Whenever someone asks a question about God, why do all those people bother answering "there is no God"?.......

Question

People do it whether or not the person asking the question actually believes in the diety in question, so it doesn't seem to be just stubornly trying to convince people...

Do any of these EVER get chosen as a best answer?

Have any of these ever helped anyone with their question (which is usually determining exactly what a given group of people, other than atheists, believes)?

Have these ever convinced anyone of God's nonexistance?...

It just seems so unproductive, but so much of it happens it bewilders me....

(For the record, I am an atheist and am just refering to answers that make the statement with no humor, support, or relation to the question)

My problem is, it ISN'T the correct answer to most of these questions, as part of the question tends to be the premise that God exists.

If I asked "If a 30 foot thick steel ball were shot out of a cannon from the international space station, and started out going downward at 20 m/s, how fast would it be going when it hit the earth?", would the correct answer be that no such steel ball had been shot out of a cannon?... Even answering that such a thing wouldn't actually happen (as it would shift the orbit of the space station too much), wouldn't be the correct answer...

Likewise if someone asked me "If you were on fire, what would you do?", I wouldn't say "I'm not on fire."

How are these questions any different from "If God... [insert question here]"?....

Actually, you can ignore the above comment, as I now have a more apt example... If someone asked about the Fluffy Orange Moon King... And you knew of a piece of fiction about a Fluffy Orange Moon King, wouldn it be a best to at least answer the question about him in the work of fiction while explaining he doesn't really exist?...

Answer 1

I guess they just have nothing better to do and don't mind having a very low % of best answers. Their problem.

Answer 2

Every time someone asks a question like that it could be the very first time they've been on Y!A, and the first time they've heard a wide variety of answers (e.g. if they come from a very closed society). Also the other people answering may be in the same boat, plus anyone else who reads those questions and answers but never contributes. So, you have a whole bunch of people for whom "There Is No God" might not be as old hat as it is for you. Furthermore, someone might be prompted by that statement to message the answerer and thus kick off a good and useful discussion.

So, although you personally might be bored and perplexed by that straightforward answer, that doesn't necessarily mean it's not a worthwhile thing to do.

Answer 3

Nice to see someone else pointing out the needy way these people try to support their failing ideology.

Not atheism, no, but atheism as a belief system! I've had many friends who are atheists, and found them sane and secure people, often well-educated. I am not religious myself, but as I experienced God directly when I was very young, I can't call myself an atheist, either.

These people are desperate to prove their point, because freedom of religion, other faiths, particularly Christianity, are constant challenges and therefore threats to their ideology. These people have never realized that this is a RIGHT in the United States and would force their religious views (the idea that God cannot exist, is a religious belief, as there is no proof of this) on the rest of us.

Those to whom atheism is NOT a belief system, who simply see no reason to believe without proof ( a very reasonable approach) do not have this desperate need to shove atheism down everyone else's throats. They are NOT responsible for the bigotry and prejudice against atheists (yes, it does happen, as they are a small minority of the U.S.). The people who commit these acts are. But these atheists do fan the flames.

Thank you for standing up against this needy behavior. What a place this would be if they could at least try to answer the question hypothetically before giving their ramble, or better, answer it, then give their own view of it from their own perspective.

At the same time, they have free speech, too. They have religious freedom.

Just wish they had the intellectual awareness that not answering the question has no value to anyone or anything except feeding their own need.

Answer 4

For the same reason that we would say 'there is no fluffy orange moon king' if someone asked about such a creature.

Sometimes the obvious needs to be pointed out even if people refuse to believe it.

If you think we care about best answers or points, well, most of us are a bit older than that.

Answer 5

Because it's the correct answer.

This is Yahoo!Answers, where the point is to ask questions, and to answer them. The whole thing is pointless if the correct answer is disallowed just because of some political correctness thing.

Why in the world would you complain about this, when there's so much deliberate insulting and lying going on here?
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I completely disagree with your argument that it isn't the correct answer. In the majority of the cases that I see, it is exactly that. There may be some exceptional cases in which the question suggests taking god's existence as a hypothetical, but in the vast majority of the cases, the question is about some substantive point other than god's existence, and the fact that god does not exist clearly answers the question.

Answer 6

I took music lessons from a man and wife that were atheists. They were very kind people, who always treated me good. They taught me, among other things, to play church hymns as part of my music education. They had hymnals in their house and music studio. They were such fun people to be around, I never thought twice about them not believing as I do. I try to think of them when an atheist in here says something I really don't care for. I don't think it matters whether the person is christian, pagan,Wicca,or atheist...some folks just have a knack for being rude!.

Answer 7

Yes they do get chosen as best answer because statistics state at some point someone will choose it.

There is no god is too bland of an answer for me to bother putting it. But it does also apply in situations where people state existance of things.

I am fond of "which god? Zeus? Loki? Thor?"

Answer 8

Nobody can believe in Nothing. All believe in something. As to god - one can assign any name to that concept.

As for me I do NOT believe in a god with a human face, human attributes like good and evil, wrathful and loving only "his" pet flock. That is an invention of Man. For me god is the interactive grand matrix, universal intelligence. I don't consider myself an atheist and am not denying a supreme, impartial intelligence. I do however deny the existence of a god as portrayed in the Bible, the Talmud and the Quran...... Those appear to be more demonlike.

Answer 9

I enjoy reading many of the Atheist answers even though I am not Atheist. I can relate to their thought processes and I understand their perspective. I especially enjoy their humor. However the "there is no god" answer gets tiresome. (Like the drinking questions). No humor, no creativity ... just boring.

Answer 10

they know it irritates the believers for some one to say that their God doesnt exsist, some just want 2 extra points, some wants to get an arousel out of "christians", no matter the reason when speaking of God its like talking to a drunk person! you will NEVER get them to change their mind if they are grounded in the word.

Answer 11

well obviously because you get 2points for that and its three words long of course everyone has the right to express how they feel on the matter and i have to agree with you 'god doesn't exist' isn't very productive to anyone and if you are going to express your opinion then you need to do so in a constructive mannor