natural order of things just came into being.
Don't you ever wonder (even in your 'weaker' moments, if maybe the Christians might have it right?
Also, if you are wrong are you prepared to really face those consequences?

Answer 1

If by "sure" you mean "100% certain" (and you seem to), I'd never claim that.

"Atheist" does not mean "100% certain that there is no god". It simply means "does not believe in gods".

I'm just as certain that there is no god as I am that there is no polka-dotted chimpanzee dancing on my head, and of course for exactly the same reason. There's no evidence for either one. If evidence comes in, I'll consider it.

I'd bet that if you gathered all the atheists here and all of the believers here, and asked them all to answer "Yes or no - are you 100% certain of your position?", you'd find that a far higher percentage of believers than of atheists answered "Yes, I am 100% certain". That's of course because atheists have typically considered both sides of the question, while a relative minority of believers have ever considered nonbelief.

Finally, as far as being prepared to face the consequences if I'm wrong, are you? Suppose that in fact believers are doomed to eternity in hell, while nonbelievers spend eternity in paradise. Are you really willing to take that chance? Why not choose the safe thing, and not believe?

Pascal's Wager is a bad argument, in large part because it assumes that the believer is right about everything except possibly for the existence of god, and then uses that to demonstrate that we should believe in the existence of god. Apparently Pascal (and the 100s of believers who cite him here) was unable to consider the possibility that his beliefs were false.

Answer 2

What if you are wrong?

I am sure because there is no evidence. The existence of the universe is not "happenstance" or "blind luck." Research a little science.

If Christians are right, how come there are so many different Christians denomination, each claiming truth? Christians don't even agree among themselves, so why on earth would I believe they are right.

The consequences you speak of are Christian. What if the Muslims, Pagans, or Buddhist are right? Are YOU prepared to face the consequences?

Answer 3

You could reverse that question and ask how can Christians be sure that God exists (even in their weaker moments)?
That said, there is no factual evidence of any miracle, or that God exists. On the other hand, there is factual evidence supporting evolution, the earth being six billion years old and other scientific facts that explain miracles (example: the Grand Canyon and erosion).
As for Christianity, while there is proof that Christ existed, there's no proof of his godliness.
If I'm wrong, I'm sure the Buddists are right.

Answer 4

I'm sorry this is such a difficult thing for you to wrap your head around. Maybe you are to close to your subject to have any real objectivity.
An unbiased mind would have a hard time accepting something without the slightest bit of evidence to support it. The Bible is just a book, somewhat historically accurate(but so is Tom Clancy); but it cannot substantiate such dramatic claims. Science, while not perfect, has much more stable explanations for the creation of the universe. And I'm allowed and encouraged to question it, a sign of validity..

Answer 5

No matter what you believe, the odds are you are wrong. There are over 6 billion people in the world and only a third are Christian. Even they can't agree on which is the "right" form of Christianity to follow in order to reach heaven. The same is true of Muslims.
So I ask you, what exactly is someone supposed to believe in order to get to heaven?

Answer 6

I am called Atheist because I don't believe in the christian god which comprises father and son who procreated and made human beings, male and female. I am not dull minded enough so as not to see the order in the universe, and natural progression. The chaos I see within the bigger picture is caused by man and his warring ways. They use the two sky daddies to justify their actions. It is not up to atheists to prove or disprove the christian sky daddies, they didn't invent them. The burden of proof falls on the christian.

Answer 7

A theist is someone who believes in the exisitence of god all that is missing in the atheist is the space, they are already questioning, the space represents time. The same could be said for agnostics. A gnostic is someone who believes they have knowledge of the existence of god or gods again all that is needed is the space between themselves and the subject in case of the agnostic.

Answer 8

I have not wondered whether christians are right for a LONG time, at least 10 years and I'm only 22

Things didn't just 'pop' into existence the way they are. The universe is really old, it wasn't always in its curent state.

Did you know we are all made of star stuff?

And if I am wrong and I meet 'god' when I am dead, I will stand my ground. I have a very good case, and I think if he were all omniscient he would already understand

Answer 9

no an atheist can not be sure.all (so called)atheist are really agnostics.atheist can not EVEN DEFEND THERE POSTION!!!! atheist believe there is no god.they can't rationally say THERE IS NO GOD.to say there is no god they have to be all knowing.mankind knows about 2-3%of all the knowledge in the universe.can god exist in the other 98%? that he doesnt know.if he is smart he has to say yes.then he is an agnostic then because he doesnt know for sure.ask an atheist this question : are you absolutely sure there are absolutes?its suicide (mind) to say yes.

Answer 10

Are you prepared to face the consequences of not believing in Odin and thus not going to Valhalla; not believing in Zeus and going to Tartarus, not the House of Hades; not believing in Allah and not having 72 houris in Heaven, etc, etc.? Your question is on the same level as these. I am sure that religions are nonsense, because holy books are filled with pathetic ignorance of science and contradictions.