A question for diehard atheists?

Question

(I'm somehwere on borderline between God-belief and non-belief in supernatural stuff)

Q. What is your opinion on the power of faith?

You may call it God, Jesus, Allah, Buddha or heck, even a box of condoms if that is your "religion"- the important thing is the amount of faith you may have on that particular entity.

Fact remains faith does work very positively on most people which you cannot deny; patients in coma have been known to spring back due to the faith in prayers, prisoners in foreign jails have prayed for hope and sustained torture and abuse.

In fact, hope is the reason so many people are able to weather life-threatening crisis events. Hope indeed is a positive life-force and there are OCCASIONS, when human beings feel powerless against the system, the law, everyday responsibilities.

Since atheism is mostly about "lack of belief" in a higher power, isn't it selling "hopelessness" and in situations described above, make the going pretty tough already.

I'm indeed against any organized religion as they are invariably full of hypocrisy and corruption. But, after months and years of struggling about this question, I finally decided to revert to a belief in God mainly, Jesus (even though I cracked jokes on him in the past) as it gives me more internal stability, discipline and focus and of course, HOPE.

As for atheism, it only made me a CYNIC and a GROUCH.

Just personal thoughts though - nothing against atheists who may have managed to stay positive even in their "unbelief". I guess life is too short for me to take any more chances.

Answer 1

Hi!

I used to call myself an atheist, but i now keep an open mind on whether the universe was 'created' or not.


The problem with religious people, is when you state that, you do not believe in the bible/qur'an, you are automatically an atheist!

You 'can' believe in a 'creator' without believing 'any' of the religions and what the religious believe, that it is the 'creators' word!

I myself, do not believe any of the religions, their books, prayers, miracles, belief etc.

I do however see an intelligence at work, in a mathematical way, concerning nature and the universe!

Some say this proves 'their' god, but i don't believe this.
The bible and qur'an etc are 'not' true, they are man-made and a 'creator', had 'no' influence on/in them!

The 'story' of Jesus is just as rocky, no one knows for sure, if he existed or not, so any belief in him, is just 'faith' too!

Faith, is something that should be thought about very carefully.
Believing something, that is such an important element in your existance & what happens after you die, is something that you need to get right.

It is all to easy, to get strung along by other followers of that 'faith', to the effect that you believe everything that you are told and are 'taught' to discard 'any' personal doubts, about that information.

So what if, what you have been taught, is actually false and you have taken it all in and believe everything?

You are living a lifetime, that is based on false learnings!

Obviously, you wouldnt know, but if, after you die, there is 'no' heaven, nothing ...
then surely, your whole life has still been wasted, believing a lie!!

You could go to war, with this 'faith/belief' and kill fellow human beings, like in the past and today, because they 'think' a different way, have a different 'view' about 'god', believe 'god' is on 'their' side!?

The enemy's 'faith', will be just as believed, they are prepared to die for theirs too!
So, who is right?

There is a very big possibility, that 'both' sides are wrong!!

All in the name of 'faith'!!!



So, basically i believe the religious are believing, fictitious belief and the universe, 'could' still have been designed!!

I have 'faith' in facts, loved ones & myself, although i have studied religion, i will 'not' take 'mythical' books seriously and will 'not' take them on 'faith' value!!!
This, to me is absurd!!!

I have 'faith' in science, for good or bad.
That science will come up with, even more answers to our questions .
Taking mankind forward, not backwards!!

Have faith in yourself, faith that you do not need a 'man-made' religion to watch your every move & judge you, because it 'is' the followers that are judging you, not 'god'!

Answer 2

Wait... how do you "choose" to believe in something? Do you believe in the tooth fairy? Is that a choice? Or you just can't because it's not real. It's either you were never an atheist in the first place or you're still not a Christian. When someone tells you an obvious lie, do you "choose" to believe it or is it more you're ignoring it's not the truth and fooling yourself because it feels better?

Also, you want to believe in something that gives you hope even if it isn't the truth? It's called wishful thinking. Pretending something is reality because you don't like reality; do me a favour and grow up, life isn't Disney Land, your dreams don't come true just because you wish it, perhaps in Peter Pan, not here.

I'm an agnostic atheist, however, that still doesn't fully explain my beliefs; when you discover the pagan religions that tribes under Roman rule had, you actually find incomprehensible similarities, there are literally hundreds, this confirmed that Christianity, like other religions was probably not real but the possibility of a God is still out there. I'm atheistic towards all religions but I don't outright dismiss the idea of there being a creator; I don't know in other words and I'm not pompous enough to claim I know the origins of the universe. Watch some YouTube videos on the origin of Christianity, I believe, based on Roman accounts, it started off as a cult in the mountains and spread (not my words, some Roman scholar).

Anyhow, your reasoning is ridiculous, why Christianity? Why do people of other faiths stay in their religion if it's not fulfilling? It's because they gives you the exact same false comfort as Christianity, you turned back to the one you were raised in because you know nothing else, how did you know it was the right one to turn back to when you know no other religion? It's not that Christianity is the "answer" or "real," that's the one you know. Look at your language; "choose"?

"Choose"...

Somewhere, you know... otherwise you wouldn't have said it, that you're choosing this life, not that it's reality you must accept, you're "choosing" the reality that Jesus is real... But you don't "choose" reality, do you?

Answer 3

lol, I know what you mean!
Ok, in a nutshell... You've been hangin' out with the wrong atheists. For me it's Christians that have made me cynical and grouchy! Atheism isn't "about" lack of belief, it is lack of belief. It is my belief that the human mind is vastly more powerful than people give it credit for. A firm "belief" that you're going to get better is the key to better health, whatever that focus is. My point is if you had a firm belief that the jar of jellied kumquats on the shelf is going to heal you, then you're going to be healed. My problem with religion is not a faith in God or Jesus, it's the politics of a church that has been around for centuries, killing and destroying at will (and a lot of that "will" is attributed to God). It's happening right now over in Iraq and elsewhere. The sole reason they're killing each other is a disagreement over who has the better God.

Answer 4

I am neither cynic nor grouch - obviously you're seriously in need of security blankets and you picked the most convenient breed/strain available in the west.

Atheism does not advocate hopelessness and nor does it advocate garbage - we advocate REALITY and not a belief in Invisible Sky Critters.

"patients in coma have been known to spring back due to the faith in prayers"
That is a lie - the same number would have sprung back to consciousness without prayers - I think you're just spinning us some Xian myths and urban legends - if not please provide evidence.
"prisoners in foreign jails have prayed for hope and sustained torture and abuse.'
You really believe this don't you? My mother was in a German concentration camp during WW2. She was an Atheist. She survived when 130,000 outa 160,000 didn't.

I was in Vietnam 69/70. I was an Atheist then too as were most Aussies. I survived.

Don't you understand that good things happen to bad people at about the same rate as bad things happen to good people.
Do you really think there's an Invisible Man up there watching everything that's happening and can be influenced by a few cries from someone in pain?

Do you have any idea how many children on this planet cry out for food and STILL DIE?
Do you have any idea how many children cry out for love on this planet and are still abused?

Of course you believe in the invisible man - you're so outa touch with reality you're a joke: you're fullashitandwind.

Answer 5

I'm not a die hard atheist but hope isn't necessarily anything to do with religion. Scientists tested the power of hope with rats. The test consisted of putting rats in water and seeing how long they would swim until they became exhausted and drowned. Some rats were put in the water and timed, others were shown a rat put into the water but then taken out again before it drowned. The rats that had seen that, swam three times as long before becoming exhausted and drowning as those that hadn't because they hoped they'd be rescued. That proved that hope has a powerful effect on the brain. Unfortunately proving hope exists doesn't prove that a higher power does.

Answer 6

You have two entirely separate concepts confused.

"Faith" is often said when "Hope" is meant but.faith is a rotten sham. The abuse and misuse of the word by religious propagandists is illusory. A verbal sleight of hand. An insincere promise incapable of being kept. A bad, bad, bad, bad thing and the only haven for deceit and lies. Religion would have you believe it is a very good thing. It isn't.

Hope, on the other hand, is absolutely fine. Learn the difference, please. Faith = bad thing. Hope = good thing.

Faith does not work positively on most people. That would be true of HOPE, not FAITH.

Atheism sells faithlessness. There is no reason to abandon hope while forsaking faith, as long as you can appreciate which is which.

Answer 7

I believe you are calling on non-religious atheists. I'm an Atheist, but I belong to Buddhism. I was once non-religious too, so I still qualify to answer.

The power of belief, when used correctly, can bring a person great rewards in life. No matter which path they choose, it is their beliefs which lead them that path. There is no person on this planet who has no belief whatsoever.
A Christian believes in God
An Atheist believes there is no God

Note that the Atheist believes there is no God, as opposed to not believing. Therefore the Atheist believes something, and has faith in that.
How then, is he/she a non-believer?

The above theory was the main (unfortunately widely missed) point of one of my previous questions. It wasn't received too well because of that. lol.

I disagree that Atheism is selling hopelessness. As it is not a religion in its own right, there is too much of a wide variety of beliefs to be categorised as a religion itself (indeed there are several Atheistic religions), all Atheists lead their lives by their beliefs still, and I was one of those whose only beliefs were in self improvement and morals.

Important point: Religion does not define beliefs, beliefs define religion.

May peace walk with you throughout your life

Answer 8

Are you familiar with the philosophy of Nietzsche?

One of his main teachings was that GOD IS DEAD.

But an other important philosophical theory was the real blockbuster: INDIVIDUALISM.

An individualist does not need a god or anything to believe but in himself. An individualist always prefers his own survival and ignore the needs of others as long as his very own survival is not in danger. An individualist respects all beliefs, as long people do not want to convert him. He learns from these beliefs and is able to create a religion for himself to fix his needs.

I have done that, and I am alive, and I am happy. I did not need blind faith or any supernatural dogma to achieve this happiness. Just me.

Answer 9

I have hope and faith in myself and humanity. I think I am a stronger person for it. If I am in trouble, it is ultimately up to me to get me out of it.

Nobody is going to come and rescue me, nobody needs to, and it isn't something I expect.

If someone comes along and offers assistance, I will take it. Hopefully, I will get to repay the favor, when they need it.

That is not hopelessness, it is determination to be self sufficient and self-reliant. There is nothing wrong with that.

If you felt hopeless without a god/gods, fine.. that is your choice. But if you would have had a little more self-confidence in your own abilities, you should not have felt hopeless.

Answer 10

One definition of "faith" is belief in something for which there is no evidence.
A person can have hope for a positive outcome without having faith in a supernatural power.
Belief in some nonexistent higher power that is coming to my rescue, does not comfort me.
.